Our Love Story - Dion and Ben

As told by Dion:

I am originally from a tiny farming village in Wales, but moved away when I was 17.

I eventually ended up in Liverpool and lived there for 13 years.

I had two salons called Hooka over there, but after 10 years of trading I lost my business and decided to move to Sydney.

But trying to get residency was a whole other debacle .. basically there was no pathway to residency unless I lived in a regional part of Australia.

My choice was NT or Tassie.

I thought ‘well I haven’t moved this far in the world to live on an island with British weather… so i’m moving to Darwin.’

And that is how I landed here in September 2018.

To be honest my move to Darwin was more scary than Sydney .. because at least I knew people in Sydney!

I ended up leaving my things in storage in Sydney and moving into a hostel in the city with my two suitcases.

I met Ben via social dating apps in my first week in Darwin.

I didn’t know anything about him.

My flatmate at the time goes to me “he’s a bit famous you know.”

I remember going to a club and meeting Miss Ellaneous on stage – but I had no idea Miss Ellaneous was Ben’s alter ego!

The following day Ben said come to Darwin Pride at the Cavenagh .. and that is where I met Miss Ellaneous. That is when I went ‘oh that’s your persona!’.

Ben was travelling a lot at the time for work and he was never in Darwin, so we ended up just staying friends.

I started dating other people – in fact my former partner and I even came to Ben’s for Christmas.

When things went wrong with my ex .. well Ben was the person I called.

Around the same time a friend of Ben’s had randomly seen me at the gym and she said to Ben – there is a guy there I think would be perfect for you.

Ben goes: “How do you know he is gay”, and she said: “umm he’s wearing white lycra shorts – he’s definitely gay. I reckon he is the one for you”.

Ben said take a photo, so she did and sent it to Ben.

He goes “That’s Dion!”.

It was pretty hilarious at the time.

Not long after, we all went into Covid lockdown and Ben of course was stuck in Darwin.

We got a lot closer in that time.

He invited me to Dundee Beach … and we came back a couple.

With Ben travelling so much Covid gave him the chance to focus on his life rather than his career.

Not only did our relationship grow during this time, but we both opened business at same time in the same arcade in the Darwin CBD.

I had the Editor hair salon and Ben was working as a creative director and running his own business too.

We both lost our businesses when a fire went through the Chin Arcade.

It was a pretty tough time.

Ben moved to Sydney and I was stuck in Darwin because of my visa. I couldn’t move.

Finally, later that year, I got my residency and moved down there.

We got married in Sydney last September.

It was just wonderful and intimate with Ben and I and a witness each.

We both wanted something small and just for us.

But we are actually having the Festival of Love in Darwin this weekend! That is why we are up in Darwin again.

We are going to have a party with a stage and people performing and dancing and having a good time with our closest friends and family.

Then we will have another one in Sydney and then back in the UK to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

While we live in Sydney now, Darwin feels like home to me.

I am blessed to have this as part of my life. It is such an important chapter and will always be part of our lives.

Ben’s whole family has been so welcoming and wonderful. And his little girl Leila is just a darling. I feel like I have this massive extended family here and it’s just really special.

Our Love Story - Dion and Ben

Home

About