How two divorcees found friendship, love and their true selves

Megan and Julie met each other in an airport carpark – Megan was married and Julie was newly separated. They began as friends but became much more.

When Megan Etheridge saw Julie from across an airport carpark while working for rival car rental companies neither expected to fall in love with a woman.

“She had an amazing smile, her blue eyes caught me and her hair was bright red,” Megan, 49, told The Advertiser.

Their love story began in 2018 when Megan moved to Alice Springs from Adelaide with her husband at the time and daughter.

Alice Spring local Julie had just separated from her male partner of 15 years.

A year later Megan and her husband divorced after 25 years of marriage and her friendship with Julie blossomed into something more.

Megan and Julie Etheridge found each other while working for rival car rental companies at Alice Springs Airport and have since moved back to Adelaide. Picture Matt Turner.

The couple, now living in Sheidow Park, are not alone. It’s more common than you’d think for women to realise they have feelings for the same sex later in life, there’s even a name for it: Late Bloomer Lesbian.

There’s Australian singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte, actor Rebel Wilson and Selling Sunset reality star Chrishell Stause who married rapper G Flip, who was born female but now identifies as non-binary.

Professor Lisa Diamond from Utah University studied 79 women who reported some same-sex attraction and, every two years, 20 to 30 per cent changed the way they described themselves – gay, straight, or bisexual.

Megan and Julie Etheridge met while working for rival car rental shops at Alice Springs Airport. Picture: Supplied

She believes sexual identity can shift non-voluntarily for some women and said the reason for it might be that women’s minds and bodies change with age, and their circumstances and priorities shift.

“I think a lot of women, late in life, when they’re no longer worried about raising the kids, and when they’re looking back on their marriage and how satisfying it is, find an opportunity to take a second look at what they want and feel like,” she was said in one article.

Megan and Julie continued to see more of each other whenever their work shifts matched up.

“Both of us had been with men, we started to find a real connection and attraction together,” Megan said.

“We kept our interest in each other very quiet at work for several months until we had both moved on to other employment.

“All the people in the airport were close, no one picked up on our friendship at that stage becoming more.”

To be together both Megan and Julie had to come out.

“We then decided to grow our friendship which was a huge thing for us both to come out,” Megan said.

Megan and Julie (glasses) Etheridge left their husbands and found each other while working for rival car rental companies at Alice Springs Airport. The couple have moved back to Adelaide. Picture Matt Turner.

“Since coming out I feel free, it’s something that I had always struggled to understand who I was, now I feel whole.

“My daughter was very supportive, she was a young teen dealing with our separation and her mum coming out, she has been an amazing daughter.

“For me, coming out away from my hometown was hard but I think a lot better than if it was back home – as I could block all the negativity and hurtful comments with a click of a button.”

For Julie, she said “coming out was never a big deal”, as her relationship with Megan felt normal.

“Julie’s family were supportive and understanding and embraced it,” Megan said.

Megan (right) proposed to Julie (left) in the airport carpark where they. Picture Matt Turner.

After a year together, in 2020, Megan proposed to Julie in the same carpark they met in.

“I waited until it was closed to the public and I had taken her out for a drive,” Megan said.

“I got out down on one knee, I had a T-shirt under another top, I had drawn a picture and wrote ‘Julie will u marry me’ on it.

“I had a ring … she said yes.”

Two years later on April 9, 2022 Megan and Julie married at an Alice Springs brewery.

Megan’s daughter walked her down the isle and Julie’s father walked her.

Their mothers were their witnesses.

“We look forward to spending the rest of our years together,” Megan said.

Following the wedding Megan brought Julie to Adelaide where they now live together in Sheidow Park.

“Megan always goes out of her way to make sure I know I’m loved, from planting me an orange tree to never missing an anniversary and while our time in Alice Springs was an adventure I love our modest little home and our fur babies,” Julie said.

Megan said she is “truly grateful” she met Julie.

“We both feel content and happy, we share interests in many sports, we love to go to the AFLW games,” she said.

“We love cooking together and generally enjoy each others company, since finding each other and … finding our true selves.”

Originally published as How two divorcees found friendship, love and their true selves