Journalist and TV host Narelda Jacobs and her wife, political strategist Karina Natt, join Deputy Editor of the Australian Women's Weekly, Tiffany Dunk on the Love Stories couch to share the very modern, very tender story of how friendship across state lines became a marriage, a baby and a whole new way of living. From a chance meeting in the ABC Q+A green room, through late‑night five‑hour phone calls and a WorldPride first date, to Karina packing up her life in Adelaide for Sydney, they talk about choosing partnership when you’ve spent years insisting you don’t “need” anyone.

They open up about the quiet at home proposal that left them both in tears, why the word “wife” still matters for queer couples navigating a world that often fails to see them as a family unit, and how they landed on their daughter Sanna’s name (and the surprisingly fraught decision of which surname comes last). They also reflect on their experience with an Aboriginal midwifery program, the gaps in post‑birth hospital care and what it showed them about advocacy, privilege and the women who don’t have the same voice.

Now on extended parental leave together, Narelda and Karina share what it’s like to build a blended family with their known donor “Daddy Mitch”, why they wrote a satirical picture book about queer parenting, and how visibility can be both a responsibility and a joy. They talk candidly about shutting out online “expert” pressure, trusting that Karina is the expert on Sanna, and what they hope to teach their daughter about love, ego, independence and emotional intelligence.

Moments You'll Hear:  
How friendship between two “strong, independent women” became a long distance love story  
WorldPride, phone calls and the moment they realised they couldn’t get through the day without each other  

Moving states, supporting the Voice referendum roadshow and building a life as a team  

The at‑home proposal, why “wifey” turned into “wife”, and the power of language for queer couples  
Conceiving Sanna with their friend Mitch, choosing her name and negotiating surnames  
The importance of culturally safe, queer inclusive maternity care   

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Narelda and Katrina's story, you can follow him on Instagram and check out their new book: 

Queers Weren't Meant To Have Kids - Book

Narelda Jacobs website

Narelda's Instagram  and Karina's Instagram

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Narelda, Karina and Baby Sanna

ABC 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sensitive issues raised 💓

Love Notes bonus episode is part of our series of Love Stories -  short, quiet episodes from The Australian Women’s Weekly. With small reminders that love is something we practise, not just something that happens to us.

In this Love Note, we sit with Charmaine Caldwell, CEO and founder of VIXIN and Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk as she uncovers something special she calls her “why book”: a journal stuffed with handwritten messages from customers, friends, charities and, most of all, her son. She reads a note she wrote to herself 16 years ago a letter for the days when everything feels heavy, and quitting would be easier and explains why she carefully copies it into every new book she starts

Charmaine talks about raising her son alone, walking through a decade of menopause “fog” while building a skincare brand for women who no longer recognise their own faces in the mirror, and the messages from customers that have kept her going including one woman with cancer who asked to be buried with her VIXIN products because they made her feel beautiful on her worst days.

This is a 'Love Note' episode about the love we pour into other people and the love we’re still learning to offer ourselves: packing orders with intention, sticking Maya Angelou’s “they’ll never forget how you made them feel” on the warehouse wall, and trying, every day, to be kinder in the way we speak to ourselves than the world is.

If you need a gentle reminder to keep going, or permission to start talking to yourself like someone you actually care about, this Love Note is for you. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

See More: 

Menopause Symptoms No One's Talking About

Naiomi Watts 'Menopause It's Not The End'

If you loved hearing about Charmaine, you can follow her on Instagram and learn more about her products : 

Learn More About Vixin

VIXIN Instagram

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Today’s episode is brought to you by VIXIN Beauty, high performance, Australian Made skincare built for real skin and real results. No complicated routines, no watered down formulas, just powerful actives that support your skin at every stage.

Explore the range at vixin.com.au and enjoy up to 30% off bundles

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if your armpit smell, your birth control, and a dying octopus all had something to say about your love life? In this episode of Love Stories with beloved Dr Karl Kruszelnicki - Australia’s loudest shirt and sharpest science brain we pull apart the chemistry, hormones and fascinating questions behind who we want, why we stay, and when we should absolutely run alongside Deputy Editor of the Australian Women's Weekly, Tiffany Dunk. 

We start with the body: menstrual cycles, the pill, and how shifting hormones can quietly reroute your attraction, your moods, and even how “into” your partner you feel. Then we go down the rabbit hole of smell - yes, your armpit funk and whether your odour is secretly swiping right on your behalf, nudging you toward someone whose immune system is a good match, or away from someone who suddenly just smells…not quite right for you. 

From there, it gets even more real. We ask if your “butterflies” are actually your gut‑brain axis hitting the panic button, and how your fight or flight reflex can make you do objectively unhinged things in the name of “love”. Dr Karl advises "never have sex with someone who has more problems than you" : a thesis, a warning, and a t‑shirt.

Moments you'll hear: 
We talk lust versus love the hot infatuation you feel in the early “honeymoon” haze versus the slower chemistry of long term attachment and how to tell whether you’re addicted to the drama, or actually building something with a new partner.

What happens after you come out of honeymoon mode and realise you’re in a real relationship with a real human who leaves dishes in the sink? How do you keep going when the dopamine drops.

Along the way, Dr Karl brings one of the wildest animal stories you’ll ever hear: the octopus mother who quite literally self‑destructs after laying her eggs. Then we ask: what can human parents learn from this about burnout, personal 'tradeoffs', and the quiet ways our love for our kids evolves over time?

Because this is 2026, we can’t not go there: AI and modern love. People are not just flirting with chatbots anymore; they are forming real feeling relationships and emotional affairs with coding. We pull apart the psychology and neuroscience of why humans can bond so intensely with an always available, never arguing, perfectly attentive AI – and the big uncomfortable question: are we actually falling in love with AI, or with a mirror of ourselves?

