“You don’t have time to be someone else. You might as well be who you are.”
Seymour says the pressure to conform is often driven by fear of judgment, particularly in public life.
“If you never want to be accused of thinking you’re too smart or being a smart arse, then there’s an easy way to avoid those accusations,” he says. “All you do is you stick to a ... set of safe topics and safe opinions and never express anything outside the norm.”
Seymour believes that approach makes for a “very dull existence”.
The decision to compete on Dancing With the Stars [DWTS] in 2018 was an opportunity for Seymour to put his quirky side on full display.
“It could have ended my political career,” he says, “but it felt like it was over at that point anyway.”
At the time, Act had just suffered its worst-ever election result.
Despite harsh critiques from the DWTS judging panel, Seymour struck a chord with the voting audience.
“What I really discovered from that is that if you be yourself and back yourself, you might be surprised how big the constituency for quirkiness is,” he says.
He received more public votes for his work on the dancefloor than he did as a candidate for Epsom in the previous year’s election.
Seymour says his mother, who lived with disability after contracting polio as a child and died of cancer when he was 23, was a source of great inspiration.
“She was told that she’d never have children, that she’d never drive, that she’d never have a job or go to university,” he says.
“Long story short, two successful children plus one politician. She did all right.”
Watching her navigate long hospital stays, major surgeries and physical limitations shaped his outlook on resilience.
“It’s not what happens to you in life, it’s how you deal with it,” Seymour says. “You can actually choose.”
Another strong influence in Seymour’s life is his fiancee Alexandra Vincent Martelli, who he met when the pair were set up by friends.
“She shares my basic value that you’ve got your time on Earth and you should make the most of it,” he says.
“And if you’re not harming someone else, you do whatever the hell you like.”
Listen to the full episode for more from David Seymour on:
- The moment he realised he compromised his own anonymity
- The advice from his father that still guides him
- Why he thinks his fiancee is the perfect woman
Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. This is the last episode for 2025 but the show will be back next year.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
