A journey of self-discovery after being married to a man and falling in love with a woman, long-distance love and exploring a future together that’s in alignment with who they truly are.
Tell us a little about your love story – how it all began.
It was just over a year ago that the universe allowed our souls to cross paths. Lilly was living in Perth, and Nat was living on the opposite side of Australia in Brisbane. From the first message on Instagram, we both felt an instant connection, something more profound than your surface-level conversation.
We instantly fell for each other (even though neither of us had admitted it just yet) and spent six months of daily messages, video messages, and FaceTime calls. In a ‘normal world,’ we probably would have flown to each other within weeks of meeting, but we were living in the peak of COVID-19.
After six looooong months, Lilly moved to the Gold Coast on Christmas Day. That was probably one of the most nerve-wracking moments for both of us because we had built such a beautiful connection but hadn’t been able to meet physically. However, the moment we laid eyes on each other, the connection was intensified. From that day on, we have been inseparable.
We both often reflect on how grateful we are for the universe to have allowed us to meet at what feels like the exact right moment for both of us.
Can you touch on being married to a man and rediscovering your sexuality?
I began that relationship at a very young age. Way before I had even begun to discover who I was or what I wanted in life. I fell into the trap of doing what society expected of me. Once that eight-year relationship/marriage ended, I was forced to face myself and figure out who I really was in all aspects of my life. It was what I call my spiritual awakening. And once I began that path of discovery, I was able to explore more about my sexuality. I knew deep down that something about the same-sex was so intriguing and attractive to me. It was so empowering being able to own who I truly was and do that unapologetically.
How did you cope with being so far apart from one another?
We never saw the time we spent so far away from each other as a negative thing. On the contrary, we look back and know that the universe works in beautiful and perfect ways for whatever is meant to be. In a way, our souls needed to be away from each other to really deeply understand and get to know each other. We sincerely had never felt a connection so intense before without even laying a hand on one another. When we did, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other!
What empowered you to have portraits done? Can you tell us a little more about the experience?
Nat is super passionate about self-love and body confidence. Daphne’s work aligns so well with that. So when the opportunity arose to shoot with Daphne, of course, we couldn’t say no! We knew our love and connection was such a beautiful thing to experience every day really wanted something that could capture that. Our connection is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced with anyone else before. It is even hard to put into words, but we don’t feel as though we even need to.
The whole experience with Daphne was incredible. From the moment we walked in, we were handed some wine, and Daph sat us down to chat to get to know us on a more personal level. Which is something so beautiful to be made to feel so comfortable and at home before such an experience. Then, as Daphne started directing us, we entered our own vortex and even though we knew Daphne was there. We just got lost in each other. It was something that brought us even closer together.
Tell us all about van life and where you’re headed in life together.
Around four months ago, we realized that the life we were both living wasn’t in alignment with who we truly were and what we wanted for our future. So even though it was a little scary to make such a big decision to quit our 9-5 jobs and buy a van to turn into our home to travel around the coast of Australia, we knew it was the right decision for us. From the moment we made that decision, so many things started flowing into alignment for us. And we knew this was the universe’s way of confirming this was our path.
So now, in just nine days (from when we are writing this), we are heading off to start our journey. Not only a physical journey but a journey of growth, expansion, and freedom.
We envision our future life together to continue staying in alignment with who we are now and will continue to grow into. And we want to experience as many beautiful firsts with each other as we can. We are both so passionate about feeling completely and utterly free and want to inspire others to find their version of freedom as well. Both trusting that the universe will continue to guide us in how we can do just that.
Photography by Daphne Sky Studios
Studio The Blanck Haus