All of it is filtered through Dr Karl’s signature true style as Australia's Favourite Science Dad - rigorous, effervescent scientific communication and our favourite thing on Love Stories: messy modern mysterious love.

In this episode, we ask:
Is your armpit smell helping you fall in love  or warning you off?
Can stopping the pill really change whether you fancy your partner?  
Why do you get butterflies in your stomach, and when should you ignore them?
How does fight‑or‑flight make us do wild, sometimes self‑destructive things in relationships?  
Are you in love or in lust, and how do you tell the difference when you’re in deep?  
What actually keeps a relationship going after the honeymoon phase evaporates?
What can an octopus’s hormone‑fuelled death spiral teach us about heartbreak and parental burnout?

Can a mother not be genetically related to her child, and what does that do to our idea of “real” family?
Can you really mend a broken heart, or do you just grow around it
How does your love for your kids change as they grow and can science help you be kinder?
Are we actually falling in love with AI, and what does that say about us?


If you’ve ever stayed with someone because the sex was great but everything else was chaos, wondered why your partner suddenly smells “off” when you come off the pill, or found yourself crying over a chatbot at 1am, this episode is for you. You’ll walk away with a new way to see love – as chemistry and choice, hormones and history....all stories you will absolutely tell at your next coffe catch up. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.https://drkarl.com/

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Dr Karl, you can follow him on Instagram and listen to his podcast: 

A Shirtload of Science: AI Episode

A Periodic Tale Book 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Dr Karl 

ABC 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sensitive issues raised. 💓

Before she was the first winner of MasterChef Australia, Julie Goodwin was a 19‑year‑old girl on Pennant Hills Road, in a car with a quiet boy who loved rock music. The Angels came on, “I Just Want to Be With You” started to play, and somewhere between the traffic lights and the chorus, Mick casually said, “This’d be my song for you.” For Julie, that was it. Her heart locked on. “This is my person.

In this episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories with Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk , we meet Julie and Mick not as TV talent and “the husband”, but as two teenagers who grew up together through youth‑group blanket drives, three babies under three, sickeningly tight finances and one life altering car accident that broke both of Mick’s legs and quietly cemented Julie’s love. 

Then life does what it does. There’s the global juggernaut of MasterChef and the strange disorientation of fame strangers kissing Julie in the supermarket, overseas trips, new opportunities and the pressure of becoming a “public person” overnight. There’s the reality of raising three boys while money was so tight that beer and pizza with friends feels like unthinkable luxury, and the dawning recognition that “the best cuisine comes from poverty” because you learn to make magic out of whatever is in the pantry.

And then there is the crash you didn’t see on TV: the years of unrelenting standards, perfectionism and deepening mental ill‑health that Julie became expert at hiding – even from the man she calls her best friend. “I think my best energy was put towards making sure he didn’t know how bad I was,” she says. “He’s the person I wanted to let down the least, which of course means he’s the person I let down the most.” Mick speaks quietly about the guilt of not seeing, the anger at himself, and the moment he realised there was something much bigger happening than being “a bit stressed”

Together, they talk about breakdown, hospitalisation, shame that “dies in daylight”, and the long, work it took of building a life back up, as a series of daily choices to stay, to love and listen and to sit in pain with someone you are devoted to. They describe their marriage as shoulder‑to‑shoulder, facing outwards: sometimes pulling in opposite directions, often resetting to remember that they still want the same point on the map. Along the way there are grandparent fart jokes, volunteer shifts in homeless kitchens, a caravan they’re restoring, and a promise to aim for 60 years together.

What makes this conversation so affecting is not just what they’ve survived, but how ordinary it all feels  a love story that moves from school‑captain youth group meetings to national fame to ICU waiting rooms and back again, without ever losing the thread of “we”. Julie says she plans to keep falling in love with every iteration of Mick that comes next. Mick says this is simply “the life we signed up for”  the rollercoaster they agreed to ride, side by side

If you’ve ever loved someone through a hard season, hidden your own unraveling from the person you trust most, or wondered how couples actually stay together when life goes sideways, this episode has something to say to you. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

For support: Contact https://www.lifeline.org.au/ free of charge 13 11 14

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Julie, you can follow her on Instagram and read her book: 

Your Time Starts Now    available now wherever you get your books. 

Julie’s Tour dates and locations

Julie Goodwin website

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our new home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s nothing quite like that giddy the rush of first love. But while not every first romance will last the distance, for Samantha Harris her first love became her husband… and now the father of her newly arrived baby daughter Bella. In this intimate conversation with Love Stories host Tiffany Dunk – deputy editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly – new mum Sam talks to her journey from shy small-town teen to international supermodel to the latest member of the new mum club, with the sleepless nights, self-doubt and reflection that come along with that ride.

This episode marks an exciting new chapter for The Australian Women’s Weekly as it steps beyond the page and the screen and into your ears, with stories now living across socials, the website, and this new podcast. It’s the same warm storytelling you know, now designed for your commute, your kitchen bench, and those late-night scrolls.

Moments you’ll hear:

The thrilling moment that, after months of disappointment, a pregnancy test finally “lit up like a Christmas tree” and began a whole new chapter for Samantha and her little family.

Sam relives the moment the first boy she ever dated asked her out, her thrill at received her first Valentine’s Day rose and the low-key Maccas and KFC dates that fuelled her young relationship.

Grab your tissue box as Sam reveals the heartbreaking loss that inspired her daughter’s special name.

As sleepless nights set in, Sam unflinchingly talks about her new mum uncertainty, what sustains her and what she wants others in the same situation to know.

