‘Hungover in a mattress shop, I realised he was unlike any man I’d ever met’

‘I was unsure whether his laughter was a good omen of our pending housemate-ship, or if he was just being polite’: Shona Hendley and her housemate-turned-husband Matt Photograph: Supplied

I was 22 years old, making the 600km drive from Melbourne to Canberra where a new job – my first proper job – awaited. My golden Daewoo Matiz, AKA Kel’s car from Kath and Kim, was packed with as many personal belongings as would fit in its tiny interior. My body buzzed with nervous excitement.

I made a pit stop in Goulburn, where I stretched my legs at the Big Merino. My phone rang; it was Matt, my soon-to-be colleague and, unconventionally, my soon-to-be housemate. He was finalising our house-moving arrangements.