AS TOLD TO BEN KELLY
STEPHEN, 48, HAIR SALON OWNER
I first met Marco 21 years ago at G-A-Y at the Astoria, where Kylie was performing. I’d gone with a friend who wanted to see her, and he had been dragged along by a friend, too. He approached me on the dance floor. I didn’t know he was Italian at first, then I heard his accent and I loved it. We swapped numbers and kept in touch. I took my friend along to meet him again that first time because I’d been a bit drunk and I was worried I wouldn’t remember what he looked like! We just started dating from there. We went on holiday together that October and he moved in with me not long after. I always advise people not to rush into things — and I did the complete opposite. But it worked out. It is, and always has been, a great relationship. Marco is just incredibly likeable. We go to Sicily a lot to see his family. We’ve had no big dramas or splits, and I just thank my lucky stars that I’ve met someone who is honest and kind. People say we’re lucky, but we didn’t win the lottery; you don’t just get a perfect relationship for free. You have to work at it and it’s a massive compromise. The gay scene gets a bad reputation for being promiscuous and all that, but it isn’t always like that. Good relationships can happen — they do exist.