And she talks about the importance of keeping your spark alive – an

Listen now for a sweet and relatable journey of a girl who grew up in front of our eyes learning how to raise a daughter of her own – and keep her spark along the way.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing from Sam, you can follow her on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/sam_harris

Sam has written a memoir with her mother, Myrna Davison. Role Model: Taking up pace in the fashion world is available now wherever you get your books. 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our new home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love stories rarely look this cinematic in real life, but Jessica Rowe and Pete Overton make a strong case for the romcoms they both adore. In this intimate new conversation with host Tiffany Dunk Deputy Editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, the long time couple pull back the curtain on 22 years of marriage, IVF heartbreak and joy, teenage daughters, rescue pets, and the small daily rituals that keep their love stubbornly, gloriously alive. 

This episode marks an exciting new chapter for The Australian Women’s Weekly as it steps beyond the page and the screen and into your ears, with stories now living across socials, the website, and this new podcast. It’s the same warm storytelling you know, now designed for your commute, your kitchen bench, and those late night scrolls. 

🎧Moments you’ll hear:  

From a work experience crush at Channel Nine to a Logies night almost‑miss, Jess and Pete trace the slow burn origin story that became a lifelong partnership. 

They relive the phone call that changed everything, when Jess decided to break the rules and ask him out herself  and why they now tell young women (and men) to “pick up the phone” and risk the yes. 

Their wedding was unapologetically cat coded: a Tom Jones bridal waltz to “What’s New Pussycat,” feline themed cake, and cat cupcakes for guests. 

Jess shares the raw reality of IVF  the repeated attempts, the car park phone call when “third time lucky” didn’t happen, and the Milan hotel room moment when Pete finally heard, “You’re going to be a father. 

Pete reveals the story that broke his on‑air composure the murder of Hannah Clarke and her daughters and what it taught him about letting the audience see his humanity 

Listen for a tender, funny, quietly radical love story  and a very Australian reminder that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is make the call, say the thing, pour the coffee and share an honest  conversation.  

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing from Jess, follow her on Instagram or listen to The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show podcast. 

Peter presents Nine News Sydney nightly at 6pm https://www.9news.com.au/sydney 

👀 See more 

The Ying and Yang of Jessica Rowe and Peter Overtons relationship

Putting Yourself First 

Welcome to the Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories Podcast

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our new home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy.

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s your love language? The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories is for the chronically curious about the strongest of our emotions. Hosted by Tiffany Dunk, this podcast swaps cliché romcom endings for real, messy, magnetic connections told by unforgettable voices from The Australian Women’s Weekly universe. From lifelong mateship to unexpected soulmates to finding love both within and beyond yourself, Love Stories is intimate, surprising and quietly empowering.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Rob "Millsy" Mills saw Georgie Tunny on ABC Breakfast in 2018, he did what any reasonable person would do: he Googled her, found their two mutual friends, and slid into her DMs. 

In this episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, Georgie and Rob sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the message Georgie left on read for three days, the Harry Potter spoof play that became their first date, and why 'sober dating' (coffee and a walk around the Botanical Gardens) might be the secret to a strong relationship. 

They open up about the realities of two demanding careers pulling them in different directions, the conversation with Georgie's mentor Virginia Trioli that helped her choose love over a job offer in Brisbane, and the unexpected gift of slowing down together while filming The Amazing Race Australia, which they won by just 43 seconds. 

Georgie also talks about her debut novel Over to You, set in the high-stakes world of morning television. Rob also reflects on the lessons he's learned working on his own projects exploring men's mental health – including a simple piece of advice from an ex-military sniper that he's never forgotten. And yes, they finally answer the wedding question: four and a half years into their engagement, is a date on the cards? 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• How Rob spotted Georgie on ABC Breakfast, googled her, and slid into her DMs - and why she left him on read for three days. 

• The Harry Potter spoof that became their first date, and the friend who convinced Georgie to go. 

• Why 'sober dating' – coffee and a walk, no alcohol required – helped them have the big conversations early. 

• The career-defining moment Georgie almost let slip past her, and the advice from mentor Virginia Trioli that changed her mind. 

• How they navigate long distances, competing careers and learning to communicate when it's hard. 

• Winning The Amazing Race Australia by 43 seconds – and the meltdown in Taiwan that nearly ended their run. 

• Georgie on her debut novel Over to You and the morning TV moment that inspired it. 

• Rob on the advice from an ex-military sniper that he still carries into his relationship. 

• What their future looks like, including the wedding that’s been almost five years in the making. 

Over To You by Georgie Tunny is available now.

Waitress: The Musical opens in Sydney in August. Find out more at waitressthemusical.com.au  

Learn more about Rob and Georgie here: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/rob-mills-partner/ 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

What did you think? We are a brand-new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media please tag us, we're @womensweeklymag, and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women's Weekly at womensweekly.com.au 👈🏽 

Our special thanks to our partners at Vixin 

Vixin real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy: vixin.com.au 

Use the code LOVESTORIES for 30% off your order at Vixin now! 

Credits:

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter

Supervising Producer: Leah Porges 

Our wonderful The Australian Women's Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Nas Campanella was sent to Bega to take over Tom Oriti's job, neither of them expected the handover to become the beginning of a life together. 

In this episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, Nas and Tom sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the early days of their relationship, from nightly drives home and Italian family dinners to the very practical first gift that somehow said everything: a corkscrew. 

They also open up about building a family together, the assumptions people still make about Nas as a blind mother, and why being visible as a family matters. Nas speaks with clarity about internalised ableism, disability and parenting, while Tom reflects on the casual comments and stares, they still encounter in public. 

But this is also a joyful family story. Nas and Tom share the rituals, boundaries and humour that keep their home grounded: less screen time, more music, audiobooks, story time, silliness, emotional language and the kind of love that is said out loud, every day. 

