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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eddie Botha, as told to James Norman

The moment I knew: I heard her beautiful laugh again, and all my emotions came flooding back

Eddie Botha and Jennifer at their wedding in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Malaysia, in 2007
Eddie Botha and Jennifer at their wedding in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Malaysia, in 2007 Photograph: Supplied

I met Jennifer at a Guy Sebastian concert in Kuala Lumpur in 2005. It was strange I was there because I’m kind of anti-pop music, but we were introduced there by a mutual friend. We didn’t talk that much but I immediately liked Jen and invited her to dinner the following week.

That first date wasn’t in a fancy restaurant and we sat in the corner and talked for over an hour. I liked that she wasn’t at all bothered by the simplicity of the dining room. Being a foreigner in Malaysia, I immediately felt with Jen that there wasn’t as much of a culture gap as I’d felt with others. I could talk to her easily and was struck by her warmth and openness. And it was there that I first heard her laugh beaming out across the room, a pure, joyous sound.

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