Missy Higgins’ former girlfriend interviewed on Australian Story

Missy Higgins dealt with “terrifying” speculation about her sexuality at her career peak, hiding a girlfriend who is now speaking out.

Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins and her former girlfriend have spoken about the pressure they felt to keep their “great” relationship out of the public eye in the latest episode of Australian Story.

This Is How It Goes: Missy Higgins, which aired on Monday night on the ABC and is available to watch on iView, traced Higgins’ story from her childhood right up to the imminent release of her sixth studio album The Second Act.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Higgins’ debut album The Sound of White, a 12-times-platinum smash that made her a household name here in Australia.

Higgins opens up about the highs and lows of life on Australian Story.

Higgins' tour manager and former partner, Emma Goodland.

With that success came speculation about Higgins’ sexuality, something the then-21-year-old found very uncomfortable.

“In the early days, people were very interested in my love life, very interested in my sexuality, who I was dating and what gender I was dating. And I found that really hard at the time, because I was still figuring it out but also just a very private person,” she said.

Higgins’ tour manager Emma Goodland remembered it as a “tricky time” for the star – and she would know, since they were in a relationship at the time which they managed to keep out of the public eye.

Higgins and Goodland dated in secret.

“Newsflash: I was that person,” Goodland said on Australian Story, confirming she was Higgins’ rumoured same-sex partner.

“We went out. Missy and I went out together and we had a great relationship. We had a really lovely time,” she said.

Goodland said the pair’s relationship just “made sense. We were just working together and touring the world together.”

But she said speculation about Higgins’ sexuality and dating life made things “hard.”

Higgins said that, 20 years later, she looks on in amazement about how much easier things are for young people today.

“Kids coming up today are so comfortable saying ‘I’m fluid in every way – gender fluid, sexuality fluid.’ If I was coming up at that age right now, I think I would be the same: No labels,” she said.

“But I was coming into the industry at a time where it was very taboo. It all just felt quite terrifying, and I didn’t feel like I could be myself, and all I wanted to do was just to relax somewhere and not be noticed.”

Higgins said the early speculation about her sexuality felt “terrifying”.

So that’s exactly what she did. Goodland had previously lived in the remote Western Australian city of Broome, and brought Higgins there for an extended visit post-Sound of White when she was arguably the most famous woman in the country.

“I really felt like I could just take a breath,” said Higgins, who ended up writing much of her second album On a Clear Night while living there.

Not that it was all easy. Goodland remembered Higgins initially feeling the pressure and writer’s block that came from following up such a blockbuster debut – until personal circumstances meant inspiration struck.

“We broke up during the making of that second album, and suddenly some of those [creative] doors flew open and she was able to write a few songs about it – so it wasn’t all bad,” she said with a laugh.

It’s terrain Higgins mines once more with her latest album The Second Act, released on Friday: its songs deal with the breakdown of her marriage to the father to her two children, comedian and playwright Dan Lee.

Originally published as Missy Higgins’ former girlfriend interviewed on Australian Story