More in this Exclusive story from The Australian Women's Weekly: ABC journalist Nas Campanella introduces baby Lachlan and opens up about coping with other people’s prejudices

Moments you'll hear 

• How a job handover in Bega became the start of a 14-year relationship. 

• The hilarious first gift Tom bought Nas when he realised she might be the one. 

• Why Nas once wondered whether anyone would want to have children with her, and how Tom responded. 

• The everyday ableism Nas and Tom still encounter when people assume Tom speaks for her. 

• Why Nas insists their family is seen out in the world, even during ordinary four-year-old chaos. 

• How Lachie is learning disability awareness, empathy and emotional honesty at home and at daycare. 

• The boundaries Nas and Tom use to protect their relationship, family time and mental load while working in news. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

What did you think? We are a brand-new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media please tag us, we're @womensweeklymag, and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription 👈🏽 

Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home 

Vixin real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy: vixin.com.au 

Credits 

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter  

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who loves you for the longest? Not in the dramatic, fireworks way but in the quiet “did you book your scan?” way. In this episode, we sit with Miss Universe Australia Lexie Brandt and her mum, Penny, in the kind of conversation that usually happens in hospital corridors or parked cars outside imaging clinics

Lexie was 11 when Penny was diagnosed with high grade breast cancer on the same day Lexie started Year 6 and became a school captain. It’s the age when you’re meant to be stress crying about friendships and braces, not mammograms and mortality. Overnight, the roles between mother and daughter shifted: Penny became “the patient,” but she was still quietly choreographing everyone else’s feelings, telling Lexie, “This is sad, but we’re getting it fixed,” and turning terror into a family action plan.

Tiffany Dunk Deputy Editor of The Australian Women's Weekly asks Penny and Lexie to take us through the journey, the GP visit Penny almost said no to, the waiting room that slowly emptied until there were only two women left, the phone call where Lexie half remembers 'something different was happening" and remembers asking for an ice block because kids still want snacks even when the adults are falling apart. They talk about how you tell an 11 year old you have cancer without breaking her, how you parent when you’re the one who can’t get out of bed, and what it means for a daughter to grow up with the C‑word as a constant, invisible third in the room.

Moments You'll Hear: 

How a routine 41st‑birthday check up one Penny initially tried to decline caught her breast cancer early and probably saved her life.

Lexie’s memory of “the day Mum told me,” and how Penny’s language of action over despair became the moral she now lives by.

The messy logistics of illness:  families, step siblings, proud partners who relish accepting a lasagne drop off, and the invisible admin women shoulder while they’re meant to be “resting.”

What helped most: bringing “home” into hospital rooms with photos and soft pyjamas, letting friends drive the school run, and allowing themselves to accept help instead of performing strength

The way cancer rearranged their bond but didn’t define it Lexie still sending outfit pics for approval, Penny still being the person everyone else orbits, and both of them now using their story to push other women towards early checks and being part of the strong community and event The  Mother’s Day Classic.

If you’ve ever been the child trying to stay brave for a sick parent, or the parent editing your own fear so your kid can sleep, this one will feel uncomfortably, tenderly familiar

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Lexie and Penny's story see more 

Support and be apart of the Mothers Day Classic 

Lexie Brantt Miss Universe

Learn about the Mothers Day Classic 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Lexie and Penny and The Mothers Day Classic 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever talked yourself out of something big because it sounded “unrealistic” on paper new city, new partner, new life and then spent years wondering what might’ve happened if you’d just gone with your gut?

In this episode of Love Stories hosted by our Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk, David and Lisa Campbell rewind to the moment they met by chance in Melbourne him in a musical with Magda Szubanski, her in a serious UK theatre production—and let us into the slightly unhinged decision that followed: three weeks of knowing each other, then a one‑way ticket across the world. With Magda playing fairy godmother, an email about “crumbs off love’s table” that changed everything, and a Neighbours‑era Angry Anderson cameo, it’s the kind of meet‑cute that should not have worked…and yet somehow absolutely did.

They talk honestly about what came after the rom‑com montage: visas, no career safety net, tiny apartments, call‑centre jobs, homesickness, therapy and the pressure of knowing “I moved countries for you, so we really need to get this right.” There’s the mafia‑movie Yum Cha where Lisa faces the full Barnes clan, the moment David realises he actually likes himself more with her in his life, and the years of parenting that followed twins included that felt, in their words, like being strapped into a rapids ride together, just adding more people to the boat.

You’ll hear:

• The full story of how Magda Szubanski became their accidental Cupidand why an email from her pushed Lisa to fight for something her head had already written off.

• What it’s really like to throw in your whole life for love in your 20s, and how they handled the resentment, money stress and identity loss that followed.

• The therapy tools that stopped their early fights from derailing the relationship, and how they still use them 20 years and three kids later.

• The “audition” Lisa had to pass with Mahalia Barnes and a table of soul singers, and how the Barnes and Campbell families ended up holidaying and living side‑by‑side.

• How they’ve kept their relationship feeling like a whirlwind romance, even as life has become school runs, work trips and the chaos of a big, blended clan

If you’ve ever wondered whether you should listen to your head or your heart, or if you’re in the middle of your own scary leap and need proof it can actually work out, this is your episode

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

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If you loved hearing check out their 

Austenverse Podcast here

Family life with Lisa and David Campbell

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Lisa and David Campbell 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories, we’re talking about the kind of love that pads down the hallway on four legs and leaves a paw-shaped crater when it’s gone. 🐾💓

You’ll meet Ryan Wilson, a former SAS soldier whose life was literally saved by a military dog named Fax during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, and whose heart was later held together by Kenny, the clumsy, grinning working dog who became his shadow for 15 years.  Ryan shares the moment Fax sensed danger on the wind, found the hidden fighters waiting to kill them, and paid for that instinct with his life.  He walks us through the ramp ceremony they gave Fax, just as they would any fallen soldier, and why he’s certain the death toll in Afghanistan would have been far higher without dogs like him.

