Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide, mental health issues, grief and the loss of a parent and child to illness. If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised, help is always available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Find more support services here: Need help? Support services and crisis helplines in Australia - The Australian Women's Weekly 

In 2009, Gavin Larkin sat his wife Maryanne and their closest friends down at the dinner table and told them about an idea he'd been carrying since his own father died by suicide years earlier. It was a simple question that could change everything: "Are you okay?" 

Allison "Ally" Langdon, a journalist and friend who was part of that conversation, knew instantly she had to help get the message out. What followed was R U OK? Day which has since grown into a national movement. But what followed was something that neither Ally nor Maryanne could have imagined. 

In this episode, Ally and Maryanne sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the early, uncomfortable days of getting a newsroom to even say the word "suicide," what it actually looked like for Ally to show up for her friend in the hardest years of her life, and the quiet, everyday ways two women have held a friendship together, and a legacy alive, for close to two decades. 

Moments you'll hear: 

• The dinner table conversation in 2009 that became R U OK? Day 
• Why newsrooms wouldn't touch the word "suicide," and the pushback Ally got 
• Maryanne on losing both Gavin and her eldest son Gus, and why moving into her late son's bedroom with her two younger kids helped them all grieve 
• The small, practical ways Ally and their friend group showed up during the hardest years 
• What it means to keep telling stories about someone you've lost 
• Nearly 20 years on, what they still hope for each other 

Visit the R U OK? Day website here. 

Learn more about Ally and Maryanne's friendship in our exclusive interview here

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 [email protected] 

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 www.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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by 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.

Ed Kavalee still remembers the exact moment he fell for his wife, and it happened on his TV screen, watching her compete as Angel on Gladiators. 

In this episode, Tiff Hall and Ed Kavalee sit down with Tiffany Dunk (or podcast Tiff as Ed calls her) to talk about how a TV crush turned into an 18-year love story, including the radio interview Ed engineered just to meet her, the moment he got cold feet six months in, and the blender that won her back. 

They also open up about becoming parents, Ed's own childhood without a father in the picture, and how that's shaped the kind of dad he wants to be. Plus, Tiff talks candidly about rebuilding her relationship with her body after having kids, and why she built a business helping other women do the same. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• The night Ed first saw "Angel" on Gladiators, and his friend's prediction 
• The interview Ed engineered just to meet her (and the second one he asked for) 
• Their first date, and the book Ed used to test her sense of humour 
• The moment Ed got cold feet, and the gift that won Tiff back 
• Their engagement story – including a secretly pre-planned visit to a very famous jewellery store 
• Ed opening up about growing up without a dad, and what it means to him now 
• Tiff's journey to rebuilding her relationship with her body after having kids 

Find out more about Tiff’s self-defence classes here. 

Check out Tiff's work with 28 by Sam Wood here. 

Find Tiff Hall on Instagram here. 

Keep up with Ed Kavalee on Instagram here. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

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

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected] 

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

Subscribe to The Australian Women's Weekly at www.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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits: 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Leah Porges 

Production by 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.

Before Big Little Lies became a global phenomenon, Liane and Jaclyn Moriarty were just two sisters filling exercise books for pocket money, dreaming of becoming writers. 

In this episode, Liane and Jaclyn sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the family that shaped them: a mother who fostered more than 50 babies, a father who paid them to write, and the safety of growing up as two of six kids who loved books more than television. 

They open up about the year Jaclyn was published first, the private rage Liane admits she felt, and what it took for her to finally sit down and write her own first novel. 

Plus, they reflect on the whirlwind of Big Little Lies becoming a Hollywood sensation, the sequel Big Little Truths, writing a role for Meryl Streep, and Jaclyn's newest release, Time Travel for Beginners. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• Growing up as two of six kids, and their mum who fostered more than 50 babies 
• Their dad’s pocket-money scheme, and the story that started it all 
• The rage Liane felt when Jaclyn was published first, and who it was really aimed at 
• Reading Jaclyn’s first manuscript, and the years it took to write her own 
• The moment Big Little Lies became a Hollywood sensation 
• Writing a role for Meryl Streep, and the text that made it real 
• What they'd write for each other, if they could 

Check out Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty here. 

