Tasmanian couple puts love to the test in Extreme Engagement

A Tasmanian couple decided spending day-in-day-out together at some of the world’s most extreme locations was the best way to test their commitment to each other.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE: Tasmanian film producer Tim Noonan and partner PJ Madam on their trip around the world exploring marriage customs in diverse cultures.

MOST couples set off on a holiday post-wedding to symbolise the promise of love, but Tasmanian filmmaker Tim Noonan and his fiancee PJ Madam took their world adventure to see if they could make a marriage work.

The couple has recently returned from a 12-month trip visiting eight different countries, including Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Nigeria, to explore marriage customs in diverse cultures and open their eyes to the symbolic nature of marriage.

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The couple, who manage production company Wildman Films, documented their travels to form new Netflixseries, Extreme Engagement.

The show was conceived after a testing time in the couple’s relationship when Noonan spent two years overseas filming for another project.

The time apart made them question whether getting married was the right idea but, driven by their love, the couple decided spending day-in-day-out together in some of the world’s most extreme countries was the best way to test their commitment to each other. “It was make or break for us,” Noonan, a former Taroona High School student, said.

“At times it almost broke us, but when we were pre-filming we promised we would see the trip through.

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“We wanted to show people that marriage isn’t a fantasy — that it is about challenges and not the white wedding dream that they tell you about beforehand.”

Noonan said the couple’s relationship was strengthened by the “transformative journey”, which saw them undergo traditional tribal rituals such as getting possessed by spirits in Cameroon and having their teeth filed in Nigeria.

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He said their future together was thrown into the unknown by deciding to take on the adventure that “instantly fleshed out both person’s strengths and weaknesses”.

“When we set out, we didn’t know what the ending of the show was going to be and Netflix producers knew that, but still supported us in our journey.

“The way I look at it is, if you’re brave enough to look for the answer, you’ll come out stronger on the other side.”

Extreme Engagement is now streaming on Netflix.

Originally published as Tasmanian couple puts love to the test in Extreme Engagement