‘She’s been looking after me’ - spirit of late mum guided couple to win Live Free

• Kayla and her fiancé Jim won $30,000 in The Hits with OneRoof Live Free competition.

• The win allows them to plan their wedding and pay off some of their mortgage.

• After tough years, Kayla is relieved and grateful for the opportunity to set up their lives.

Not having to worry about the mortgage over the next 12 months has lifted a huge weight off Kayla’s shoulders.

The Waikato saleswoman and her fiancé Jim took home $30,000 after winning the Live Free competition run by The Hits radio station and OneRoof.

Kayla told OneRoof the prize money meant that after a tough few years the couple pay off some of their mortgage and finally go ahead with a wedding they had been planning for eight years.

“It’s not quite real, but I felt this sense of relief, an instant weight off our shoulders, and we have not felt that in a very long time,” she said.

The couple’s hard times started when Kayla’s mum, Paula, died suddenly at the end of 2021. Kayla’s stepdad Paul then fell ill and died 18 months later.

“Losing your two rocks in the space of 18 months, it felt like life just kept throwing all these curve balls,” Kayla told OneRoof. “We were like, ‘Where’s our break?’.”

Kayla reckons fate intervened at the Live Free finale last week. She told OneRoof she had a photo of her mum when she chose the key that unlocked the door to the prize money. A “good luck” message from her mum from 12 years ago also spookily popped up in her Facebook feed.

“She’s been looking after me, hopefully she guided me to the right key,” Kayla said.

She said rising interest rates had squeezed the couple’s finances. They had stretched themselves to get into their first home, a 1980s-era house, which they bought at the height of the market in the small Waikato town of Kihikihi, just outside Te Awamutu, where Jim works.

“We ended up buying the cheapest house on the market. It’s not exactly what we wanted, but we were like, ‘We’re on the ladder, we’ll add our own touches to it’.”

As interest rates crept up, Jim had to work overtime to help make ends meet. Kayla said the win meant the couple could spend more time together. “It’s just instant relief in all aspects of our life,” she said.

“We finally get to put ourselves first. We would love to have the loved ones we still have around to witness that.”

She added: “The priority is to pay off a little bit of the debt. Putting a lump sum on the mortgage is something we would love to do.”

Since the win, Kayla’s been thrilled at the good wishes coming her way – including from last year’s winner, Shona Robertson.

“I’m very grateful to OneRoof and The Hits. It’s opened up this massive opportunity for us to really set our lives up and we couldn’t be more thankful,” Kayla said.

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This article was first published by OneRoof and is republished here with permission.