Find Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty here.

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you leave... 

🗣️ Get in touch 

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

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected] 

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

Subscribe to The Australian Women's Weekly at www.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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits: 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by 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.

Content warning: This episode discusses combat injury, traumatic limb loss and newborn emergency surgery. If it raises anything for you, support is available: Wounded Heroes Australia crisis line 1300 532 112 (24/7 for ADF members, veterans and their families); Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling 1800 011 046 (24/7) | Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7). 

Curtis McGrath was searching for landmines in Afghanistan when the ground beneath him changed his life forever. Two years into their relationship, Rachel was 1500km away when she got the call. 

In this episode, Curtis and Rachel sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the day everything changed, the months of hospital treatment and rehab that followed, and the slow work of rebuilding a new normal.  

They open up about a proposal on top of a mountain in Canada, the wedding that scraped in just before COVID-19 hit, and becoming parents to a son whose own fight for life began just days after he was born. Plus, there's an exciting announcement about the newest addition to their family. 

To all veterans who may be watching or listening to this episode, we thank you for your service. 

Moments you'll hear: 

• Rachel and Curtis' first meeting, and the door that got shut in his face 
• The blunt question Rachel asked Curtis before he deployed 
• The day in 2012 when everything changed 
• The moment in hospital that made Curtis realise what life looked like now 
• Meeting Prince Harry at the Invictus Games, and what Curtis really thought of him 
• The proposal: a Banff Gondola, lots of stairs and a beautiful sunset 
• A diagnosis days after their son Monty was born 
• An exciting announcement about the newest addition to their family 

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/love-stories-podcast  

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected]  

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 magshop.com.au/LOVESTORIES 👈🏽  

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes Australia.  

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice  

Need help now? Wounded Heroes crisis line 1300 532 112, 24/7, Australia wide. 

Credits 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Leah Porges 

Production by 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.

Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of drug use, addiction and death. Support is available: LifeLine. 

Wendy Whiteley has spent more than 30 years protecting the legacy of a man whom she loved deeply. In this candid episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, the artist, gardener and first-time podcast guest joins Tiffany Dunk to reflect on her extraordinary life with, and after, Brett Whiteley. 

Wendy shares how a blind date led her to Brett, becoming his muse, and building a bohemian life together across London, Florence and New York. She opens up about the addiction that consumed them both for over a decade, the arrival of their daughter Arkie, her later death from cancer, and the moment Wendy finally chose to get clean for good. 

She also reflects on how she found out Brett had died, how she turned her grief into Wendy's Secret Garden, and how the loss of her daughter years later tested her all over again. 

Plus, Wendy shares what she's still building today at the newly reopened Brett Whiteley Studio in Sydney. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• Wendy's unfiltered thoughts on love, hate and duality 
• What love looked like growing up, and ‘running away’ from home at 12 
• The blind date that led her to meet Brett Whiteley 
• Becoming his muse, and moving to Europe for their art education 
• Marrying at 21 and living on next to nothing as young artists 
• The arrival of daughter Arkie, and how it changed their relationship 
• How casual drug use in the 60s spiralled into over a decade of addiction 
• The day Wendy learned Brett had died, and how she channeled her grief into a garden 
• Rebuilding her bond with Arkie in London, and the sudden loss that changed everything again 
• Why she's spent over 30 years preserving Brett's studio exactly as he left it 
• What love looks like for Wendy today 

Photo Credits: Brett Whiteley Studio archive, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales 

This story contains descriptions of drug use and addiction. If you or someone you know needs support, contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline for free and confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 250 015. If you are in immediate danger, call 000. 

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 www.womensweekly.com.au  

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected] 

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 www.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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits: 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Leah Porges 

Production by 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.

In Part 2 of this heartfelt conversation, actress, author, TV host, and proud Larrakia and Tiwi woman Miranda Tapsell and her mum, Barbara, share the moments that shaped their extraordinary mother-daughter bond. 