Back home, Ryan turns that shock into devotion, retraining as a dog handler and being paired with Kenny, a Belgian Malinois who bolts the first time he’s let off lead and later becomes the unit favourite the dog who runs into trees, matches Ryan’s clumsiness, and still gives 110% every time he works.  We follow Kenny into retirement on the couch and down to the beach, but also into the quiet, awful reality of a working dog’s body breaking down: spinal damage, failing back legs, and the moment Ryan has to admit the pain is too much.

If you’ve ever stayed up all night on the floor beside a pet, convincing yourself a tiny mouthful of food means they’re “doing better,” this conversation will feel uncomfortably close.  Host Tiffany Dunk shares her own recent goodbye to her beloved cat, and together she and Ryan sit in that specific, complicated grief: wishing the animal would slip away in their sleep instead of forcing you to make the call, bargaining with the small wins, and then living with the decision long after the vet’s car has driven away.  Ryan talks about how he got through the day he let Kenny go inviting 15 old comrades over to his house, telling stories, having a drink, and putting Kenny to sleep at home, surrounded by the people who knew what he’d done and who he’d been.

This episode also peels back the curtain on what a “life of service” really means for military dogs once the missions end.  Ryan explains why these dogs so often retire with serious injuries, how common PTSD is in canine veterans, and why handlers are suddenly left to shoulder eye‑watering vet bills completely alone.  Out of that injustice came Working Paws Australia, the charity Ryan co‑founded to pay for the surgeries, medications, and ongoing care retired working dogs need so handlers no longer have to choose between their mortgage and their best friend’s pain.  We hear about the dogs they’ve already helped, the families who were on the brink of financial freefall, and why simply listing each dog’s tours of duty on the Working Paws website feels like its own kind of honour roll.

Through it all, this is a story about unconditional love in its purest, least performative form: the dog who greets you the same way whether you’re your best self or your worst, who jumps out of helicopters with you and sleeps at your child’s feet, who doesn’t ask for anything back.  Ryan reflects on what dogs can teach us about love that humans often can’t manage loyalty without conditions, presence without judgment, and the quiet insistence that you are worth showing up for, every single day.  And in the space Kenny has left, Ryan is pouring that love into his young daughter and into every retired working dog his charity can reach.

If you’re listening with a dog at your feet, or still reaching for a pet who isn’t there anymore, this episode is for you.

Moments You'll Hear:   
A war story where the hero has four legs, not a medal.
The private, unvarnished reality of deciding it’s time to say goodbye to a pet you can’t imagine your life without.
How it feels when your grief for “just a dog” or “just a cat” is so big you hide it from social media—and why it deserves to be taken seriously.

The creation of Working Paws Australia and the families they’ve already pulled back from the brink of losing both their home and their dog.
A gentle, raw conversation about the ways love doesn’t end when a life does—it just has to find somewhere new to go.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Ryan's story find out more about the work he does with Working Paws and how you can support too.

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Ryan Wilson 

Kenny, Armani and all of our four legged furry friends 🐾

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Amanda Ferrari left Sydney for the tiny town of Trangie, she was told there were two eligible bachelors she should stay away from. But the moment she walked into the local pub and saw farmer Ross across the bar, she knew she'd be ignoring that warning completely. 

More than 30 years later, Amanda and Ross Ferrari sit down with Tiffany Dunk for The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories to talk about the real life behind a country romance: becoming parents to premature twins, learning how to belong in a tight-knit town, supporting each other through drought, running a farming family, building community, and buying the very pub where their love story began. 

This is a warm, funny and deeply Australian conversation about love, marriage, rural life, friendship, resilience and what it means to make somewhere your home.   

Moments you’ll hear: 

• How Amanda first saw Ross across the bar at the local pub 
• The surprise pregnancy that turned best friends into a family 
• Why Ross is the steady “wood” to Amanda’s fire 
• The emotional and financial pressure of farming through drought 
• Amanda’s advice for anyone trying to find community later in life 
• How they bought The Imperial Hotel in Trangie to keep the town alive 
• Why regional life still has so much to offer people looking for home, connection and belonging 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

What did you think? We are a brand-new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media, please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription 👈🏽 

If you loved hearing Amanda and Ross Ferrari’s story: 

Farmer Wants a Wife https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/farmer-wants-a-wife-2026-farmers/  

Country heroes: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/real-life/rural-doctors/  

Australian rural life: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/carol-mudford-sheep-shearer-agrifutures-rural-women-award/  

The Boarding School Collective

Trangie, NSW 

The Imperial Hotel, Trangie 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy 

Credits: 

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter and Leah Porges 

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charlie Albone and Juliet Love’s love story started like a real-life rom com, although Juliet did not exactly leave their first meeting swooning. 

When the Better Homes and Gardens pair first met during a screen test in Rushcutters Bay, Charlie was nervous, hungover and barely speaking. Juliet drove away thinking he was rude. Somehow, a silent car ride, an accidental work date and one very persistent invitation later, they were on their way to a marriage that has now carried them through fast romance, two children, long stretches apart, renovations, health scares and the everyday mess of real life. 

In this episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories, Charlie and Juliet sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about their early days, their South Coast wedding, what it is really like to work with your partner, how they navigate family life, and how Juliet’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis changed everything. 

