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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
As told to Isabella Lee

The moment I knew: as the countdown reached one, something instinctive pulled us together

James Websley and Jarred in Austria 2025
‘It dawned on me that life felt infinitely better since meeting Jarred’: James Websley and Jarred in Austria 2025 Photograph: James Welsby

It makes sense that Jarred and my story began among handstanding nude performers. It was 2009, I had just wrapped up a dance performance at Melbourne fringe festival and I was unwinding in the artists’ bar when circus performers began doing outrageous naked tricks. Over the crack of whips, my eyes found Jarred in the audience. He was absolutely gorgeous.

Wasting no time, my friend Amy introduced us. Jarred told me he was studying circus arts; I was a contemporary dancer, so we bonded over a love of movement. His beauty drew me in but his passion for his craft held me captive. The world is a complicated place, but it was clear we both believed in making life fun through our work.

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