The episode ended bitterly, when a newspaper ran a story on their meeting despite Rawstron denying contact with the newspaper, she has since reaffirmed her decision to have nothing to do with her birth family. Initially, she was unwilling to meet him, but agreed to do so in 1997. Te Kanawa never made an attempt to contact her biological parents, but her half-brother Jim Rawstron contacted her.

They adopted two children, Antonia (born 1976) and Thomas (born 1979). Te Kanawa met Desmond Park on a blind date in London in August 1967, and they married six weeks later at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland. Her recording of the 'Nuns' Chorus' from the Strauss operetta Casanova was the first gold record produced in New Zealand. Te Kanawa began her singing career as a mezzo-soprano but developed into a soprano. She was educated at St Mary's College, Auckland, and formally trained in operatic singing by Sister Mary Leo Niccol. Te Kanawa was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, the owner of a successful trucking business, and his wife Nell. Mary Noeleen Rawstron's mother insisted the baby be given up for adoption. Poihipi Kohere was the brother of both the community leader Rēweti Kōhere and the soldier and farmer Henare Mokena Kohere. Wawatai was already married to Apo, the daughter of the Rev. Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in Gisborne, New Zealand, to Māori butcher Tieki 'Jack' Wawatai and to Mary Noeleen Rawstron, who was the daughter of Irish emigrants.

Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017. Though she rarely sang opera later in her career, Te Kanawa frequently performed in concert and recital, gave masterclasses, and supported young opera singers in launching their careers. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and found considerable success in portraying princesses, nobility, and other similar characters on stage. Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries, singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Te Kanawa had three top 40 albums in Australia in the mid-1980s. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as 'mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced'. Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa ONZ, CH, DBE, AC ( / ˈ k ɪr i t ə ˈ k ɑː n ə w ə/ born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer.

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