They also open up about anxiety, asking for help, why long-term love still matters, and what gardening has taught them about marriage: you cannot chase perfection, but you can keep tending to what matters. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• How Charlie and Juliet first met during a very awkward screen test 

• Why Juliet thought Charlie was rude 

• The accidental first date Charlie thought was romantic, and Juliet thought was work 

• Their fast engagement and South Coast garden wedding 

• How Juliet’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis changed their family life 

• How Charlie supported Juliet through illness and anxiety 

• What they have learnt about working together on Better Homes and Gardens 

• Why gardening, family and imperfection are such a big part of their love story 

• The lessons they hope their sons learn about love 

Thank you for listening ❤️   

Before you leave...   

🗣️ Get in touch    

What did you think? We are a brand-new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media please tag us, we’re @womensweeklymag, and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription 👈🏽 

If you loved hearing Charlie and Juliet’s story: 

The Living Edit 

Charlie Albone 

Better Homes and Gardens 

Follow Charlie on Instagram 

Follow Juliet on Instagram 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home:   

Vixin real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy 

Credits:   

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter  

Consulting Producer Jessie-Lee Klass 

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian, writer and professional tall girl Melanie Bracewell has built a career out of making strangers laugh  but the real love story starts at home, with a rescued Shih Tzu cross called Charles, his 'chaos goblin' sister Gigi, and a scrapbook full of tiny, hard won victories.

In this episode, Melanie talks with Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk about growing up as the lanky kid who felt like “too much” and “not enough” at the same time, and how comedy became the first place she was allowed to take up space. She opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, learning that disorganisation isn’t a moral failing, and the Netball Awards night that forced her to finally ask for help. There are love languages (acts of service and very chic travel chargers), primary school heartbreaks, The Cheap Seats live shows and the very specific kind of soul mate energy that exists between a person and her rescue dog  (with an underbite that melts a room).

Mel shares how she “gamifies” life to survive a non‑linear career, why a bad gig can be grounding, and what she wants to tuck into her future scrapbook. This is an episode about chosen family, second chances, and the quiet bravery of letting yourself be seen.

Moments to hear

💓 Love languages, but make it practical  Melanie’s case for gifts that solve a problem (and why the sexiest present she’s ever received is a neatly packed travel charger)

💓 Too tall to disappear  growing up the tallest kid in class, feeling like she had to be quiet because her body already entered the room first, and how school plays gave her permission to be loud

💓The Netball Awards breakdown the night a car parked in the wrong place turned into the turning point that led to her ADHD diagnosis

💓Is this hard for everyone, or just me? what changes when you realise your brain isn’t broken, it’s just wired differently and why medication gave her back a sense of control rather than “fixing” her

💓Charles, Gigi and the rescue romance  how a Maltese Shih Tzu with a complicated past re‑taught her what unconditional love looks like, and why rescue pets feel like op‑shop finds you’ll never stop bragging about.

💓 The wedding, the TV show and the guest list that may or may not include Jacinda Ardern what she wants the next decade to look like, onstage and at home.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories and any feedback at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media please tag us, we’re @womensweeklymag, and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at https://www.womensweekly.com.au/ 👈🏽 

If you loved hearing Melanie's story: 

Learn more about The Petstock Foundation’s Pet Adoption Month  a national campaign encouraging Australians to adopt rescue pets, donate or support local rescue groups helping animals find loving homes. To learn more or make a donation, visit the Petstock Foundation

Read more about Melanie on our website: 

Adult ADHD 

Dogs and the impact on mental health

Learn more about The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories at https://www.womensweekly.com.au/love-stories-podcast/ 

🙏 Our special thanks for making Love Stories our home: 

Vixin, real results, simple skincare that’s a little bit fancy 

🎧 Credits: 

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter

Consulting Producer Jessie-Lee Klass 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Editor Sophie Tedmanson 

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team 

💓

Learn More The Australian Women's Weekly Website: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/ 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deb Lawrie did not set out to become a symbol. She just wanted to fly. 

By the late 1970s, Deb had the hours, the qualifications and the experience to become an airline pilot. What she did not have was the one thing Australia’s major airlines seemed to require: being a man. 

When Ansett refused to hire her, Deb took on one of the country’s most powerful companies and won. Her landmark case made her Australia’s first female commercial pilot, and helped force open a door that had been firmly shut to women. 

In this episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories, Deb sits down with host Tiffany Dunk alongside her son Tom Lawrie, who would eventually follow her into aviation. 

Together, they talk about the teenage flying lessons Deb (almost) hated, the public fight that gripped Australia, the women who quietly boycotted Ansett from behind office desks, and what it was really like to raise a son while flying around the world. 

For Tom, Deb’s work was simply normal when he was a child. His mum flew planes. Sometimes he sat in the cockpit. Sometimes he was more interested in helping the flight attendants with the trolley service. It was only as he grew older, and became a pilot himself, that he began to understand what his mother had really done. 

This is a story about a mother and son, a job that became a calling, and the kind of courage that can change a family long before anyone realises it. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

❤️ Deb’s first flying lessons, and why she hated the first one 

❤️ The solo flight that made everything click 

❤️ How Deb built her hours flying opals across outback Australia 

❤️ Why Ansett tried to wait her out until she was too old to apply 

❤️ The sexist arguments used to keep women out of the cockpit 

❤️ How office secretaries helped boycott Ansett 

❤️ The day Deb won her High Court battle and passed her final flight test 

❤️ Tom’s childhood memories of having a pilot for a mum 

❤️ The moment Tom realised Deb’s job was extraordinary 

❤️ Why Tom followed his mother into aviation 

❤️ Deb’s advice for anyone who has been told no 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au 

Email us your love stories and any feedback at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au 

If you share your love story on social media please tag us, we’re @womensweeklymag, and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories 

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at https://www.womensweekly.com.au/ 👈🏽 

If you loved hearing Deb and Tom’s story: 

Read Deb Lawrie’s memoir Touching the Sky 

Learn more about The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories at https://www.womensweekly.com.au/love-stories-podcast/ 

🙏 Our special thanks for making Love Stories our home: 

Vixin, real results, simple skincare that’s a little bit fancy 

Credits: 

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter and Jessie-Lee Klass 

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More The Australian Women's Weekly Website: https://www.womensweekly.com.au/ 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Katie Noonan’s 20-year marriage ended, it wasn’t a clean plot twist, it was the slow unravelling of the life she thought she’d be living forever: two boys, one family, a future she could name.

