“To say there is a thing called destiny may be absurd for some people, but listen to my story first. Watch how simple choices, and certain pushes would change my life forever. This is how we met.
It happened on a Sunday in December, now this is important as I never worked on Sundays, let alone Sunday morning. I was going through the motions, getting through another shift inside the liquor store of a then named Safeway. My manager, Nadege, who had just been on her break, came down with a bubbly smile. She then began to speak of a beautiful girl on her lunch break inside the tea room. She also began to pressure me to go upstairs and speak to her. Immediately my heart began to pound. I had never randomly spoken to a girl with the intent of getting to know them. But in the end I caved in, I made my journey upstairs to the tea room.
My mind was racing “What if she is repulsed by me, thinks I’m a creep or has a boyfriend?”
But the one thing that overpowered it all was “Go for it!”
I turned the corner to discover the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail that hung through her bakery cap. She sat there eating a pink doughnut.
I was floored.
She was way out of my league, but still “Go for it!” shone through.
I had seen her before but only briefly at a bus stop once, and her and her family had walked through my register, but I had never ever spoke to her. But I recognised her from a photo of one of my friend’s party. So with my heart racing, I spoke these very words.
‘Hey… random question, do you know Robert Anderson?’ She looked up from her phone and a sweet Filipino accent spoke out. My mind was spinning, she was actually talked to me. I proceeded to pour myself a water and grabbed a newspaper, intent on keeping the illusion that I was on break. We spoke for a few minutes.
Her smile made me smile, which made me determined to not make this our last encounter.
I got up from my newspaper (which was upside down the whole time) and went back to work. This was the small beginning that propelled Melisande and myself together. A coincidence? Fate? Whatever you call it, all I know is that I never want it to stop.
Happy three and a half years, Mel. I love you more and more each and every single day.
Your boy forever, Marlo”
“I saw this cute boy at a drag cabaret restaurant, I was in drag as my persona Bumpa Love meeting a friend Felisha Pourgette, we were headed to another gig for a film and TV company in Auckland and he was our ‘driver’, sooo cute but shy so I plied him with alcohol, sad but true.
We had fun but never connected again until a year later…I knew I’d marry him though from the first time I saw him. I was very busy with shows and work for that year and he worked 5am starts 6 days a week, hence taking so long to get our acts together. We finally bumped into each other late one night outside a club and managed to sort out a proper date…
We got Married in Auckland, New Zealand on 11 January 2014, our 12th Anniversary.”
“The year was 1985. Wham!, Culture Club and Madonna. Fluro socks, big hair and tight Faberge jeans were in. As was Smash Hits magazine. The ‘Penpal’ section was buzzing with talk of all the latest bands – who liked who – and the ‘what’s in’ of the 80’s.
It was there that Linda, 16, saw an ad from a local boy – Greg, also 16 who was looking for someone to write to and share stories with. So write away she did. Letters went back forth and then turned into phone calls. Photos were exchanged via mail – real mail – as in paper letters and printed images. (So different todays digital world of email and digital selfies)!!
Phone calls progressed to actually meeting up in real life – so, on October 19 1985, Linda and Greg both caught the buses that would take them to a shopping centre which was the halfway point between them. As Linda got off the bus, she saw Greg standing there – taller and thinner that what she imagined but just as cute!
They made their way into the shopping centre and found a place to sit down and chat – face to face – finally! By the end of this visit, they decided on seeing each other and this was the start of a sweet teenage romance. Linda would find ways to get out on weekends to see Greg play soccer or to just hang out together.
Although they both went to different high schools, the end of the year saw them both attend one another’s high school breakup formals – a great chance to meet each other’s friends and to share such a memorable time of their school lives together. Dancing to ‘Careless Whispers’ by George Michael is something that will always remain in their memories.
6 months later – a fairly long time in school age romances, Greg decided that he needed a break and they broke up. Heartbroken, Linda let him go, but only on the promise that they stay in contact and remain friends.
Remain friends they did – even when seeing other people, moving house or just life changing from school to work – they always remained in contact. Linda never forgot to send a Christmas card, Greg would phone from time to time. They would even bump into one another at different places – Linda’s work functions that Greg would turn up to with friends that also worked there; the time that Linda had to run an errand for her manager at another branch of the same company – Greg was there at the counter when she walked in!
When Linda broke up with a long-term boyfriend, Greg was the one that she confided in and talked to about it all. When she started seeing someone else, he did all he could to convince her that this guy was not for her and to perhaps rethink going out with him.
She and Greg started going out with the same group of friends socially – purely in a platonic manner – and loved going clubbing and hanging out together. When the guy that Linda had been casually seeing turned up at the same club one night, Linda knew there and then that she didn’t really want to see him anymore and Greg helped her hide until the guy left!
