Farmer Dave Graham and his partner Shazli have shared the behind-the-scenes story of their January Lord Howe Island mountaintop marriage proposal.
In an interview with ABCQueer, Graham explained, “Back when I was at boarding school, and it was just pure hell, but on the wall in my maths class was a 1960s map of Lord Howe Island and it was my dream place.”
‘It Was Beautiful. It Was Spectacular’
So, earlier this year, when he decided to propose to Shazli, Lord Howe Island was the place to do it.
According to ABC, after a long day of hiking on the island, the couple decided to stop for a break.
“I heard my name, and he was on his knees,” Shazli shared.
Describing the moment, Graham said, “It was beautiful. it was spectacular.”
“On the side of a mountain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in my special place, that kept me going through boarding school.”
Struggles Of Growing Up Queer
The couple also talked about the struggles of growing up Queer.
Graham explained, “Growing up gay in the bush, you had two options: to get out or to check out.
“Weird thing was I wasn’t willing to do either, I wanted a third option. I wanted to be there, live my authentic life.”
Shazli, who grew up in Pakistan, shared, “I had been in the closet for all of my life there.”
“The politics around being gay in Pakistan is: it’s against the law. If you get caught having sex with another man, you can be jailed for a few years.”
‘After A Lifetime Of Looking…’
Graham’s engagement was first broken by Women’s Day Australia in January 2023.
“After a lifetime of looking, I am absolutely and completely in love with the kindest, calmest, most decent hard-working bloke who balances me perfectly,” he said in an Instagram post.
“I was the guy who was told a thousand times when you least expect it, it will happen… and it did!”
Came Out On Big Brother In 2006
In 2006, Graham came out as gay during season six of Big Brother.
At the time, Graham talked about how living with dogs helped to come to terms with his sexuality.
“I internalised my feelings as is the culture for a farmer’s sons,” he said, “but it seemed like it was okay to cry with my dog, and the good part of that is that they would always make you realise life was worth living as they have such an amazing ability to show love and affection.”
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