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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Emma Mugglestone

The moment I knew: through tears, I confessed I didn’t know how I was supposed to leave him

Emma Mugglestone and Gorgeous in Melbourne, May 2022
Emma and Gorgeous in Melbourne in May 2022: ‘It felt impossible to keep denying what we had become to each other.’ Photograph: Christina Hardcastle Photography

In 2007 I was preparing to move from Brisbane to the UK. I was 21, I’d just finished university and my family had been through a rough period. It was time for a new adventure, even if I was mildly anxious about leaving behind all my loved ones. When my best friend, Tegan, suggested a night out, it sounded exactly what I needed, but first she wanted to show me around her new lodgings on Enoggera army base.

Tegan had told me stories about the other soldiers she was living with, but there was one guy who kept coming up – an artillery officer named “Gorgeous”. Obviously, he had another name, but when Tegan introduced us, his nickname made a whole lot of sense. He was still in his cams (hello!) and despite never being interested in men in uniform before, my curiosity was piqued.

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