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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Brydie Lee-Kennedy

The moment I knew: my retinas were scanned, my fingerprints copied – I would make all kinds of concessions to be with him

A man and woman sitting next to each other in a dumpling restaurant, bathed in a gentle pink light.
‘The bureaucracy has been hard. But loving each other has been easy’: Brydie Lee-Kennedy and Tobi in 2022 Photograph: Supplied

In my mid-20s I did what many young, mobile Australians do and took advantage of the Youth Mobility visa, which allowed me to move to the UK for two years with no guarantee of work. Towards the end of my visa I met Tobi, a friend of a friend, at the Edinburgh fringe. We kept bumping into each other, and on one such occasion he asked if I wanted to see his buddy’s sketch show.

Ten minutes into an excruciating hour he leaned over, whispered “Sorry!” and squeezed my leg. I felt electrified. He didn’t seem to notice.

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