In this episode of Love Stories, Katie chats with Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk of The Australian Women's Weekly about her layered grief: losing her Dad, becoming suddenly single, and realising that the person you have to learn to love again is yourself.

This isn’t a celebrity profile so much as an emotional recording of a songwriter who has gone through a lot of life. Katie goes back to the 90s - the disastrous eyebrows, the Gold Coast gigs, the share house full of actors - to find the younger self who started a band, fell in love and thought she’d cracked adulthood. 

What happens when that version of the story collapses?

Katie revisits the dark days she wasn’t sure she’d get through, how she's made mistakes along the way, and how music keeps dragging her back to the surface.

Moments you’ll hear:

• Katie admits she sometimes bursts into tears just seeing a family with two young boys, because “that was my life, and it isn’t now."

• How she’s turning heartbreak into a new album: “There’s nowhere to hide, it’s just me and a piano” and why she released the most exposing song of her career even though it might be too much for her own kids to hear just yet.

• The quiet wisdom her mum offers as they grieve side‑by‑side: “Every day is a new day… just let yesterday be”; and how a Buddhist temple on the Sunshine Coast and tiny rituals of self‑care are helping them both keep going.

• Katie’s confession that she’s been “really hard” on herself, questioning her whole reality, and the small, almost boring word she’s learning to cling to: resilient.

It’s a conversation about divorce, yes. But really it’s about what you build in the empty space afterward: a different kind of family, a different kind of faith, and a love story that starts awkwardly, imperfectly with yourself. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Katie's story: 

Katie Noonan singing 'Breathe In Now' 

Alone But All One is released on June 26. Pre-order here

Katie is touring around the country. Find tickets and venues here: https://www.katienoonan.com.au/shows

Follow Katie on Instagram here 

See More 👀: 

Divorce Month

Music news 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Charlie Potter 

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly Website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you grew up translating for your parents, working in the family business and quietly editing your dreams down to something “sensible,” this episode is for you. Actor Ana Thu Nguyen and her mum, Uyen, talk about going from a crowded boat and 17‑hour bakery days to a life where survival isn’t the only goal and why Ana finally stopped treating acting as a selfish fantasy and started seeing it as the point. This isn’t a guilt trip; it’s loud, joyful permission for anyone who’s ever thought, “That dream’s not for someone like me,” to want more anyway.

In this episode of Love Stories Tiffany Dunk Deputy Editor of The Australian Women's Weekly, we uncover what it feels like to have the wildest dreams, the one you’re certain is “not for someone like you”is exactly the life you’re allowed to want? In this episode, actor Ana Thu Nguyen sits down with her mum, Uyen, to talk with Tiffany about how a family journey that began on a crowded boat and in an Indonesian refugee camp slowly, quietly turned into something else: a home built on support, softness and the loud joy of saying yes to a creative life.

Ana grew up as the eldest daughter in a Vietnamese‑Australian family translating for her parents, helping in the bakery, watching them work 17hour days and convincing herself that law or a “proper job” was the only way to honour their sacrifice. Her escapism was always story: stacks of library books, school plays, and the moment she watched a production of Macbeth and literally saw herself on stage, years before Hollywood came calling

Together, Ana and Uyen trace the love story underneath the hustle: the grandfather‑figure who opened his Sydney home to them, the weekends in Cabramatta keeping culture alive, the bakery that paid the bills and raised two daughters, and the small gestures of care a hug, a shared coffee, a home cooked meal that told Ana she was loved long before she was “successful.” And then they talk about the pivot: the moment Ana decided that choosing acting wasn’t a betrayal of her parents’ struggle but the purest use of it.

This isn’t a trauma story; it’s a permission story. It’s for anyone raised on hard work and low expectations who now finds themselves pulled towards a life that looks nothing like what their family imagined and is scared of wanting it anyway

Moments you’ll hear:

• Ana explaining the mental math of the eldest daughter: if she chose acting over law, she was sure she’d be “dishonouring” her parents and failing at the one job she’d given herself to pay them back.

• Uyen casually mentioning 17‑hour days in the bakery and “half a day off at Christmas” 

• The moment in a high‑school production of Macbeth when she looked at the stage and, in her words, “left her body” because she suddenly saw herself up there, not just as an audience member but as a possibility.

• How her mum’s quiet mantra “I can do this for my family, I can do this for my children” became the blueprint for Ana’s own leap into acting: if she loved it this much, surely she could do it too.

• A love language check‑in that reveals both mother and daughter are “touch people,” more interested in hugs and time together than gifts, even as the world tries to monetise every feeling via holidays and retail moments.

• The shift from survival to support: Ana realising that her parents hadn’t worked this hard so she could stay small and sensible forever; they’d worked this hard so she could stand in a life that fit her, even if it scared all of them a little.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Ana and Uyen's story: 

Meet Ana on threads

Best Award Winning Films of 2026

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary, Baby Claudia and Charlotte 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On paper, Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary’s love story looks like a match made in heaven: two chefs meet on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win, he cooks the “marry me” barbecue fish, she makes the French bouillabaisse, and they ride off into the sunset with matching aprons. In reality, it’s messier, braver and far more interesting a story about second chances, blended families and a birth that almost broke them before their twins even took their first breath.