On the way home that night, something changed – Linda went to kiss Greg goodbye – on the cheek – and when he turned at the last-minute, his lips brushed hers. Yes, there were sparks.
The 15 minute drive home was a long one, filled with lots of crazy feelings and thoughts and Linda did not know what to think of it all.
That week, she invited Greg over for pizza and to watch the footy at her place. Her best friend, Trish was coming over with a friend of hers and it would be nice to be all together.
And to try and work out what was going on between Greg and her.
Friday night arrived and they all had a laugh and heaps of fun. When Trish and her friend left for the night, Greg decided to stay to chat a little more. When it was time to walk him out, he suddenly turned around and kissed Linda – fully on the lips – and there was no mistaking this time what that kiss meant. He turned and said “I may have let you go last time, but this time I will never let you go”.
This was the start of Greg & Linda v2. They saw each other often and just fell in love all over again.
On October 19, 1996, whilst camping in Wilsons Prom in southern Victoria, Greg proposed to Linda. Just like that – not planned – he just said what he was feeling and said that it felt just right.
Yes, it was exactly 11 years to the day that they first met. They only realised the date and its significance when getting it engraved on their engagement rings!
A year later they were married in a traditional Greek ceremony and the reception that followed was a party that was talked about for years to come.
The next year saw them work hard to save and finally purchase their first home. Months later, they finally moved into the home that they renovated together.
The following year, they welcomed their first child into the world – a beautiful blue-eyed little girl named Serena; Annalise followed 8 years later – another girl who looked just like her big sister.
Today, they often reflect on the last (nearly) 29 years that they have known one another and love telling the story of how they met.
And yes, Linda still has that very copy of Smash Hits magazine tucked safely away in a treasured box of keepsakes.
“Let me just say that I was not looking for a relationship and I was quite happy be single and footloose and fancy free.
It was my 30th birthday as I was living with a girlfriend from work in Elwood. The year is 1991. I worked in IT in the office and Jodie worked in direct care at one of the community residential units.
We had decided that morning to celebrate my birthday at the Grainstore. We both went to work. Jodie was working at the CRU, her hours differed to mine, therefore I arrived home at normal time around 6pm and I wasn’t expecting her until about 7pm.
I got dressed for a night out clubbing when Jodie rings me and tells me that there has been a crisis at the CRU and she doubts very much that she is going to make it home in time for us to go out. I tell her not to worry. Feeling a little tired I get into bed for a nap fully dressed as I could not be bothered to get out of my ‘going out’ clothes. At around 11:30pm, I see Jodie’s car headlights shine into my bedroom. Jodie quietly knocks on the door and asks me whether I still want to go out. I uncover myself, fully dressed and ready to go out saying to her ‘Absolutely’.
We decided as we didn’t have much money to spend in those days, that we would get in with my Grainstore Medallion and drink water all night and not talk to any boys – just a great girl’s night out.
I notice a really great looking guy under the DJ box and point him out to Jodie. She nods in agreement. I see him walk over to the bar to get a drink, so I walk over to the bar, and position myself next to him. He leans over and says “You look really great in those jeans”. Remembering that we were not going to talk to any boys that night, I just give him the biggest smile I can muster and walk off.
After a while, he disappears and I say to Jodie “easy come, easy go” and continue dancing and having a great time.
Apparently, he was downstairs, chatting up another girl. But she lit up a cigarette and he was not interested in any girl who was a smoker.
He appears again much later, again at the bar. I walk over for another glass of water and smile at him and walk off again.
The third time I see him at the bar, I go and get yet another glass of water and he leans over and whispers “If I see you again at this bar, I’m going to have to ask you to marry me”. I smile and walk off to the dance floor.
At this stage, I see Jodie, dancing with a guy – what happened to not talk to any boys tonight? I think to myself, but I just join in and then this other guy, who looks like Axel Rose and holding a Crown Lager in his hand, dances over to me and starts to make a move. I hurry over to the bar. The cute guy is still there. I say to him “Excuse me, I am trying to get away from someone on the dance floor, would you mind dancing with me?” He replies, “No, I won’t dance with you but I would love to buy you a drink.” To which he did and the conversation started. Paradise by the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf was playing at the time.
We then moved onto the Mega Bar and talked until 5 in the morning.
Greg had never been to the Grainstore. The DJ who was studying to be a Chiropractor was a friend who gave him two free tickets to the nightclub. Greg had the tickets for two years. Then a neighbour asked Greg to take her son out for the night as he was a sailor and was visiting from Sydney. Greg thought it would be a great idea to use the free tickets. The rest, as they say is history.”
