The 35-year-old, whose voice has recently hit the airwaves in Hobart as one half of the Dan and Christie Hit100.9FM breakfast radio show, has a special connection with the state that she is keen to explore.

“I was actually conceived in Tasmania, at White Beach,’’ Hayes laughs.

“I can’t believe my Mum told me that, but she did.’’

Hayes was born in NSW and grew up in Nowra, about three hours south of Sydney.

Her dad was an Aboriginal Tasmanian who struggled with mental health issues and sadly died by suicide when Hayes was just eight years old.

Although she didn’t know her dad, she still feels connected to his home state and her extended family members who live here, including her half-sister who is 10 years older.

Hayes visited Tasmania on many occasions growing up, to visit family, and says she feels an innate connection with the state.

So when the opportunity came up to work in her “dream job” as a radio host in Hobart it seemed like “serendipity” so she jumped at the chance to move here with her young family, to work and get to know the state better.

“Growing up I came down here a lot,’’ she explains.

“So what I loved about the new job is that it gives me a chance to reconnect with Tasmania.’’

Hayes moved here three months ago, initially leaving her two kids Harley, 6, and Hendrix, 7, and her husband, Justin Coombes-Pearce, interstate while she gets settled in Hobart.

She has spent time living with friends and in short-term accommodation at Blackmans Bay, West Moonah and Salamanca while she searches for a family home.

Hayes says there’s a lot to consider when you’re moving an entire family to a new place.

“You need to know ‘where are the schools? Where’s the best place for a family to live?’,’’ she says.

“All the intricate ins and outs. But it doesn’t take long to put roots down.’’

She says being separated from her family for an extended period has been difficult but she’s excited about having her family here with her soon.

“It is hard, I won’t lie,’’ Hayes says of being apart.

“But it’s short-term pain for long-term gain.

“You have to go where the dream job is. And the reward is that I get to raise my kids in a beautiful city, in Hobart.

“We Skype all the time and they listen to the show every morning on Alexa at home. “But I can’t wait to do it all properly (and have them living in Hobart).’’

Hayes says the move is definitely about long-term commitment.

“I’ve done busy cities on the mainland,’’ she says.

“I even spent a year living in Queensland through Covid.

“But this (being in Tasmania) is what I always gravitate to. Coming to Hobart there’s that balance of lifestyle and professional life.

“I wouldn’t drag my family around if it wasn’t long-term and for the greater good.’’

She says the excited look on the faces of her children when they first came to Tasmania to have a look around before moving here was proof that relocating to Hobart was the right decision for her family.

“They came down and they absolutely loved it,’’ she says, while recalling their family trip to see snow on kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

“And my husband is obsessed with the food – he basically didn’t stop eating the whole time he was here.

“They are excited about moving here.’’

Hayes, who made her radio debut as a breakfast host on i98FM in Wollongong five years ago, says Tasmania has a lot to offer in a professional capacity.

She is now working alongside Tassie radio presenter Dan Taylor, who started his radio career with Hit100.9FM in the early 2000s before working on Launceston’s Chilli FM’s breakfast show and then returning to Hit100.9FM.

The pair stepped in to fill the big shoes of hugely popular radio duo Jimmy and Nath who left the local breakfast timeslot to take up a new gig on the national stage, moving to the network’s Late Nights 9-11pm timeslot, in ­addition to their Weekend Breakfast Show.

“I wanted a big radio market that felt like a small town,’’ Hayes says of her new Tassie audience. “You can have a profound impact in a big capacity but still live the small town country life.

“I love it, I absolutely love it.’’

She’s also hoping she might get the chance to be involved in a few acting projects in her adopted home state as well.

Hayes is best known for the 10 years she spent on Home and Away, playing the role of Kirsty Sutherland, after joining the cast when she was just 13 years old.

She more recently appeared on Neighbours and also stars in a new Australian film, called Finally Me, which is set for international release later this year.

She describes the 90s cheerleading film as “a cross between Bring It On and My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and says filming was a lot of fun.

She is also preparing for the release of Muted, a short film she acted in, which is directed by Aussie actor Stef Dawson, who starred in the The Hunger Games.

The film – which is expected to tour international film festivals including Sundance – is about a little boy who doesn’t speak. And it’s a project close to the heart of Hayes, whose eldest son Hendrix, 7, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old and has delayed speech.

Hayes has spoken candidly about her son’s autism diagnosis, in a bid to “celebrate” Hendrix, who she has described as a “ray of sunshine” and also to make other parents feel less alone in their own parenting journeys.

The doting mum, whose Instagram feed is dotted with cute images of her two boys, admits it was difficult at first accepting that her eldest son was different to other children and she was overcome with emotion when he first started speaking. Hendrix first said “Mummy” at age six and only this year, at age seven, said “I love you, Mummy”.

“When he finally said ‘I love you, Mummy’ I fell on the floor sobbing, “Hayes recalls.

“I always knew he loved me because I could see it … but it was still one of the greatest moments of my life.

“He’s the most beautiful boy ever, he’s so lovely affectionate, and intelligent.

“I always say to people that I’ve got one child who doesn’t talk and the other one won’t shut up.’’

