This article was first published by RNZ
Love Island star Mia Paranihi says missing out on te hīkoi mō Te Tiriti while filming the popular dating show was a deeply upsetting experience.
Paranihi (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tuwharetoa), better known as Mimi, featured on season six of Love Island Australia, which aired from 28 October to 16 December, 2024, making history as the first wāhine Māori on the show.
Paranihi told RNZ watching the hīkoi from the confines of the villa and being barred from social media while the show aired was an emotional experience.
“Any platform is a platform, regardless of if you have a hundred followers or however many,” she said. “I’ve always said, if I have a platform, the main thing I’m going to use is my voice for good,
“Not having access to my social media platform... I was really upset. I actually cried about it.”
With an Instagram following of more than 150,000 and counting, the creative model and former professional dancer also co-owns Effn Clothing, a brand beloved by many in Aotearoa, and uses her platform to reclaim and celebrate her Māori identity.
However, the role on the show went far beyond finding love.
‘Reclaiming Māori identity’
Paranihi said she was on a journey of reclaiming her identity as a proud wāhine Māori.
“I didn’t grow up speaking te reo and for a long time, I felt like I wasn’t ‘Māori enough’,
“I haven’t always felt connected to my Māoritanga. Growing up, I struggled with it a lot... I had an identity crisis when I was younger.
“I felt that society made me feel success and Māori couldn’t exist together.”
“I even hid that part of me - which is honestly so sad to think about - thinking that if I wasn’t Māori, then I’d be successful. It made me question my own potential.”
The Love Island star said her childhood dreams of being on TV were shadowed by self-doubt.
“I grew up as a dancer and performer, and I think there was always that doubt in my mind, that because I’m Māori and if people know I’m Māori, maybe I won’t get as far as I think I can.”
She distanced herself from her culture for a long time, thinking that would make opportunities easier to come by, but that all changed when she moved overseas at 18.
“It wasn’t until later in life, when I moved away from Aotearoa, that I realised being Māori was actually my superpower and differentiates me in certain spaces.”
The realisation hit hard, especially after years of feeling whakamā (shame) about her whakapapa.
“The fact that I spent most of my life embarrassed of where I came from, when really anybody that I met wanted to learn about my own culture and I wasn’t even knowledgeable, was such a reality check for me.”
Now, Paranihi embraces her identity wholeheartedly.
“Being Māori is my superpower and it’s what makes me stand out in rooms.”
Te Reo Māori, Mana waves in the Love Island villa
Paranihi’s appearance on Love Island Australia was not just about joining a popular reality show - it was a statement of representation.
“Everyone can say you go on Love Island for love, but I straight up said, ‘Yes, that’s a part of it’, but I genuinely went on to prove that Māori people can be seen in those types of spaces... whether it’s reality TV, fashion, business or anything else we set our minds to.
"Love Island has a massive global platform and for me to be able to represent my culture, while carrying the stories and the mana of my people and my ancestors, it made me even more proud of who I am today."
One of Paranihi’s most significant moments on the show was representing her culture and speaking te reo Māori.
“I genuinely tried to speak te reo when I knew that it would be put on TV. They could have edited any parts of the video, but they decided to include me speaking te reo and doing the mana wave, and stuff like that - it was massive.”
She saw this as a breakthrough for the industry as well.
“Love Island - the actual franchise - wanted to include that part of our culture, which I think is a massive step in itself.”
Paranihi said being on Love Island was not without its challenges. She was cut off from social media from June to December, while the show was airing.
“The only way I knew what people thought of me was genuinely what I’d see through other people’s TikToks and stuff. Some were good, some were bad, some were just all over the place, but you get that with reality TV
“That’s what I knew I was walking into.”
When her phone was returned, the flood of messages - mostly from younger wāhine Māori and even from Aboriginal girls in Australia - affirmed her decision to be visible on such a platform.
“Getting my phone back and seeing that the majority of my messages were from younger Māori wāhine was a very powerful moment for me, because I was just like, ‘Oh wow’. I really was able to put Māori people on a platform that we don’t necessarily have the opportunity to.'
Although Paranihi was barred from controlling her social media, she found other ways to tautoko (support) the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti movement back home, walking the red carpet in Australia wearing the Māori flag colours and a korowai.
“That small act sparked conversations through media outlets and showed the world that, even on reality TV, I could represent my culture proudly.”
New Love Island host?
Looking ahead, Paranihi hoped to inspire other rangatahi to chase their dreams and take up more space in mainstream media.
“Knowing that I’m now embracing where I came from - my culture - I’m hoping I can inspire others... because I don’t want any young wahine to ever feel the way I did growing up,
“It was a whole part of my life that I feel I could have accepted sooner and I would have understood who I am a lot sooner.”
She said the world needed more Māori creators, even as tall poppy syndrome continued to hold back many New Zealanders from putting themselves out there.
“If people try to do that, you get laughed at, you get pointed at, you’re seen as a tryhard, you’re seen as a wannabe and, you know what, I do want to be, I want to be someone bigger than what I’m doing right now.”
Paranihi has now set her sights on becoming the next host of Love Island Australia and is also urging others to follow in her footsteps.
“I’m 1000 percent going to encourage Māori to apply for Love Island. [Channel Nine] have already asked me - we need another Mimi for this year. I was like, ‘Well, first of all, I’m irreplaceable, but second of all, I will try to get my people to audition.’"
By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ
