If Chloe from Wainuiomata has any regrets about her life, her brief taste of the limelight is not one of them. While the bubbly mum-of-five charmed New Zealand on Gary McCormick’s popular Heartland TV show, she hid a secret shame behind the quirky humour and tiger slippers – and it still haunts her today.
“I wish I’d been a better mother to my children,” says Chloe, who admits she is plunged into depression on Mother’s Day each year. “I put men before my kids. I wish I’d gotten rid of one or two of those guys, and devoted myself to my family.
“I know I’m not the worst parent in the world, but when you’re a mum you should put your children before your own needs. I never hurt or abused them, but I do wish I hadn’t gone out night-clubbing so much when the children were little.”
Having recently celebrated her 50th birthday, Chloe’s life is now very different to the one she was living when she burst on to our TV screens back in 1994. Now married to Dragan Perovic (48), Chloe has given up her partying ways for a quiet life by the seaside in Napier, with a menagerie of pets and only her youngest son Josh (13) still at home.
She met Dragan at a low point in her life and believes they “rescued each other”. It was New Year’s Eve eight years ago, and would-be jazz singer Chloe was singing Stormy Weather in a karaoke bar.
“I was heartbroken at the time,” she recalls. “A boyfriend had left me for someone else and I was completely lost in my singing. I noticed there was a man wearing bright red and it was Dragan. “There were no other women at the club so I didn’t have much competition. He said he was lonely – I hope he didn’t pick me because there was nobody else!” Dragan plucked up his courage to make a move on Chloe with the line, “How about you and I?”
“I didn’t go home with him that night – I’m not that kind of girl,” she giggles. When they married on Waiheke Island two years later, Chloe’s dog Molly May Matilda gave her away – and they were both dressed in fairy wings. “They were only from the $2 shop because I was on a limited budget at the time,” she explains. The bride and groom exchanged traditional vows and guests were asked to bring a plate instead of presents. The menu included old Kiwi favourites such as asparagus rolls and cheese and pineapple sticks. “It was a country bumpkin wedding,” she laughs.
Their honeymoon was also a low-cost affair. They went to Mt Eden in Auckland, where Chloe recalls the highlight as eating lots of KFC and Wendy’s. “We didn’t just spend all our time in the bedroom. We enjoyed the takeaways because we don’t normally buy them,” she says. Dragan, who works as a security guard, accepts her notoriety, although he didn’t find out she was a Kiwi icon until they’d been together for several months.
“What I love about my husband is he’s a one-woman man. He only has eyes for me. He’s a very tolerant man – anyone would be to live with me,” she says.
A major test came when Chloe, who got pregnant early in their relationship, fell down some stairs and lost the baby. The tragedy aggravated the depression that has plagued her all her life. “I’m still grieving now because I’m too old to have any more children and I feel sad and empty inside because of that.
“I would love to adopt a little black baby. I wish someone would leave a baby on my doorstep. If anyone wants to give me a baby, I’d be so happy,” she says.
Wanting to mend bonds with her children, who were born to four different dads, Chloe moved to Napier two years ago with Dragan, Josh, their dog, four cats and three birds.
But she then faced another crisis that put her back in the media spotlight for life all the wrong reasons. Caught stealing a flea collar and drops for her dog from a Napier supermarket, Chloe was given diversion plus community service.
She says she still feels deeply ashamed of what happened. “It was the first time I ever shoplifted. I had run out of money and I thought, ‘other people get away with it, why can’t I?’
“I’m not experienced at stealing so it’s no wonder I got caught. I went around the side of this stand and popped them in my purse. Even though I’m allowed to go back now, I could never return to that supermarket. I would warn anyone against shoplifting – it’s just not worth the humiliation.”
Learning from her past mistakes, Chloe’s now making the most of being “Nannybell” to her three grandchildren.
She’s also entertaining a new audience – this time, it’s the listeners of her Sunday morning show on Radio Kidnappers. She plays a selection of old favourites and chats in her famously girlish voice. She has kept her naive childlike charm, although she does weigh more than when she first appeared on our screens. In those days, she was a waif-like 50kg. She’s now 76kg – and looks much healthier for it.
Chloe still has one of her tiger slippers. She gave the other one to the dog because she felt insulted when New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa, declined to accept them as a display piece in 2002.
Even though her star has faded, Chloe still hopes that she’ll get a second chance in the spotlight one day.
“I don’t get invited to balls. I don’t get invited to TV industry Christmas parties any more. I’ve always dreamed of being on Stars in their Eyes and I wish I could have been on Dancing with the Stars,” she reveals.
“But, you know what, instead of getting recognised for my silly slippers, this time around I’d love to be known for my singing. I bet if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, the radio stations would play my songs!”
