A Kiwi music icon is firmly rooted back on our shores, with new music on the way.

Gin Wigmore returned to New Zealand’s shores in late 2024 after years spent living in Los Angeles, California.

Last time she spoke with Mike Hosking she was in Palm Springs, moving to LA when she was pregnant with her second child and running a hotel out of Santa Monica.

But after a while, she realised she wasn’t content with her life and her marriage, separating from her husband, moving back to New Zealand, and opening a deli in Auckland’s Kingsland.

“I felt like I needed, I missed New Zealand, I missed my roots,” Wigmore said.

“I missed having my kids grow up in this environment ... there’s something about the freedom of that sort of childhood that was getting less, it was getting harder to do in Los Angeles.”

Although she’s currently in the midst of her divorce, Wigmore says she still has a good relationship with her ex.

“We were just kids when we met and we couldn’t, couldn’t evolve together,” she told Hosking.

“And we’re two lead singers – I mean it was sort of destined to f***ing fail in some fiery emotional explosion, and so, y’know, we kind of, we called it.”

It’s been eight years since Wigmore released an album, but even amid all her other ventures, music is still deeply important to her.

“Music’s amazing in that it always catches me in my worst moments,” she explained.

“Sometimes I’ve likened it to a really toxic boyfriend —kind of like this player that I’m seeing— and then sometimes it’s just this really steady go-to that always catches me in my worst, hardest moments.”

And that second sentiment is what her upcoming album, ‘Beautiful Mess’, channels – filled with all the highlights and lowlights of Wigmore’s life.

“Together it’s like a whole complete world of what my life... a snapshot of my world for the last five years or so.”

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Gin Wigmore: Kiwi singer-songwriter on her upcoming album, return to New Zealand

The Mike Hosking Breakfast