In 1995, he matriculated at Otago University, Dunedin, to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree, before transferring to the New Zealand Broadcasting School in Christchurch.

[3] After he graduated from broadcasting school, Gayford successfully pitched student-life show Cow TV (1999) to Dunedin's Channel 9.

[8][9] In mid-April 2020 during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic, Gayford appeared on a short Wellington Paranormal video encouraging people who were looking after young children.

[10] On 12 March 2021, Gayford attracted media attention when he posted a tweet stating that the New Zealand Cabinet had made an "in principle decision" pending final test results in relation to the lifting of a COVID-19 Alert Level 2 lockdown in Auckland.

In response, his partner Prime Minister Ardern stated that Gayford had not been briefed on Cabinet's "preliminary decision" to move Auckland to Alert Level 1 that day.

[11][12] Gayford said in a "scathing review"[13] of an article written by former prime minister Sir John Key in September 2021:[14] "It was such a shame that the name slinging [and] use of disinformation divided his contribution into partisan politics.

"[15] In mid-January 2022 amid COVID Deltacron variant surging in New Zealand, Gayford drew controversy after speaking to a pharmacist in December 2021 about obtaining rapid antigen testing for several musician friends.

Gayford was criticised by National Party's COVID-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop for allegedly using his position as the Prime Minister's partner to obtain special favours for his friends.