Our first date in 2005 was at a hip-hop concert. We met at the pub beforehand. Plim wore a very sensible,buttoned flowery blouse and jeans. I was obsessed with being cool and hip and thought,"Who wears a flowery blouse to a hip-hop concert?"But I soon learnt that's Plim – she has her own unique,quirky style and doesn't give a shit what people think. After the concert,we sat at a corner table in a poky little pub,pashing while onlookers applauded.
We started seeing each other. For the unableto-commit man-child who had jumped from relationship to relationship,I found it got pretty intense,so one night we sat in my shitty little car outside her house and I said,"I'm not sure I want to do this."Plim looked shocked and hurt.
Two months later,I went to see Plim in one of her final drama school plays. Dressed in white,covered in artificial blood,she recited this crazy monologue. It was a perfect role and reminded me of what I loved about her:that crazy,creative,energetic side. We started dating again.
While Plim is this wild genius,she's also practical. One time,we were invited to a house party. When I went to collect her,she was waiting with a huge smile and cup cakes she had just baked. She wasn't worried at all about the feminine cliché – and the guests loved it!
In 2009,I packed champagne and oysters and took Plim out on my dad's tinnie. We zoomed up Pittwater and pulled into a cove,where I got on one knee and proposed. When we got back into the boat,the weather had turned. We have this photo of the two of us,fighting back the current,looking bedraggled and wet but so happy.
Our wedding day was choreographed by me,right down to a 40-minute music mix. Plim made an amazing collar with a tie for our little dog Lawrence,who was the ring bearer.
The most challenging aspect of our marriage was the birth four years ago of our first child,Elizabeth. The baby's heart rate dropped and the medical staff rushed us into the operating room for the delivery. I felt helpless. I had gone off my anxiety medication and had reached a level of panic that was physical and debilitating. Plim was very strong and still held her sense of humour,cracking jokes at the end of the four-day labour.