From the hilarious story of Barbara "testing" Miranda's now-husband James during his first visit to Darwin, to becoming grandmother and mother together, they reflect on how family evolves through every stage of life. Miranda opens up about raising children who are proud of their Tiwi and Larrakia heritage, why passing on culture matters, and the simple hope she has for the next generation: that they'll always know they're loved. 

The pair also discuss Miranda's joy in hosting Portrait Artist of the Year, why her parents have suddenly become armchair art critics, and the beautiful lessons she's taken from her parents' 50-year marriage into her own relationship. 

Moments you'll hear:

• Why Miranda and Barbara drifted apart when she moved to Sydney and how they found their way back to each other  
• The unforgettable family trip to the Cannes Film Festival that became a once-in-a-lifetime memory  
• The hilarious way Barbara "tested" James during his first visit to Darwin  
• How becoming a mother and a grandmother transformed their relationship  
• Why grandparents play such a special role in family life  
• How Miranda is raising her children to be proud of their Tiwi and Larrakia heritage  
• The touching story behind her children's Indigenous names  
• Why Portrait Artist of the Year has turned Miranda's parents into unexpected art critics  
• The beautiful lesson Miranda learned from her parents' 50-year marriage  
• What both women hope love will look like for the next generation 

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 [email protected] 

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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: https://www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits:   

Host Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

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.

Miranda Tapsell has become one of Australia's most celebrated actors and storytellers, but behind every chapter of her remarkable career is the woman who taught her what love, family, and community truly mean: her mum, Barbara. 

In this two-part episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, proud Larrakia and Tiwi woman Miranda joins host Tiffany Dunk alongside Barbara for a heartfelt conversation about the unbreakable bond between mother and daughter, the lessons that have shaped their family across generations, and the love that has carried them through life's biggest changes. 

Together they reflect on Barbara's childhood as the eldest of eight children, meeting and falling in love with Miranda's father, Tony, raising a family in Kakadu in the Northern Territory, and Barbara's years supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Miranda shares how her mum's unwavering belief in her gave her the confidence to pursue acting, the extraordinary sacrifice Barbara made to help her through drama school, and the values she's now passing on to her own children. 

They also open up about the realities of navigating the world as Aboriginal women, the work ethic and resilience passed down through generations, and why Barbara always taught Miranda that family doesn't stop at your front door. 

Part 2 is available now, where Miranda and Barbara share the story of meeting James, the family "tests" every new member must pass, the joy of raising the next generation together, and why love, laughter, and culture remain at the heart of their family. 

Moments you'll hear:

• Why Barbara has become a "mythical" figure in Miranda's life stories 
• Barara growing up as the eldest of eight children and learning responsibility early 
• The workplace romance that led to Barbara and Tony's 50-year marriage 
• Why Barbara waited until her 30s to become a mum 
• The family philosophy that "family doesn't stop at your front door" 
• Life growing up in Kakadu National Park and the village that raised Miranda 
• Barbara's extraordinary career supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and Miranda reflects on having her mum at school every day 
• The special role Miranda's grandparents played in her childhood 
• Miranda's very first performances and the early signs she was destined for the stage 
• The difficult transition from the Northern Territory to Sydney and studying at drama school, and the incredible sacrifice Barbara made to help Miranda finish NIDA 
• The life lessons Barbara taught Miranda about resilience, presentation, and work ethic as an Aboriginal woman 
• The family history behind those lessons and the policies that shaped generations 
• Miranda sees the next generation's performer beginning to emerge in her own daughter 

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 www.womensweekly.com.au/love-stories-podcast/ 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected] 

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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

Credits: 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Leah Porges and Helen Smith 

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.

Hannah Richell met Matt in a London publishing office in 2001. He had just walked in and taken the promotion she wanted, wearing jeans and Birkenstocks, and she was determined to hate him. Then September 11 happened, they sat by a canal with coffee the day after, and everything changed. 

Thirteen years later, on a completely ordinary Wednesday in July 2014, Matt went for a morning surf at Tamarama Beach before a meeting. He was 41, the CEO of Hachette Australia, and the father of their six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. He never came home. 

