Author Sally Hepworth: ‘I’m the full-time worker and my husband is the CEO of the home’

Sally Hepworth is an author best known for her bestselling novels. She is married. The 41-year-old opens up about her relationship with her dad, being friends with her first boyfriend, and how her marriage makes her a successful writer.

“Christian is a hands-on husband and dad. We have three children. I’m attracted to his intelligence and sense of humour. We laugh all the time.”

My dad, Trevor, isn’t big with words. When I was little, he’d express his love by taking us on drives. He’d put me and my twin brothers, Simon and Chris, in the car and take us to our holiday house in Portsea. We’d swim in the rock pools, then he’d drive us back home to bayside Melbourne.

Dad’s mother died when he was three. He went to live with his grandparents and was raised as an only child, while his older sister, who was seven, stayed with his dad.

He doesn’t talk about this time much. My aunt took her own life in her 40s. Dad always says “I don’t look backwards in life, I look forwards.”

Dad is still married to Mum [Geraldine] and they have eight grandchildren. Having a solid family unit is what he most desires. Mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020. Dad takes care of her.

Mum and Dad met at Monash University. He went on to be a successful businessman, but at the time he was working as a pool attendant in Croydon. Mum was a schoolteacher and had already bought her first home. They were engaged after three months and married shortly after that.

My brothers are 17 months older than me. They weren’t interested in me as kids; they had a built-in best-friend mode and always played together. As we grew up we became close and travelled overseas together.

I had my first kiss at 14. Everyone thought I was frigid. I wanted to kiss a boy but nobody wanted to kiss me. A friend’s boyfriend had a friend who was up to the task. It happened in my friend’s little brother’s bedroom. I was sitting on a single bed and we kissed. I was revolted by so much tongue.

I am still friends with my first boyfriend, Nick – my husband Christian hangs out with him now. I remember seeing Nick play with his younger siblings and thought he was a good person; that stood out to me.

After completing an arts degree, I moved to London. I met a British boy, Ollie, and fell madly in love. It started my mini obsession with British men. He came to Australia for a while but it didn’t work out.

My biggest heartbreak happened when I was 23, with Mark. We dated for three months, and I thought I was made for Mark and lost myself in it. It was too much for him; he freaked out.

“I was 25 when we started dating. Six months later we moved to Canada and after three years came back with a baby.”

I met my husband, Christian, via a friend who met him at the Albert Park Deli one day and exchanged numbers. She told him she’d call if she was having a party. My friend told me she’d met a man who was perfect for me.

Christian and I got along at the party and talked for ages. The next day he was flying overseas for work. He left and didn’t call me again. I was sad about it. He came back to Australia but got together with another woman. A year later they broke up. We saw one another at a group event and I asked him why he didn’t call. He said he just choked. I was a bit younger than him and he thought I wasn’t into it.

I was 25 when we started dating. Six months later we moved to Canada and after three years came back with a baby. Christian is a hands-on husband and dad. We have three children. I’m attracted to his intelligence and sense of humour. We laugh all the time.

I could not be a successful writer without him. When he was working full-time as an accountant, he had a great income and he supported the family while I took a chance on writing my first book. Now I’m the full-time worker and he’s the CEO of the home and CFO of Sally Hepworth Enterprises.

The Younger Wife (Pan Macmillan) by Sally Hepworth is out now. She will appear at the Mother’s Day High Tea at Brisbane Writers Festival on Sunday, May 8.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.

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