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Unique way Grace Tame met her fiance Max Heerey

Grace Tame has paid tribute to her fiance Max Heerey on social media, deeming him her “biggest supporter” and “number one hero”.

Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins at National Press Club

Grace Tame has paid tribute to her fiance Max Heerey on social media, deeming him her “biggest supporter” and “number one hero”.

After a blockbuster few weeks – including her second National Press Club address and sparking dozens of headlines for those now-infamous photos with Scott Morrison on January 25 – the former Australian of the Year thanked her partner for “once again” going “above and beyond behind the scenes”.

“After another cycle of a week, I’d just like to say an extra special thank-you to an extra special human who has once again gone above and beyond behind the scenes,” Ms Tame wrote.

“Max, you’re always there. Always. Through the good, the bad and the really, really bad. Giving more than 100 per cent. Better than the best. Holding US up in every storm, consistently calm from beginning to end. Patient, protective, kind, fair, humble.

“My biggest supporter, even when I’m an emotional mess or just a downright pain in the arse.

“It’s been a tough trek for us through uncharted trauma territory and we’ve made it through with some wounds but also a unique kind of hard-won strength we’ll never lose.

“You’re my number one hero. Love you, Max/Cory Worthington (LOL), even when you leave the toilet seat up.”

Grace Tame and Max Heerey at the National Press Club last week. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Grace Tame and Max Heerey at the National Press Club last week. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Ms Tame described him as her ‘biggest supporter’ and ‘number one hero’. Picture: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
Ms Tame described him as her ‘biggest supporter’ and ‘number one hero’. Picture: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Ms Tame, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, is known for her prolific contribution to legal reform on Australian laws which previously prevented sexual abuse survivors in certain states from publicly sharing their story.

News.com.au launched the #LetHerSpeak campaign in November 2018, in partnership with The Mercury, End Rape on Campus Australia and Marque Lawyers.

The first story was about the anonymous tale of Jane Doe, who was a 15-year-old Tasmanian schoolgirl when she was sexually assaulted by her 59-year-old teacher.

“Jane” was actually Ms Tame, who wanted to tell her story but was prevented from doing so under her real name thanks to an archaic gag law.

In December last year, she launched The Grace Tame Foundation alongside Mr Heerey – who works as the not-for-profit’s Chief Operating Officer – with the aim of continuing her political and social advocacy work against the sexual abuse of children.

Unique way they met

Ms Tame and Mr Heerey started dating just months before she was thrust into the national spotlight, when she moved back to Tasmania at the end of 2020.

Mr Heerey told podcast host John McKenna last June that the couple bonded after their mutual love of exercise, having met through running app Strava.

“When I saw Grace going for a few runs in our local area, I sent her a message saying, ‘Oh, look, do you want to go for a run?’” he recalled.

“You know, sort of catch up and go for a run and have a chat, and we did that. And, yeah, the rest is history.”

The couple announced their engagement in late January. Picture: Twitter
The couple announced their engagement in late January. Picture: Twitter
‘I know what love is now,’ Ms Tame said of her relationship. Picture: Twitter
‘I know what love is now,’ Ms Tame said of her relationship. Picture: Twitter

In an interview with Marie Claire, Ms Tame called him “the love of my life, my actual soulmate”.

“And I know it sounds trite and soppy, but I couldn’t give less of a f**k about that. Because, yeah, I know what love is now. I’d known it in a platonic way and in a familial way, but not this kind of love,” she said.

“And we’ve both been in long-term relationships before. I was even married [to American actor Spencer Breslin]. But I’m already closer to Max than I was to my husband, and we’ve only been together for five months.”

Days before her Australian of the Year tenure ended, Mr Heerey proposed – getting down on one knee during a bike ride in late January with an elegant ring that featured a brilliant blue sapphire.

Sharing the news on Instagram and Twitter, Ms Tame said the design was by the jeweller Jordan Grech, from independent studio Tender Scars.

“I said, ‘yeeeES!!!’ OATH YES! Love you forever and ever angel man,” she wrote.

Originally published as Unique way Grace Tame met her fiance Max Heerey

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/number-one-hero-grace-tames-powerful-post-to-fiance-max-heerey/news-story/e9d05f2f8ffa17204e78fcabe9f3279a