In this episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories, Hannah talks to Tiffany Dunk about the love story that came first, the day the police were standing in her front room, and the twelve years since. She describes grief as falling into a sinkhole. She explains why her very first feeling was shame. She shares what a child psychologist told her the day before she had to tell her children their father had died, advice she still calls a lifesaver. 

She is also, unmistakably, still here. There is a new relationship, a blended family of seven, a candle lit every Christmas Day, and a memoir, An Ocean and a Day, that she describes as a small companion for anyone in the dark. 

If you have ever wondered what to say to someone who is grieving, Hannah has a clear answer, and it is easier than you think. 

• The office rival she was determined to hate, the Birkenstocks that made it worse, and the canal-side coffee the day after September 11 that started it all 
• The proposal that never came on their last European holiday, the 24 hours they spent apart because of it, and the four words that fixed it: “I’m choosing you” 
• “Life would be pretty dull if it stayed just us”: the moment by Sydney Harbour that changed Matt’s mind about children 
• The phone call from Matt’s PA about a Bondi detective, and the run up the hill to a house that looked dark for the first time 
• Why the very first thing Hannah felt was shame, and the question underneath it: had they been too happy, too lucky, too in love? 
• What a child psychologist told her the night before she had to tell a six-year-old and a three-year-old, and why she calls it a lifesaver 
• Why the second year of grief can be harder than the first, and what happens when everyone else’s life goes back to normal 
• The single most useful thing you can do for a grieving person
• Lipstick, Prosecco and a colleague walking into the bar: the guilt of being a 39-year-old widow caught mid-laugh 
• The pub lunch six years later where two strangers cried together, and the blended family of seven she never saw coming

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

Before you go… 

🗣️ Got thoughts? We’d love to hear from you — we’re still growing this podcast and your feedback genuinely shapes it. 

📬 Send us your love story (or just say hello): [email protected] 

🌐 Join the Love Stories community: womensweekly.com.au/love-stories-podcast 

📲 Share your story on social: @womensweeklymag | #AWWLoveStories 

📖 Subscribe to The Australian Women’s Weekly: magshop.com.au/LOVESTORIES

📚 An Ocean and a Day by Hannah Richell is published by HarperCollins Australia, August 2026. hannahrichell.com

💜 If this episode raises anything for you: Griefline 1300 845 745 | Lifeline 13 11 14 (24 hours) | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 (24 hours) | Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (24 hours) 

🙏 Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes Australia, the only national 24/7 crisis service for Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families. Every donation helps them answer the next call: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice  

🙏 Special thanks to our partners Vixin — real results, simple skincare that’s a little bit fancy. Australian made, powered by plant stem cell technology. Use the code LOVESTORIES at checkout for 30% off: vixin.com.au 

Credits:

Host: Tiffany Dunk

Edited by Leah Porges

Supervising Producer Leah Porges

Our wonderful The Australian Women’s Weekly team

Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Content warning: This episode discusses veteran suicide, family and domestic violence, PTSD, and severe financial hardship. If it raises anything for you, support is available: Wounded Heroes Australia crisis line 1300 532 112 (24/7, for ADF members, veterans and their families) | Open Arms — Veterans & Families Counselling 1800 011 046 (24/7) | Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7) | 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 (24/7). 

When a veteran or their family rings Wounded Heroes Australia at 2am, the voice on the other end is Martin Shaw. As the charity's president since 2011, he knows how impactful the voice on the phone can be. The words he says every time are the same ones that helped his wife fall for him: "Don't worry, I’ve got you.” 

Kim Shaw heard him say those words before she ever loved him. She was focusing on work and not looking for love. When he first asked her on a date, she initially turned him down. When he tried again, she said yes and they were married within 12 months – but Wounded Heroes remained a major focus. Martin even took a crisis call on their honeymoon, but Kim never flinched. 

Theirs is a quieter kind of love story: two people who have built a marriage around holding other families together. And it’s the perfect place to begin our Acts of Service series, a new monthly limited series from The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories in partnership with Wounded Heroes Australia.  

