Hayley Holt

Did You Know?

• Holt won both of her two corporate boxing bouts in 2011 by decision, raising funds for charity; one opponent was pro surfer Paige Hareb.
• She trained for boxing at Boxing Alley in Auckland, New Zealand.
• At the 2017 general election, Holt stood for the Green Party in the Helensville electorate, held by retiring former Prime Minister John Key, but was not elected.

Dancing career

Holt began ballroom and Latin dancing at age seven. She placed 19th in the Blackpool Rising Star Professional Ballroom Competition and sixth in the US Open Rising Star Professional Ballroom Competition. She also trained in jazz dance with Candy Lane. Her professional dance partner is David Yeates. On Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand), she partnered Danyon Loader (season 2), Brendon Pongia (season 3), and Peter Urlich (season 4), reaching the semi-finals twice. On Strictly Come Dancing (UK series 6), she partnered Mark Foster; they were eliminated on 26 October, placing 11th.

TV appearances

Holt took the title on TV2's Treasure Island: Pirates of the Pacific in 2007 as part of "The Others." The following year, she appeared on Shock Treatment and later sat for an interview on Campbell Live. By 2013, she was co-hosting Best Bits. Her acting credits include a 2015 Shortland Street episode as Olivia Banes. In 2018, she became a Breakfast co-host alongside Jack Tame. A 2019 chat with Jordan Peterson sparked notice. She exited Breakfast in August 2020 to shift into sports presenting.

Personal life

Holt and her friend Josh Tito, who is ten years younger and of Māori descent, started a pregnancy in 2020. She announced the news that January, but their son died at around seven months gestation on 8 May 2020. After this loss, Holt and Tito became a couple. She suffered a miscarriage the next year. Their second son arrived in July 2022, and they got engaged on 24 December 2022. Another son was born in May 2024. Holt has been open about her struggles with alcohol addiction, her sobriety, and her ADHD diagnosis.