Tova O’Brien is the TVNZ Breakfast co-host who will front 1News election night with Jack Tame on 7 November 2026. Off air, she has a daughter, Ivy, who was born 10 weeks early in October 2024, and a partner she keeps well away from the cameras.
Seven months after she took over the Breakfast couch, O’Brien is in the middle of the busiest stretch of her TV career. She moderated the 1News multi-party debate on 13 October, co-hosts a weekly politics vodcast and will anchor results night from 7pm. Here is who she is, where she came from and what she has shared about her family.
Tova O’Brien on Breakfast
TVNZ announced on 15 December 2025 that O’Brien would join Chris Chang as Breakfast co-host, filling the seat left by Jenny-May Clarkson, who left the show in November 2025. TVNZ executive editor Phil O’Sullivan called her “sharp, energetic and trusted” and said: “Best of all, she understands morning audiences inside out.”
Her first show went to air on Monday 30 March 2026. The Spinoff reported that she had set four alarms that morning, and that her first big interview was with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. When he described his job as being “the CEO”, she replied: “Your job is the prime minister.” Fill-in host Ali Pugh had helped her prepare for the switch.
Breakfast airs weekdays from 6am to 9am on TVNZ 1 and streams on TVNZ+.
Her election 2026 roles
For the campaign, TVNZ paired her with Q+A host Jack Tame. 1News said the pair launched a weekly vodcast, Tame and Tova, on 1 October, and that the two will lead election night coverage on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ from 7pm on 7 November. Tame has described her on air as “tenacious AF”.
Who is Tova O’Brien’s partner?
O’Brien rarely talks about her partner by name. Her Wikipedia entry, citing Stuff’s August 2024 report on her pregnancy, names him as camera operator Cam Williams. When she announced she was expecting, she said it was “hard to imagine being any happier”. A 1News profile in March 2026 also mentioned that she has a stepdaughter, but did not name her partner or say what he does.
Is Tova O’Brien still married?
O’Brien married TV editor and Beastwars drummer Nathan “Nato” Hickey in London in 2016. Stuff covered the wedding at the time. By 2024 her partner was Cam Williams. She has not spoken publicly about how or when her marriage to Hickey ended, and we are not going to guess.
Tova O’Brien’s baby, born 10 weeks early
Her daughter, Ivy, arrived on 10 October 2024, 10 weeks before her due date, after O’Brien’s waters broke early. Ivy was cared for in the neonatal unit at Auckland City Hospital, and Stuff reported in January 2025 that O’Brien had spent 63 days in hospital before she could take her daughter home. By then the baby was described as thriving. Ivy turned two this month.
Ivy is her only child that she has spoken about. She also has the stepdaughter mentioned above.
Where is Tova O’Brien from?
She was born in Papua New Guinea, where her parents met. Her mother is a British journalist and her father a New Zealand helicopter pilot. In the 1News profile she said: “Papua New Guinea gave me my name.” The family moved to Central Otago when she was a baby. After her parents separated, she and her mother moved to Wellington, and she grew up around the RNZ newsroom where her mum worked. She spent holidays with her dad in Port Chalmers.
Her mother now lives in London. “My mum is the best person I know,” O’Brien told 1News.
How old is Tova O’Brien?
Her exact birthday is not public. Wikipedia gives her birth year as 1982 or 1983, which puts her in her early 40s.
Tova O’Brien’s career before Breakfast
She started a psychology and film degree at the University of Otago but left before finishing. She later trained in journalism at Massey University and qualified in 2006. Her career since then:
- Radio Active, Wellington: her first journalism job.
- 2007, MediaWorks (TV3, later Newshub): she started on the assignments desk and moved into reporting. She covered the 2014 election as what she now calls a “cub political reporter”.
- 2016, Europe correspondent: Newshub sent her to London.
- 2018, political editor: she returned to Wellington to take over from Patrick Gower. Her 2020 interview with Advance NZ co-leader Jami-Lee Ross, in which she refused to let him spread Covid-19 conspiracy theories, drew millions of views around the world.
- 2022, Today FM breakfast: MediaWorks hired her to host the new talk station’s breakfast show from March 2022. That year she also reported from Ukraine. The station closed on 30 March 2023, a day she announced live by interrupting Duncan Garner‘s show.
- July 2023, Stuff: chief political correspondent.
- March 2026, TVNZ Breakfast: co-host with Chris Chang.
Her awards include Political Journalist of the Year at the 2019 Voyager Media Awards, Best Presenter in news and current affairs at the 2021 New Zealand Television Awards for Newshub Nation, and Broadcast Reporter of the Year (News) at the Voyagers in both 2022 and 2023.
Frequently asked questions
Who are Tova O'Brien's parents?
Her mother is a British-born journalist who worked on Rural Report and at RNZ, and her father is a New Zealand helicopter pilot. Their names have not been widely published.
Does Tova O'Brien have a podcast?
Yes. Tame and Tova, with Jack Tame, comes out weekly on TVNZ+ and podcast apps during the 2026 election campaign.
What was Tova O'Brien's first Breakfast interview?
Her first major interview on 30 March 2026 was with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, about the Middle East war and the fuel crisis.
Where did Tova O'Brien go to university?
She started at the University of Otago and later qualified in journalism at Massey University in 2006.
Is Tova O'Brien on Breakfast every day?
She co-hosts the weekday show, Monday to Friday from 6am, alongside Chris Chang.
