Presenter, podcaster and media chaplain Petra Bagust has been married to both a man and a couch for a quarter of a century. Only one of them has needed two facelifts.

Words Claire Finlayson

 

 

Slumped old couches, take heart. Petra Bagust sees you. When asked to nominate her best seat, she opted for sentimental heft over swank, faithful furniture service over newbie dazzle. Her pick: ‘the three-seater OG couch of our married life’.

The marriage (to cameraman Hamish Wilson) and the couch have now clocked 25 years. When the latter began its bottom-hosting duties, it was the star of the lounge, sporting a floral blue, green and gold skin. Later demoted to the deck after a slick new interloper took its place, it received a cheery Martha Stewart fabric makeover. The mercurial Auckland cocktail of humid wet weather made a mouldy mockery of that Martha suit, so it now wears what Petra calls a ‘nuclear-proof caravan awning fabric coat’ and spends its days sparring with cobwebs, pet fur and dust.

This change in fabric fortune and station has not diminished its lofty standing in Petra’s eyes though, for this couch has borne witness to the evolution of the Bagust-Wilson clan: three kids, several moggies, two guinea pigs, and current pet overlords Linus (cat) and Otto (schnoodle). ‘The wooden feet are a bit water damaged but it’s held our family for 25 years.’

Petra calls it her happy place. ‘I’m basically addicted to being outside – there’s something about sitting out there that’s so good for my soul. It’s also a refuge – if I’m sick I’ll sleep on that couch and let the sun heal me. We sometimes bring Dad out here too for a bit of vitamin D.’

It’s the perfect chat possie. This couch has eavesdropped on countless meaty conversations. ‘I work as a media chaplain, so I’ve had people come and share tearful cups of tea in this spot.’ Petra loves climbing inside a good chat (her Grey Areas and Sunday Sanctuary podcasts are testament to this). ‘It’s an opportunity to understand somebody else, to bear witness to the highs and lows of their life. There’s also the sense of discovery. I like the fact that we can wend our way into a conversation and somehow bring light or clarity to something that was crunchy or dark.’

Those who watched Petra light up the screen during her television heyday will know of her native zing. ‘My extroversion was so extreme in my twenties that I wouldn’t go back to my flat if I knew I’d be the only one home. Being in company was how I lived my entire life – it’s very energising. I just love people, even the annoying ones (mostly).’

Now in her fifties, Petra is getting the hang of solitude’s riches. ‘I just love my inner introvert now. She gets to be quiet and curl up on the couch and read a book. My personality type thinks sleep is a waste of time, even though I know that’s not true. But I’ve changed my attitude now – I’ll nap on this couch and think, well, at least I’m outside.’

And if she must yield to an afternoon snooze, it has to happen in the company of the family hound – a pet she was determined not to own. ‘I thought, there’s no way I’m keeping something else alive. I’m not going to be one of those dog mothers with a replacement pseudo-child when my kids get older.’ That changed when she clapped eyes on a brindle schnoodle pup. ‘He’s the best thing ever. If I’m on the couch Otto will find me and curl up with me. He’s my royal footwarmer.’