Pictures: Amalia Osborne
A cheeky 14-year-old, an embarrassing dad and an ice-cold pool right next to him – what’s a gal to do?
It’s an easy answer for Sienna Boyce who, with minimal encouragement, takes the opportunity to push her father, The Hits radio presenter and Kiwi TV legend Ben, straight into the water at our Woman’s Day photoshoot.
“It was great!” she later giggles as Ben emerges, finally dry, for our chat.
Laughing, Ben adds, “She had absolutely no qualms doing that – and fair enough!”
Those familiar with Ben and Sienna’s recent social media videos won’t be surprised that the teen has gleefully taken her chance to get revenge on her dad. The father-daughter duo has been going viral with Ben’s embarrassing antics as he tries his best to mortify Sienna and her younger sister Indie on TikTok and Instagram.
Whether it’s his attempts to – badly – use Gen Z slang in public places, commissioning a billboard with the girls’ faces on it or turning up at school pick-up in an array of quirky costumes, Ben takes any and all opportunities to truly embody the ultimate cringe-inducing parent.
“I’m just constantly embarrassed by Dad,” groans Sienna, who is absolutely charming and wise beyond her years. “I can’t even think about what the most embarrassing thing has been… It’s all of it! But I just stop and take in all the embarrassment and use it as fuel later on. It gets my brain going!”
It’s been Ben’s efforts to learn and use modern slang that have absolutely popped off online lately – leading to clips of him trying to order takeaways at the drive-through window using terms like “rizz” and “skibidi”. One video went so viral, Paris Hilton commented on it!
So, yes, it’s humiliating for Sienna, but also “crazy and great”, she admits. “The video Paris commented on got up to five million views in one day. My mum was like, ‘Wow! This is going to be a news article!’”
Sienna’s mum Amanda was right – as well as local media attention, Ben has been approached by international publications all desperate to talk to the “embarrassing dad and his daughter from New Zealand”.
But it’s not just on social media where the pair have been collaborating. Ben and Sienna have now entered the world of podcasting with When I Grow Up. On it, they chat to some of Aotearoa’s most inspiring women to help Sienna figure out what she wants to be when she’s older.
“I was at a school career night when it hit me. I have no idea what I will do,” says Sienna. “That’s where the idea came from and it’s been so great. We’ve had on people like Eliza McCartney, Kaylee Bell and Jazz Thornton. I’m trying my best to get my idol Rita Ora on too!”
Ben adds, “She’s 14 years old with a podcast – it’s pretty surreal. I’m so proud. It’s been utterly amazing watching her just absolutely crush it interviewing these famous Kiwis. At that age, there’s no way I could have sat next to someone like Dame Lisa Carrington or Lucy Lawless and done as well as she has! If she’s nervous, she’s not showing it.”
“Trust me, I’m nervous!” laughs Sienna at her dad. Ben and Amanda’s pride in both their daughters is evident as Woman’s Day visits their stunning central Auckland home. The girls’ faces beam from the walls, which show off all of their advertising campaigns and all the media appearances through the years.
In a reminder of Ben’s former TV gig, the “Ben” half of the iconic Jono And Ben sign hangs pride of place in the lounge. As much as the conclusion of his “crazy telly days” hurt, Ben – who now hosts The Hits Breakfast With Jono and Ben, alongside old mate Jono Pryor, plus Megan Papas – is grateful for the new chapter, which is a better match for his life as a blissfully happy dad.
“TV was a huge part of my life for so long. I do miss it now that it’s stopped – it’s not through lack of trying! But you can’t be that same guy doing the same stuff again and again. This podcast has been really cool. Without using the word ‘pivot’, it’s nice to be doing something with a bit more heart behind it… It’s far easier to get people to come on this podcast than it was the show!”
But amid the fun of the podcast and trending TikTok videos, Ben admits there’s still some apprehension at encouraging his daughters to enter the world of media as he knows the pressures and potential for hurt, especially when it comes to trolls.
“There was some hesitation,” he explains. “It’s hard because Sienna’s always been really interested in it all. She was on Jono And Ben from the age of three. We had to have some chats about what putting yourself out there actually means.
“There are so many highs and lows with entertainment, and there are the comments. I tried to prepare for it all as much as possible, but it’s hard when you know that these things are going to happen. It goes against your natural parenting instinct.”
Sienna herself has a remarkably mature attitude towards it all – choosing to see the negative comments as positives. She shrugs, “I feel like the bad ones are actually good. That means the videos have gotten to the side of the internet where people are seeing it. People are like, ‘What is this rubbish?’ and I’m just like, ‘Hey, you’ve seen it!’”
It’s an attitude that’s left her dad in awe. “I’m not as chill with this stuff now and I’ve been doing this for decades,” Ben marvels. “I still cry in the car sometimes! You want to protect your kids as much as possible. However, I’ve realised I could be holding her back from something that she really loves and really wants to do, so we talk it out and navigate our way through doing it.”
Ben’s protectiveness comes from experience – he cringes in horror at some of his and Jono’s past antics. It’s led him to angst over some of the content he and Sienna make as he’d hate to lead his daughter down a controversial path.
“Oh, there’s so much stuff that I look back on and think, ‘Well, we wouldn’t do that these days!’” he admits. “The world we’re in now is very different and all you can do is learn from things. I’m so much more aware now and I probably do overthink things these days.”
Ben’s time is now split between his radio studio at The Hits and his garage at home. The garage still houses a lot of the old props and costumes from Jono And Ben. He also increasingly works from his car while he plays taxi for Sienna and Indie’s packed schedules.
Indie, he says, can be more reserved than Sienna, but she does enjoy it when she joins in making videos. “She’ll do it when she feels like it and that’s cool,” says her sister.
Ben adds, “I’ve never wanted to pressure either of the girls into this world, but Sienna’s shown a natural love for it. Really, I’m just here as her sidekick. The rate she’s going, I’ll be able to put my feet up and return some emails while she absolutely kills the podcasting!”
When I Grow Up is available wherever you get your podcasts. The Hits Breakfast With Jono And Ben airs 6-9am weekdays on The Hits.
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