Mike Hosking’s wife is broadcaster Kate Hawkesby. The pair met as co-hosts of TVNZ’s Breakfast in 2002 and married in 2012. Hosking has twin daughters, Ruby and Bella, from his first marriage, and Hawkesby has three children from hers. He was born in Dunedin in 1965 and still hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB.
Most New Zealanders know his voice before they know anything about his life away from the microphone. These are the questions people actually search for about him, answered from the public record. His views are left to his listeners.
Who is Mike Hosking’s wife?
Kate Hawkesby, born on 1 April 1973, is a former TVNZ reporter, newsreader and presenter. She joined TVNZ as an intern in 1995 and became the youngest newsreader on the 6pm One News. In 2002 she started co-hosting Breakfast with Hosking, then hosted the late-night news show Tonight until 2006. She went on to spend about six years presenting a morning show on Newstalk ZB.
The couple married in 2012. It is a second marriage for both of them. Hawkesby was married to Richard Lyne for 12 years, and that marriage ended in 2007.
Mike Hosking’s first wife
Hosking married Marie Hosking in 1989. They had twin girls in June 2001 and separated in August 2002.
Mike Hosking’s daughters and children
Hosking has two children, twin daughters Ruby and Bella, born in June 2001. They turned 25 in 2026. When they were toddlers, he and Marie went to court to stop a magazine publishing photos of Marie and the girls. The case, Hosking v Runting, became one of New Zealand’s best-known privacy rulings.
Kate Hawkesby has three children from her first marriage. Their names have not been published in the sources we use, so we are not naming them here.
How old is Mike Hosking?
Hosking was born in Dunedin in 1965, so he is 60 or 61 in 2026. His exact birthday is not given in his public profiles. He grew up in Christchurch, went to St Albans Primary, Mairehau Primary and Linwood High School, and left school at 16.
From copywriter to New Zealand’s top breakfast host
His first radio job was writing ads. He got on air at Wellington’s Radio Windy almost by accident. As he told The Listener in 2013: “They fired people a lot. So I got stuck on air, did two mid-dawns and someone else got fired and then I did nights.”
- 1990s: co-hosted Morning Report on Radio New Zealand National with Geoff Robinson.
- 1997: became an original co-host of TVNZ’s Breakfast, first with Susan Wood and later with Alison Mau, Liz Gunn and Kate Hawkesby.
- 2008: took over the Newstalk ZB breakfast slot after Paul Holmes left, and the show was renamed The Mike Hosking Breakfast. In the same year he hosted the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? New Zealand.
- 2014 to 2017: co-presented Seven Sharp on TVNZ 1 with Toni Street, five nights a week. The pair stepped down in December 2017.
- 2017: moderated a televised leaders’ debate during that year’s general election campaign.
Where to listen to Mike Hosking live
The Mike Hosking Breakfast is on Newstalk ZB from 6am to 9am on weekdays. You can listen on ZB’s radio frequencies or stream it live through iHeartRadio. Each show is also released as a full-show podcast, and new episodes were still coming out through late September 2026. Newstalk ZB calls it “New Zealand’s number one breakfast show”, and it has been the country’s most-listened-to breakfast show since 2021.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mike Hosking's wife's name?
Kate Hawkesby. They married in 2012.
Does Mike Hosking have twin daughters?
Yes. Ruby and Bella were born in June 2001, during his first marriage, to Marie Hosking.
Who was Mike Hosking's ex-wife?
Marie Hosking. They married in 1989 and separated in 2002.
How did Mike Hosking and Kate Hawkesby meet?
They met at work. Hawkesby joined Hosking as co-host of TVNZ’s Breakfast in 2002.
Is Mike Hosking still on Seven Sharp?
No. He left Seven Sharp at the end of 2017. He has stayed on Newstalk ZB’s breakfast show, which he has hosted since 2008.
