When best friends Teresa Leggett and Michael Gardiner take to their Mardi Gras float this year, it will mark 20 years since they first attended one of the biggest LGBTQIA+ festivals in the world.
The annual Sydney event means a lot more than just feathers and fun to them - it's an opportunity for the pair to reflect on how the community parade has helped them navigate tough times in their lives.
Teresa and Michael used to be husband and wife. Then, after a decade of marriage, Michael, 53, realised he was gay.
"I think I knew before he did," Teresa, 49, tells New Idea. "I asked him a million different ways if there was anything he wanted to tell me, but he wasn't really sure what was going on with himself." Michael agrees, saying, "I grew up in a very conservative family; there was no such thing as gay people in my family." The couple eventually split, but Michael was still coming to terms with his sexuality and hadn't yet come out to his family.
Denne historien er fra March 11, 2024-utgaven av New Idea.
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Denne historien er fra March 11, 2024-utgaven av New Idea.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
CLOWNING AROUND!
THE GAGLIARDIES PUT THE FUN IN FAMILY
FIGHTS FOR HER JOB!
HER NEW ROLE RUFFLED SOME FEATHERS
'WE'RE ONE AND DONE'
THE WILDLIFE WARRIOR SHARES SOME FAMILY NEWS
CURSE OF DREAMWORLD strikes AGAIN
THE GOLD COAST PARK IS FACING ANOTHER SCANDAL
Seeing RED
SIX RELATIONSHIP RED FLAGS TO BE WARY OF, ACCORDING TO LAWYER CAROLYN DEVRIES
'MUM SAVED THE DAY!'
THEY PAIR ARE SET TO HAVE AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!
WE THOUGHT WE'D LOSE HIM'
A SIMPLE VIRUS SAW LITTLE RYAN LOSE BOTH HIS LEGS
Getting so ber made me a better man'
Settling in for a candid chat on the porch of his family’s sprawling 100-year-old farmhouse, James Blundell breaks into a warm smile.
Prince Christian's ON ROYAL DUTY!
Denmark’s Crown Prince Christian has enjoyed his first solo royal engagement abroad at the Paris 2024 Paralympics!
3 great ways with DOUGHNUTS
CREATIVE TAKES ON THIS ICONIC SWEET TREAT