Stunning actress Shavaughn Ruakere almost stole the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford before he met the ex-New Zealand PM

Jacinda Ardern’s upcoming wedding may have almost never happened after her partner was in a serious relationship with an actress before the pair met.

The ex-New Zealand prime minister will marry ‘first guy’ Clarke Gayford, 47, this weekend at a winery in Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Ms Ardern and Mr Gayford are madly in love and have a five-year-old daughter called Neve, but the perfect family may never have happened.

Mr Gayford met his future wife after ending a three-year relationship with glamorous Maori actress and TV presenter Shavaughn Ruakere, 45, in 2013.

The couple lived together and even shared a dog with Ruakere, revealing that the subject of children had also come up in their conversations with each other.

Ruakere (above), a Māori actress, had previously shared her thoughts on marriage and children with Clarke

The couple are said to have split in 2013 due to their work demands: Mr Clarke was a TV and radio presenter, while Ruakere was a soap actress.

Both have found love again with Ruakere who is dating her partner of ‘several years’ Trevor Rooderkerk.

She shared photos from a trip to Beresford Heights on Wednesday – just three days after Mr Clarke and Ms Ardern’s wedding.

Ruakere, best known for her role as Roimata Ngatai in the TV show Shortland Street, was in love with Mr Clarke and shared her thoughts on marriage to Now to love.

‘I am really happy in my life. “I have a great guy, we have a dog and we live in a beautiful house and we are very happy together,” she said.

On future children with Mr Clarke, Ruakere said: “He wants children because he can’t wait to embarrass them. He just wants to tease them and do things like drop them off at school dressed up in silly things.”

However, later that year, Clarke started dating Ms Ardern after the couple split.

The couple previously revealed they met over coffee after Clarke raised concerns about a possible erosion of privacy due to a new bill.

Sparks flew during the meeting and eventually their friendship turned into something more when the couple welcomed their daughter in 2018.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) started dating Clarke (left) in 2013 after he complained about a new bill

Ardern and Clarke welcomed their daughter Neve (pictured with her parents) in June 2018

Ruakere has remained on the road since her divorce from Mr Clarke.

In 2016, she briefly moved to Los Angeles with her then-boyfriend Toby Burrows, co-founder of music festival Rhythm and Vines, in search of acting opportunities.

She has now settled in Auckland with her partner, Mr Rooderkerk.

The actress revealed her relationship with the father of three in an emotional post for Father’s Day 2021.

“My dad never met my new family, but I know he would have been very happy for me and knew he didn’t have to worry about his youngest anymore,” she wrote.

In a 2022 interview with Now to loveRuakere said Mr Rooderkerk’s children have become her “instant whānau (family)”.

“We’ve been together for a few years now and he’s definitely a keeper, I’m quite happy,” she said.

‘I have always felt a strong affinity with children, perhaps because I am still a big one at heart. I am the youngest in my family.

‘It probably took me quite a long time to realize that I am now part of my own family, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel very blessed.”

Ruakere (pictured with Clarke) has recently appeared on What Now, Dancing with the Stars and hosted FBoy Island NZ

Ruakere (pictured with her partner of ‘several years’, Trevor Rooderkerk) revealed her new relationship in 2021

Ruakere recently appeared on What Now, Dancing with the Stars and made a brief return to Shortland Street.

She also hosted FBoy Island NZ in 2022 and said of the gig: “It’s a light-hearted take on dating shows that often leans into comedy – something I was drawn to.”

Meanwhile, Mr Clarke and Ms Ardern will finally get married on Saturday.

The couple got engaged in 2019 and planned to marry in the summer of 2022, but were forced to abandon their plans due to Covid restrictions.

Now the couple will hold their ceremony on January 13 in a vineyard 200km from the original location.