In this episode, Tiffany Dunk sits down with Martin and Kim to talk about the marriage behind Australia’s only national, 24/7, non-government funded veteran crisis service. 

They explain what a $6.10 prescription, a $100 fuel voucher or a pizza delivered on Anzac Eve actually buys. Not a solution. A night. One in twenty Australian households has someone who has served. In 2023, suicide was the leading cause of death among ex-serving ADF members. Martin and Kim are two of the people who pick up when those numbers turn into a phone call. 

And Martin makes the case that sits at the heart of this whole series: everyone who signs up to defend this country does it out of love. Their whole life, as he puts it, is actually built around love. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• The words Martin says to every veteran who rings in crisis, and why Kim calls them the most comforting thing she has ever heard. 
• “You’re a flirt, I’m not interested”: the knockback, the chase down the office stairs, and the wedding twelve months later  
• The $1,000 a soldier’s wife handed back, and the ten-year-old boy whose PTSD diagnosis changed the course of Martin’s life.   
• The night a veteran rang from a pizza shop with no wallet, no phone and no car, and what $6.10 fixed the next morning. 
• Anzac Eve in a house with no electricity, where a soldier had pawned his medals and his children had agreed to sell their PlayStation. 
• Why Martin has lent his own charity close to half a million dollars, including his own  superannuation.  
• The two times of year Wounded Heroes braces for: Christmas with New Year, and Easter with Anzac Day. 
• Martin on what love actually means here: “You don’t have to wear a uniform to be a warrior”. 

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/love-stories-podcast 

Email us your love stories (and any feedback) at [email protected] 

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 magshop.com.au/LOVESTORIES 👈🏽 

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You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice 

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Credits 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Leah Porges

Production by 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.

Matty Acton was only 18 when he met Esther and her three-year-old son, Ethan. What began as an unlikely spark on a Toowoomba dance floor turned into a marriage, two more children, and a life that has never once followed the traditional timeline. 

In this episode of The Australian Women's Weekly Love Stories, Matty and Esther join Tiffany Dunk to reflect on the rocky early years of their relationship, the loss of Matty's father and the advice he gave his son about loving a ready-made family, as well as the moment Ethan first called Matty "Dad”. 

They also open up about becoming grandparents so early in life, the surprising parallels between their own whirlwind beginnings and their son’s early marriage, and why they've started sharing their story more widely through their own podcast, Underage Grandparents. 

This is a conversation about love that doesn't follow a script, blended families, and finding something beautiful in circumstances that don't look the way you expected. 

Moments you'll hear: 

• Why Taylor Swift's ‘Cardigan’ and Jack Johnson's ‘Better Together’ are the soundtrack to their relationship
• Meeting through a mutual friend and their first kiss at the Tatts Hotel in Toowoomba
• What it was like dating as an 18-year-old whose girlfriend was already a mum
• The outside pressure that fuelled their early breakups, including a six-week split that nearly ended things for good
• The advice Matty's dying father gave him about loving Esther and Ethan without fear
• Ethan meeting Matty for the first time in a Woolworths car park
• Moving to Sydney, getting engaged after seven years, and Matty's blindfolded proposal
• The conversation about Ethan calling Matty "Dad"
• Choosing to have children of their own, and welcoming Xander and Eden
• Becoming grandparents to granddaughter Illyria before Matty turned 40
• Why they started their own podcast, Underage Grandparents
• Their message to anyone whose life hasn't gone to plan 

You can listen to Matty & Esther’s Underage Grandparents podcast here. 

Watch more of Matty here. 

Catch Matty on Stav, Abby & Matt on B105 Brisbane 6-9am weekdays. 

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 [email protected] 

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 www.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! 

Sending thanks to our partners at Wounded Heroes. 

You can help Wounded Heroes deliver emergency assistance to current Australian Defence Force members, veterans and their families by donating at: www.woundedheroes.org.au/actsofservice

Credits 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Phoebe Zukowski-Wallace 

Production by Helen Smith 

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.