Hayes has loved performing for as long as she can remember – she and her older sister actually used to make radio shows for fun.

She landed a role in her first TV ad when she was eight, flying to New Zealand to film the commercial for a German yoghurt brand.

“I always wanted to be an actress,’’ Hayes admits, adding that she feels fortunate to have grown up with a “really supportive family” who encouraged her acting dreams.

“There wasn’t a moment when I was little that I didn’t want to act.’’

And she says that first gig made her even more certain that she was following the right path.

“I remember (filming that ad) and thinking that was what I wanted to do,’’ Hayes says of a career in acting.

“I felt more comfortable on a set pretending and playing than I did in real life.’’

She landed a role in children’s TV series Search for Treasure Island when she was 11 –
“I remember it was the greatest moment of my life when I got that,’’ she recalls – before landing an even bigger dream role on Home and Away at 13.

“I’d watched Home and Away so I didn’t believe it when I actually got on the show,’’ she says.

“I just couldn’t believe it had happened to me.’’

As a result her teenage years were unconventional. She moved away from her family home to live with her aunt – her dad’s sister – closer to Sydney, where the show was filmed.

She studied on set, between filming, with her teenage co-stars and says she has “happy memories’’ of that time. She admits it “wasn't a typical upbringing” but it felt normal as “at the time I didn’t have anything to compare it to”.

By the time she was 14 or 15 she was earning $2000-$3000 a week and by the time she was 16 she had moved out by herself, into an apartment. Which, looking back, Hayes says she was “forced into adulthood, which I wasn’t ready for’’.

But she doesn’t regret the experience.

“I'm so grateful for my background,’’ she says.

“I loved being on Home and Away. It changed my life and it set me up for life.’’

Hayes was married at 21, and married again at 27 and soon after she became a mum to her two sons, who were born only 11 months apart. Last year she married for the third time, to her “soulmate” Justin Coombes-Pearce, a fellow radio and TV host, producer and stand-up comedian.

Their journey together inspired the duo to create a podcast, called Talk Thirty To Me, which launched in June last year, and casts a spotlight on what they – and their guests – have learnt in life and what they continue to learn.

Hayes speaks openly and honestly about the ups and downs of her life so far, which has endeared her to listeners across the nation.

“I think working in radio you kind of have to be (open and honest),’’ she says.

“If you’re not an open book, people are going to see through you straight away.’’

She says she’s grateful that everything that has happened in her life has helped to bring her to where she is now.

“When I was in my twenties I honestly did think I knew everything,’’ Hayes says on the first episode of her podcast.

“And really, in hindsight, I knew absolutely nothing.

“Throughout my twenties I was so desperate to be a grown-up and accumulate the success that I wanted to have in life – to be a personal success, a professional success, getting married, having babies, financial success … I wanted it all.’’

“And you know, the thing I didn’t realise when I was in my twenties was how much time we actually have to collate all of that stuff.’’

She says if she knew what she did now, she wouldn't have married twice in her twenties.

“When I say that I don’t even mean to negate my marriages, it’s not like I didn't love the men I was with,’’ she explains.

“I didn't know who I was, how the hell can you give your life to someone without really knowing what you’re doing yourself?’’

“I really do feel like they were practice runs, I learnt about who I was and what made me happy and what didn't work.’’

So when she met Coombes-Pearce who was a colleague and a friend before he became a lover, she knew it was the real deal.

“I think he is such a brilliant talent,’’ she gushes of the man she married in a secret ceremony with no guests (apart from two friends as witnesses) in Byron Bay. They sent out invitations and streamed the wedding online for family and friends.

“I didn’t expect life to work out this way,’’ Hayes says of meeting Coombes-Pearce and getting married for the third time.

“But I’m so glad it has.’’

Coombes-Pearce is a radio host for Triple M on the NSW Central Coast as well as a TV host for Jukebox Saturday on Foxtel.

He and Hayes hope to continue their podcast once they are both living in the same city.

Hayes has already gotten to know Hobart “pretty well”, and has been out exploring Richmond and the Huon Valley, with Launceston and Devonport on her to-do list.

“My mum used to own land in Launceston, years ago, and wishes she kept it, as do I,’’ Hayes says.

“I can’t wait to visit’’.

She is also headed to Cradle Mountain with her family later this month which she is “super excited” about.

There are smiling images of her on Instagram, enjoying the snow at The Springs on kunanyi/Mt Wellington and also sitting in snow at the summit, which she says is one of the highlights of her time in Hobart so far.

“I can’t believe I live somewhere now that it snows,’’ she says.

“I’ve never lived somewhere that it snows, so it’s surreal to me.’’

Hayes is also enjoying getting to know the “very welcoming” local listeners as she settles into life in a state she has a soft spot for.

“I will always love acting,’’ Hayes confesses.

“But to me, breakfast radio is the thing I love most. And it has the most professional pay off, that ability to service the listener. If there’s nothing in it for the listener, then there’s nothing in it for me. I enjoy the live nature of radio and how quickly things can change. And you do feel privileged that people choose to spend their busy morning hanging out with you, it’s like hanging out with a friend.’’

“I’m really excited to be in Hobart, I feel like this is where I am meant to be … I love the serendipity that’s happening now.’’

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