As she makes plans to become a mum, Bree Tomasel<\/a> doesn\u2019t have to look far for inspiration on baby names. If chart-topper Sia can call her kid Somersault, then the ZM radio star insists she should be able to name her future kids after her favourite CTI contestants<\/a>!<\/p>\n \u201cSam Wallace Tomasel has a nice ring to it,\u201d laughs Bree, 37, who\u2019s hoping to start a family with her newfianc\u00e9 Sophia Gould. <\/p>\n \u201cOr Susan Devoy Tomasel. I\u2019ll be telling her off like, \u2018Dame Suzy D, what are you doing?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n While squash champ Susan and radio star Sam are among Bree\u2019s favourites, it\u2019s co-host Jayden Daniels<\/a> she considers family. She\u2019s excited to be working with him again after he missed last season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe reminds me of my brother \u2013 and I hate my brother,\u201d she jokes. <\/p>\n \u201cNo, genuinely, my brother\u2019s one of my favourite people! I instantly felt like I\u2019ve known Jayden a long time. We have a lot of laughs, we can be silly and we both love the show.\u201d<\/p>\n Rising to fame on local drama Head High, then as police officer Curtis Hannah on Shortland Street, Jayden has gone on to star in My Life Is Murder, Madam, award-winning film Whina and most recently, Blue Murder Hotel and bilingual series Tangata Pai<\/a>, the latter seeing him represent Aotearoa at the \u201cincredible\u201d Hawai\u2019i International Film Festival.<\/p>\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t travelled to a festival before and I wasn\u2019t prepared for the reach it would have,\u201d says Jayden.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we\u2019d go into the screening and there\u2019d be a few people, but the cinema was packed! They played all eight eps over two nights and everyone came back the second night. Seeing our show on the big screen in a different country was surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n Having missed the last season of CTI to perform in a play and been replaced by Lance Savali, Jayden enjoyed watching that series through a \u201cdifferent lens\u201d and says his recent acting experience has enhanced his hosting skills.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a busy past two years, which isn\u2019t normal for an actor in New Zealand, so I\u2019m super-grateful and coming back in with more confidence in my ability to do this job.\u201d<\/p>\n In that time, Bree released her memoir Unapologetically Me while trying to start a family with Sophia. The couple, who got engaged in the Coromandel in March, are three years into their IVF journey.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had a really tough year with it,\u201d confesses Bree. <\/p>\n \u201cWe both went through egg collection, which is really difficult. You inject yourself every night for weeks, not knowing if it\u2019s going to work. \u201cIt\u2019s expensive and stressful, and I feel like my whole life had been building up to my egg collection, when I found out whether it was going to be possible to be a mum since I\u2019ve struggled with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries my whole life. \u201cIt was super-emotional and nerve-wracking. The result wasn\u2019t the absolute best, but it was a result. Now we just stay positive and can hopefully keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Bree says if she could be \u201canywhere near\u201d how amazing her own mum Dianne is, she\u2019d be thrilled and adds that she hopes to be \u201cthe cool mum\u201d in the family.<\/p>\n Jayden certainly thinks she will be, explaining his son Kaewa, eight, and daughter Blanka, six \u2013 whom he shares with new wife Gigi Barclay, 39 \u2013 adored Bree the last time they filmed CTI together. <\/p>\n He laughs, \u201cMy daughter wanted Aunty Bree to hold her the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n Bree adds, \u201cShe\u2019s so sweet. I\u2019m just a big kid myself. I\u2019ve always had a connection with kids. Some of them are little shits, but Jayden\u2019s kids are lovely!\u201d<\/p>\n Although they\u2019re unfazed by seeing their dad on screen. <\/p>\n The actor shares, \u201cWhen I was growing up, if I saw someone from Shortland Street, it blew my mind, but my kids see heaps of their uncles and people they know on TV, so it\u2019s not a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n However, while his children may not be fussed, Jayden does get approached by enthusiastic fans in his time away from work \u2013 something that saw him struggling with his mental health during his early days on Shorty.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t prepared for the interaction,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \u201cI had anxiety about going into public spaces because I was like, \u2018Do I have to be on?\u2019 \u201cIt just takes time to get used to it and it depends on the people. Some people are lovely and I love meeting them, and some people are f**king rude! Not CTI fans \u2013 they\u2019re great humans!\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrity Treasure Island screens Monday-Wednesday at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and\u00a0TVNZ+<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/api.photon.aremedia.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/04\/29-4-26-bree-jayden-3-69f12e4057dfc.jpg?fit=1024%2C854&resize=1920%2C1600\")
<\/p>\nFrom NZ screens to the world stage<\/h2>\n
Bringing it all back to C<\/strong>TI<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nBuilding a life together<\/h2>\n
Dreaming of motherhood<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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She said yes! The radio star and Sophia are newly engaged.<\/p>\nGrowing up around fame<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The mental toll of early fame<\/h2>\n
Related<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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