During Melbourne’s sixth lockdown in 2021, I used to be bored out of my thoughts in my suburban sharehouse and craving connection. I’d been following an Instagram account for a drag performer referred to as Iva Rosebud on the behest of a mutual pal who felt our work was comparable.
I’d been watching them from a distance for a while when one Friday night time a message arrived suggesting a collaboration. Clearly it piqued my curiosity; it’s not like I had the rest to do – who knew how lengthy the lockdown would go on for?
I mentioned I’d be eager to speak extra and was immediately invited for 10am mimosas within the park. I knew then I used to be coping with a kindred spirit.
The next day was sunny and crisp as I arrived within the park excited to fulfill a brand new pal.
Lachie was carrying sunnies and a singlet with a shirt excessive that draped off his shoulder. He appeared like a skater, so too-cool-for-school. However I knew from Instagram he is also this extremely glamorous lady. I didn’t fairly know what to make of the juxtaposition, however I used to be intrigued.
We lay on the grass, listening to Ella Fitzgerald and consuming buttery croissants and scrumptious pastries. Properly, I assumed they had been scrumptious; he gave me some sass for getting them at a grocery store whereas he had invested in a really good bottle of glowing (I’d come to be taught his father is a wine chemist, so he had a bonus).
We mentioned jazz, golden period motion pictures and the one-woman present Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which he’d watched a minimum of 10 instances. He was actually enthusiastic about it! The dialog flowed simply, the feels had been feeling after which he requested if I wished to return to his to look at it.
He assured me we wouldn’t break any Covid guidelines, however suffice to say we didn’t make it far into the movie earlier than social distancing turned an summary idea.
We met up once more two days later, then once more the day after. The next weekend we had back-to-back engagements for 4 days. After two weeks of being in one another’s pockets I used to be actually falling for him, and I realised I wanted to get an outdoor perspective on who I used to be getting so near so shortly.
At yet one more park hold, this time with our pal Chris – the one who had inspired me to attach with Iva Rosebud within the first place – Lachie arrived with a shocking bouquet of native flowers for me. It was the primary time a suitor had given me flowers. I used to be touched, but in addition thought it would simply be a transfer from his playbook.
As quickly as he took a toilet break I pounced on Chris to offer me the thin. He assured me that Lachie, who he’d identified for years, was no playboy and was in reality a hopeless romantic.
Chris’s reassurance was all I wanted to leap headlong into issues with Lachie. We sort of did the lesbian factor after that and paired up in a short time.
Lachie’s trustworthy and beneficiant nature is what I like most about him, not least as a result of it brings these issues out in me too. I believe I knew someplace between the third mimosa and the opening variety of Elaine Stritch that Lachie was the one for me, I simply couldn’t consider he was for actual.
Three and half years later I can verify Lachie is in reality a hopeless romantic and really dedicated and loving companion. Now we have a gorgeous life; collaborating on our exhibits and dwelling collectively in Melbourne. Now we have an entire room devoted to our drag costumes, and we just lately acquired a pet whom we co-parent with our pal, burlesque performer Kate Foster. Lachie spends plenty of time making the backyard stunning. And he nonetheless brings me flowers.
Inform us the second you knew
“,”immediate”:””,”displayOnSensitive”:false,”elementId”:”2a07090e-e523-4248-a221-adb11e0ed821″,”title”:”Share your love story”,”isNonCollapsible”:false,”formFields”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”name”:”name”,”id”:”152749359″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Name”,”hidden”:false,”type”:”text”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”name”:”where_do_you_live”,”id”:”152749360″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Where do you live?”,”hidden”:false,”type”:”text”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”name”:”tell_us_a_bit_about_yourself_eg_age_and_what_you_do_for_a_living”,”id”:”152749361″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Tell us a bit about yourself (e.g. age and what you do for a living)”,”hidden”:false,”type”:”text”,”required”:false},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”name”:”tell_us_a_bit_about_where_and_when_your_moment_took_place”,”id”:”152749362″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Tell us a bit about where and when your moment took place?”,”hidden”:false,”type”:”textarea”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”name”:”tell_us_a_little_bit_about_the_moment_itself”,”id”:”152749390″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Tell us a little bit about the moment itself?”,”hidden”:false,”type”:”textarea”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldRadio”,”name”:”are_you_comfortable_with_a_journalist_contacting_you_for_this_story”,”options”:[{“label”:”Yes”,”value”:”Yes”},{“label”:”No”,”value”:”No”}],”id”:”152749363″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Are you snug with a journalist contacting you for this story?”,”hidden”:false,”kind”:”radio”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”mannequin.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldRadio”,”identify”:”are_you_comfortable_sharing_pictures_for_this_story”,”choices”:[{“label”:”Yes”,”value”:”Yes”},{“label”:”No”,”value”:”No”}],”id”:”152749392″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Are you snug sharing footage for this story?”,”hidden”:false,”kind”:”radio”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”mannequin.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”identify”:”email_address_”,”description”:”Your contact particulars are useful so we are able to contact you for extra info. They are going to solely be seen by the Guardian.”,”id”:”152749365″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”E-mail deal with “,”hidden”:false,”kind”:”textual content”,”required”:true},{“_type”:”mannequin.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutFormFieldBase”,”identify”:”phone_number”,”description”:”Your contact particulars are useful so we are able to contact you for extra info. They are going to solely be seen by the Guardian.”,”id”:”152749364″,”hideLabel”:false,”label”:”Cellphone quantity”,”hidden”:false,”kind”:”textual content”,”required”:false}],”_type”:”mannequin.dotcomrendering.pageElements.CalloutBlockElementV2″,”tagName”:”aus-series-the-moment-i-knew”,”activeFrom”:1700611200000,”id”:”84fcdbf4-62ab-4f4d-b074-a238103142b0″,”calloutsUrl”:”https://callouts.guardianapis.com/formstack-campaign/submit”,”formId”:5480186},”pageId”:”lifeandstyle/2025/jun/15/the-moment-i-knew-i-worried-he-was-a-playboy-then-a-friend-reassured-me”}”>