National MP Mark Mitchell to marry for fourth time
Thursday, 12 March 2026
National MP Mark Mitchell is set to tie the knot for the fourth time, announcing he will marry his fiancée, Sarah Mattson, next week.
The couple got engaged in 2024 and will marry after several years together in the Coromandel.
“We will marry next week in the Coromandel’s Kūaotunu, firstly by the beach and then we will have our reception at Luke’s Kitchen,” Mitchell told the NZ Herald.
Mattson, 53, said the Coromandel is their “happy place” and they spent every summer there.
“We love the community, the beach, the infamous Luke’s Kitchen, and all the memories we get to create down there with our friends and family,” she told the NZ Herald.
Among the guests are expected to be Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as Mitchell’s cabinet colleagues Louise Upston and Paul Goldsmith, and former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett.
“We’re keeping things very laid back and true to who we are, so there won’t be a traditional bridal party,” Mattson said. “Keeping the day relaxed and low-key is really important to us.”
Mitchell has been married three times previously, including to the widow of the late rally driver Possum Bourne, Peggy Bourne, in 2011.
“We got engaged in July 2024. Though in many ways the decision had already been made, Mark still managed to surprise me,” Mattson said.
“On our fourth anniversary, he booked dinner at our favourite local spot in Orewa, and during the evening he popped the question. Even though we’d already decided we’d get married, the moment itself was very special.”
Mattson herself a former police officer, now works in the construction industry for Aschfort Homes.
Speaking about his fiancée, Mitchell says she is an incredibly hard worker and has a street-wise approach to life.
“We both believe that anything worth having in life you have to work hard and fight for,” he says,” Mitchell said.
“Sarah is beautiful and cares about people,” he added. “And when the chips are down,she is the first one to turn up and the last one to leave.”
Both have children from previous marriages, with Mattson set to walk down the aisle with her two sons.
The happy couple will honeymoon in Bali during Easter.
Mitchell, the MP for Whangaparāoa, has been in parliament for 15 years and is a senior cabinet minister, holding the police, corrections, emergency management, ethnic communities, and sport and recreation portfolios.