“I met my husband in the way I never thought was possible. We met at a bar 15 years ago. I always thought you could never meet the “right” kind of people on a drunken girls night out, in a sleazy, dark, smoky hole. I was wrong. As we drove into the city, I turned to my girlfriend and said, ” I am not coming home until I have found my husband.” We were on our way to see BABBA and then to meet more friends at the Casino. Fate played a hand. We partied to BABBA and made our way to the casino only to find that half the group wanted to go to the Star Bar. Something was pulling me to go with them, there was an 80s band playing there, my favorite kind, but there was just something else. So we went. A few Bourbons and 80’s pops song later, I spotted him. He was on the other side of the room, he was cute, he was dressed well and he was going to be my challenge.
“Joshua and I had worked in different departments in the same supermarket for years, not even noticing the other was there. Eventually he was promoted to duty manager, therefore becoming my boss. He was quiet, shy and had no idea how my department was run…I began to wonder why he was chosen for the job. We said what we had to say to each other to get the work done but that’s it.
“Why does it always feel like an eternity before you meet the love of your life?
Then when you finally do, time flies and you feel like you’ve missed every special occasion, every moment you want to cherish, keep like a video. I longed for the day I could finally hold the love of my life in my arms. Hug them, Squeeze them, kiss them till their face fell off.
When the moment finally came, I looked into their eyes and them into mine, I knew it was the kind of love no-one could ever take from you. The sort of love that was unconditional. No matter what happened in life, you would protect this love. Instead of wanting to hold them so tight though, it was a love that needed to grow. We needed time to get to know each other. I knew I was in love, they needed the time, to get to know me!
As the months past, that small initial smile grew, their eyes narrowed as the smiled at me and the sides of their mouth grew higher. I knew the love was there, though nothing was ever said, I could feel it. The soft touch of their hand brushing past my face, holding me so tight they wouldn’t let go. When you know its true love, is when you both cry when your apart. Not a trickle, a sob, a longing to hold that person in your arms, kiss their face all over, that’s the love I felt.
Anyone who has ever become a parent will know this love. When an Angel fell from the sky to the ground, I named her Nevaeh and turned Heaven around. She now walks the earth for all to see, How beautiful angels can honestly be.”
“Troy and I met when I was 17. It was at my cousin’s wedding where I was a bridesmaid and he was a friend of the groom. My cousin had spoken about it before so I knew who he was.
We were both outside during the reception so I went up to him and said “You’re Troy”
We spoke for a bit and I didn’t see him again until the bus ride to the hotel where we spoke the whole time. We chatted online after that and a while later we arranged a night to watch our favourite show together and hang out.
We frequently spent evenings together and he came to pick me up from parties a few times when I had too much to drink, as you do when you’re 18. He asked me out a few times but as he is 10 years older than me and had a son I wasn’t ready for a relationship that serious.
We lost touch for a few years after that.
One day he popped up in my Facebook chat and we started talking he came over that night and we spent all night talking it was fantastic, during that night I realised that he was amazing and I was very into him, I was older and had a child of my own and was much more open to the idea of being a step parent. The next night he came over again and we became inseparable straight away. We now have a son together, I am so glad I met him as he truly is the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides my kids of course!”
“Dean and I had both arranged to go to an Easter youth camp near Pt Lincoln with a group of youth from Adelaide. Dean was driving his car and had arranged to pick me up in the city near where I worked so we first met outside his car with me carrying my luggage. A couple of friends came too including Dean’s brother Ross.
At the camp I hooked up with a guy I knew from Pt Lincoln. I remember going for a drive to Pt Lincoln (bench seats in those days) with me sandwiched in between Dean and the other guy but whenever we went around a corner where I would lean into Dean he seemed to take those corners faster! Hmmmm…
When we returned to Adelaide Dean and I continued to go out with a group of friends. The romance with the other guy petered out so when another trip to Pt Lincoln was suggested a group of us decided to go again… this time it was the Tunarama Festival in January.
I had arranged for Dean to drop me off at my grandma’s place in Quorn on my way home so I could stay there for a few days. As time got closer a heat wave struck Adelaide so some friends pulled out but I was keen to get to see my grandma so decided to go…
I remember being on the wharf with a group of friends one night when Dean put his arm around me… then held my hand. I remember looking at the dark murky water and remembered I couldn’t swim and didn’t like deep water… I felt safe in his arms and have felt the same way since.
I can’t remember where our first kiss took place but there were plenty more of them..We were engaged on my 21st birthday and married 6 months later. This year we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and have decided to go back to where it all started!!!”
“So it was a weird and awkward beginning for Gemma and I when we first met. Both very different people from very different upbringings our story is one which would fit into an average Hollywood storyline, but we didn’t know it at the time. The whole story would contain all the drama, contention, plot turns and pivots, as well as a whole lot of suspense and a touch of the supernatural that would perhaps get your girlfriend to the next blockbuster starring Zack Effron and some blonde starlette.
How You First Met 