In this episode of Love Stories Tiffany Dunk Deputy Editor of The Australian Women's Weekly, Sarah and Declan rewind to the beginning: the green‑room chats when they were “definitely just friends”, the weekend hangs that became a safe house from the pressure cooker of reality TV, and the exact moment in the elimination line when Declan, convinced he might never see her again, blurted out a date request while she was wearing the black apron. From there, they trace how a friendship forged under studio lights quietly turned into a relationship that had to make room for a child, a dog, two careers and the logistics of building a life in the real world, not just on camera.

But the centre of the episode is the birth of their twin girls: an emergency C‑section that descended into 14 of the longest minutes of their lives, when both babies came out silent and Sarah’s health started to spiral. Declan talks about standing in a theatre full of doctors, thinking he might lose all three of them; Sarah remembers waking up to seizures she couldn’t control, trying to do skin‑to‑skin with cannulas up her arms while her body shook. It’s raw and precise and somehow still full of gratitude: for the surgeon who wrapped Declan in a hug and said, “your three girls are going to be all right,” for the NICU staff who moved mountains to get the twins to her chest, and for the fact that the story doesn’t end in that operating room.

Moments You’ll hear:

• How two fiercely focused competitors went from “we’re just here to win” to admitting the butterflies that were there all alongand why Declan chose the most stressful possible moment to ask Sarah out.

• The realities of blending a family: what it meant for Sarah, as a single mum, to protect Phoenix’s world while letting someone new in, and how Declan approached being “a good bloke and a role model,” not a replacement parent.

• An unvarnished account of a birth trauma: silent twins, emergency interventions, nine days in hospital, and the complicated feelings that come with not being able to give your babies the “ideal” start you’d imagined.

• How they found their way back to each other afterward through fear, guilt, gratitude and the slow work of telling the story out loud until it felt like theirs again, not just something that happened to them.

If you’ve ever looked at your own love story and thought, “this is too chaotic, too hard, too weird to be anyone’s happy ending,” this episode is for you.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

And just a heads up, this episode discusses birth trauma. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the free services below:

• Griefline — 1300 845 745
  Support for anyone experiencing loss, grief or loneliness.
  Visit griefline.org.au
• Blue Knot Foundation — 1300 657 380
  Support for adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse.
  Visit blueknot.org.au
• SANE Australia — 1800 187 263
  Support for people living with complex mental health issues and their families.
  Visit sane.org

Mental health and emotional support services

• Lifeline — 13 11 14
  24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention. You can also chat online at lifeline.org.au
• Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636
  24/7 support for anxiety, depression and emotional distress. Webchat available via beyondblue.org.au
• 13YARN — 13 92 76
  24/7 national crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are feeling overwhelmed or having a tough time. Staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander crisis supporters who listen with understanding, without judgement, and in a culturally safe space. Visit 13yarn.org.au
• Suicide Call Back Service — 1300 659 467
  Free phone and online counselling for people at risk of suicide, concerned about someone, or bereaved by suicide.
• QLife — 1800 184 527
  Anonymous, LGBTIQA+ peer support and counselling from 3pm to midnight every day. Visit qlife.org.au
• NSW Mental Health Line: Call 1800 011 511

If you are outside Australia

Find international hotlines and support services at findahelpline.com, a global directory of free crisis helplines.

You are not alone

Reaching out for help is a sign of strength. If you or someone you know needs support, please connect with one of the services above. The Weekly will continue to share stories of courage, recovery and hope, and we encourage you to take care of yourself while listening

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

If you loved hearing Sarah and Declan's story 

Their Relationship in pictures 

The Twins Girls

See more Sarah Todd  and Declan Cleary 

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Vixin  real results, simple skincare that's a little bit fancy

Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary, Baby Claudia and Charlotte 

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sensitive issues raised 💓

Love Notes bonus episode is part of our series of Love Stories -  short, quiet episodes from The Australian Women’s Weekly. With small reminders that love is something we practise, not just something that happens to us.

In this Love Note, Charmaine Caldwell, CEO and founder of VIXIN   returns to discuss with Deputy Editor Tiffany Dunk the part of midlife we rarely see: a decade‑long menopause journey, running a business through what she calls “100 mental breakdowns,” and the quiet work of learning to be kind to herself again. She talks about choosing a mostly natural path through perimenopause, why education and connection sit at the heart of her brand, and the messages from women saying “you saved my skin” that helped her keep going.

Charmaine also opens up, for the first time publicly, about surviving domestic violence and what it took to build a new life on the other side. You’ll hear her best practical advice on self‑love starting with how you speak to yourself, putting your own mask on first, and letting small acts of care snowball into something bigger.

If you need a gentle reminder to keep going, or permission to start talking to yourself like someone you actually care about, this Love Note is for you. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch  

What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Love Stories community and visit us at womensweekly.com.au
Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at awwlovestories@aremedia.com.au

If you share your love story on social media please tag us – we’re @womensweeklymag – and use the hashtag #AWWLoveStories.

Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly at subscription  👈🏽

See More: 

Menopause Symptoms No One's Talking About

Naiomi Watts 'Menopause It's Not The End'

If you loved hearing about Charmaine, you can follow her on Instagram and learn more about her products : 

Learn More About Vixin

VIXIN Instagram

🙏 Our special thanks for making 'Love Stories' our home: 

Today’s episode is brought to you by VIXIN Beauty, high performance, Australian Made skincare built for real skin and real results. No complicated routines, no watered down formulas, just powerful actives that support your skin at every stage.

Explore the range at vixin.com.au and enjoy up to 30% off bundles

Credits: 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski -Wallace 

Production by Thomas Crnkovic  

Our wonderful Australian Women’s Weekly team  

Learn More: Womens Weekly Website 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.