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Julia: I first saw Nori on Gertrude St, Fitzroy in 2012 – he was working at a restaurant with my friend Jess. I asked her to bring him to my birthday drinks at a local bar because I instantly liked the look of him. Our first dates included me making him pasta for dinner at a share house to picnics in the gardens and gelato on Spring St, Melbourne.
Nori is from Japan, and his visa was to about to expire when we started dating. We made our relationship official before he left to travel to South-East Asia. When he returned four months later, he moved into a share house with me before we got our own place. We were in bed reading and chatting when the question was asked. We got married in 2014 at the West Brunswick Tennis Club and have two children aged 8 and 4.
Nori: I was open to finding a relationship when I met Julia. I had been in Australia for a year and really liked it, but when one of her friends gave me Julia’s mobile number, it was incorrect. I never got a reply when I invited her for a coffee. Luckily, we saw each other again.
The relationship felt more certain when we travelled to Tasmania in the year we met – we hired a camper van and had a lot of fun on the road. We travelled well together. She made me a delicious cherry tomato bruschetta for breakfast one morning that I still remember.
Mary Lou Ryan, Bassike founder, and Scott Gault, artist
Scott Gault: “I told my friend who proceeded to get a T-shirt from his room and said, ‘this is a Bassike T-shirt’.”
Mary Lou: I saw Scott walk past my campsite at the Boogie festival in Victoria 10 years ago – he had on a Tupac Shakur bandana and a leopard print jumper. I was like, I wonder who that guy is? A few days later he fell off a mate’s shoulders and landed near my feet where I was dancing. From that moment, it was on. The next day he drove back to Sydney, and we exchanged numbers, but I lost his!
A month later, I was heading to Australian Fashion Week and spotted his car and was tempted to write a note and leave it there. We made contact via Facebook, and literally within a couple of months, we were living together and pregnant with our first baby Barney, now 10. We creatively inspire each other and genuinely have a good time together. We have three children – Barney, 10, Bobby, 7 and Agnes, 5.
Scott: I ended up at Boogie festival by default after accepting a spare ticket when another friend couldn’t go. When I saw Lou I felt an instant spark. We sat by the bonfire and talked about life and Lou asked me what I did. When reluctantly she told me she was a fashion designer, I was like, sure and I’m an astronaut! When I got home, I told my friend who proceeded to get a T-shirt from his room and said, “this is a Bassike T-shirt”. I Googled her and there she was.
Our first date was at a wine bar in Bondi. Little did she or I know that her friends had booked a table alongside to be there as her back-up. Luckily we got along, and we pretty much made it official after that.
Holly Ringland, author, and Sam Harris, creative director
Holly Ringland: “I noticed him sitting in the lobby and blurted out, ‘You’re Sam. I loved your talk’. He smiled and immediately invited me to have a coffee, commenting on my accent.”
Holly: In September 2009, I moved to England to follow my dream of being a writer and to undertake a master’s in creative writing at the University of Manchester. I saw Sam on stage giving a talk at my university on my fourth day there.
He felt like a breath of fresh air and looked like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo in his camel corduroy flares. Afterwards, I noticed him sitting in the lobby and blurted out, “You’re Sam. I loved your talk”. He smiled and immediately invited me to have a coffee, commenting on my accent.
When I arrived at our first lunch date, he was busy with other people, so I got my lunch and sat in the back garden and didn’t tell him I had arrived. He came flying back and apologised for not seeing me. We sat talking until the sun set. I had a poetry evening to go to and Sam came with me. Our first kiss happened at a Halloween party while waiting for a bus.
I moved in with Sam and we lived in Manchester for 10 years. Around the five-year mark, he could see I was trying to juggle multiple jobs and write The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. That’s when he asked if I wanted to quit my job – and that he’d support both of us, so I could write full-time. That was one of the most incredible things anybody – other than my mum – has done for me. We’ve been hanging out almost every day for 14 years.
Sam: I had been single for a long time before I met Holly, to the point friends had signed me up to dating apps, which proved a total disaster. I had just given a talk at a university when I heard Holly’s Australian accent and looked up and saw her. I told her that her accent made me miss my family in Melbourne – my brother had relocated there with his wife and kids.
There was an instant connection but also nerves. I am rarely that direct but asked her to go for lunch that week. She spoke about her time in the Australian desert, in communities and as a park ranger. I found her really interesting. We share a similar sense of humour. I ended up stepping out of my work role in 2019, and we came to Australia during COVID, and have remained here ever since.
Rob Mills, actor, and Georgie Tunny, reporter
Georgie Tunny: “It took us four weeks of dating in real life to truly connect. I realised he is the loveliest person I had ever met.”Credit: Simon Schluter
Rob says: I was an avid watcher of ABC TV, when I noticed Georgie as the new sports reporter. I had been on several horrendous Tinder dates as a single guy and thought I had nothing to lose by reaching out on Instagram.
I offered to show her Melbourne, signing off with “PS: I’m not a weirdo, we have mutual friends”. She didn’t respond straightaway and I assumed she was seeing someone.
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We tried to meet up for three months but it never happened. I invited her to see me in a Harry Potter spoof play called Puffs. It turned out she was a big Harry Potter fan and came to the opening night. We got to know each over walks through the Botanic Gardens and I highly recommend sober daytime dating.
Georgie: I wasn’t seeing anyone when Rob messaged me, I was just very career-focused and was like, I am so tired, I don’t have time for this. But he won me over with a play invite. I didn’t know whether to take his DM seriously or not. He persisted over five months and my best friend was the one who said to go for it.
It took us four weeks of dating in real life to truly connect. I realised he is the loveliest person I had ever met. Rob was booked to come on News Breakfast and only Nate [the weatherman] knew I was seeing Rob. I remember after his appearance, the host at the time, Virginia Trioli, sat on top of my desk and said, “I don’t know if you’re dating Rob Mills but you should”. To this day, she is adamant she helped us find each other.
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