John Key's failsafe pick-up line

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John and Bronagh Key

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EARLY DAYS: John Key told Bronagh Dougan on their first date that he wanted to be PM. 'Whatever,' she said.

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FLASHBACK TO 1980: John Key and Bronagh Dougan in Christchurch.

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Before the pressures of a global recession, heading a government, running the country and raising teenagers, they were simply John and Bronagh.

On their first date, John Key told his future wife he wanted to be prime minister.

"Whatever," she replied.

Today Mr and Mrs Key, who have been married for 24 years, speak candidly about life as the country's first couple: The "relentless" pressure, heavy workload, making time to be a family and why he has dubbed his wife a "solo mother".

Mr Key says the constant presence of bodyguards is "suffocating" and being prime minister places even more stress on family life.

"It is just relentless,' he says. "It just never stops. Whatever crisis or challenge that you have dealt with, as soon as that is dealt with, there is something else that comes along."

Mrs Key says their children Stephie, 16, and Max, 14, now see a lot less of their father.

The couple have talked to the teens about the extra scrutiny they face not for fear of embarrassment to him, but "because you don't want them to end up in a humiliating situation, which teenage kids can often get themselves into".

- © Fairfax NZ News