‘It was terrible’: Amy Sheppard and Lachlan Stuart on moment that almost ended their relationship

An Aussie musician has opened up about her dating fail – and how it all worked out for the best.

In the first instalment of our new video series Couple Goals, musician Amy Sheppard and performance coach husband Lachlan Stuart turn up the heat on their relationship as they interview each other. The couple, who have been married for three and a half years and together for 11 years, say they have supported each other through career setbacks and long distance love and share they miraculously lasted after a ‘shocking’ first date.

Singer Amy Sheppard and her husband Lachlan Stuart talk about their relationship. Picture: David Kelly

Lachlan asks:

How did we meet?

AMY: We met at a bar 11 years ago the old-fashioned way, Alfred & Constance it was called, it was on Constance St (Fortitude Valley), something different now it’s still a bar. It was actually your friend that came over and was chatting to me. I wasn’t really into him and then you came over to be a great wingman. You weren’t too much of a wing man.

Where was our first date?

A: Our first date was a pretty shocking one. It was at a Reds rugby game. I’m not a rugby person. I don’t know a thing about sports if I’m being honest. You love rugby. I don’t think we even sat together, it was terrible.

L: I think you girls left because you were so bored, but it was great fun. That was a good first date. I enjoyed it. I still have this memory of when we went to Caxton St (Paddington) after. You were walking back down the stairs with a few drinks and I just remember at the top of the Caxton St stairs you slipped and I was like, “oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.” But it was one of the funniest things. What a first impression.

A: I’m surprised we’re still together after that date.

When did you know I was the one?

A: I feel like it was more of a gradual process for us when we first started dating. I was in the midst of heavy touring with Geronimo and we survived that and I think it was after that tour that I realised that we had something special because we survived some crazy distance and time apart.

L: I still remember when you guys signed with Scooter Braun, who is Justin Bieber’s manager, and you guys were so excited. I was thinking, “oh, she’s going give me the flick here, what have I got to offer?” So to your credit, you didn’t, which is cool.

When were you the most vulnerable in our relationship?

A: Probably when things are difficult in the band. It does look like everything goes so great for us all the time, but there are times where you just feel like, maybe it’s the end for the band, or maybe I’m not going to be able to continue this career. I think that’s when I’m most vulnerable because I don’t know what’s next. It scares me to have to rely on a partner financially.

L: I think that’s a big one for both of us. Early on, I relied on you when I first moved to Brisbane and I started my business. I still remember as a bloke having to be vulnerable because I couldn’t afford the quality of life that we were having. So you’d give me a loan or you’d help me pay rent or whatever. As a man, I was like, I’m such a failure to be doing that. But then obviously, you know, we’ve gone in ebbs and flows of that. And now we do things together.

A: You don’t want to be a burden on the other person. But I think if you can get through that and understand that we’re a team, you’re building something together, you’re stronger together than apart.

Singer Amy Sheppard and her husband Lachlan Stuart on their wedding day three years ago.

What do we argue about the most?

A: You will come back from one of your sweaty runs and leave your completely saturated
T-shirt and hat and pants all over the house. I’ll be randomly cleaning up one day and find this filthy stinking shirt in the most random place.

Our biggest challenge as a couple?

A: Those early days of touring because we were still getting to know each other. I didn’t know whether I could trust you yet and we just had to be apart. I didn’t know whether I would be able to have a relationship with anybody being on the road. But thank god for Snapchat. I remember back in the day there was no FaceTime but there was Snapchat.

What’s a lie you’ve told me?

A: Probably the budget around our wedding. We had a set budget that we had agreed on and then the expenses just kept growing and growing and so I would just like kind of keep you out of those conversations.

L: It wasn’t until we got one invoice that was pretty much the same price as the whole agreement and I asked to see the spreadsheet. I should have been involved. That’s a tip.

A: I just don’t think people realise – people mainly being men – how much weddings cost.

L: I think we do, that’s why we’re like, please stick to a budget.

Amy Sheppard and her husband Lachlan Stuart ask each other questions for Couple Goals. Picture: David Kelly

Amy asks:

Who made the first move?

LACHLAN: Well there’s two sides to this story, there’s the truth and then there’s Amy’s version. The real story is it was 3am or 2am and we were dancing on the dance floor at Alfred & Constance and you asked me to hold your clutch – it was this little croissant looking handbag. I’ve gone to be the nice bloke and grab it and then you just pulled me in and latched on for a kiss and I was like, whoa, that was a bit forward but it worked and that’s how it really went down.

A: ’Cause I was like, lock out is pretty soon, so am I going to a smooch or what?

L: I was trying to be a nice bloke.

What was your first impression of me?

L: Unique just because of the hair colour. You stood out. Especially 11 years ago, coming from Toowoomba, I hadn’t seen too many people with coloured hair. And that was an easy opener.

What is your favourite thing about me?

L: So many. I think how humble and caring you are. I think one thing you always do is give everyone the time of day, which I think is so awesome, watching it from your friends to me, to my family, to your fans. You treat everyone the same, which is really cool.

What is the most unexpected place you’ve found blue hair dye in our house?

L: When I wake up or we go to change the sheets, it looks like I’ve been sleeping next to a Smurf because the fake tan runs the whole body of the bed and then the pillowcase is stained blue. We’ve got to get coloured pillowcases. Even yesterday when I went to the gym, there was blue hair through my watch.

A: Was there?

L: Yes. It just ends up everywhere.

A: Sometimes when I’m cooking it’ll end up in the food and there’s no denying whose hair it is.

Amy Sheppard and Lachlan Stuart open up on their relationship. Source: Facebook

What do you find the most annoying about me?

L: At the moment, it’s the coffee mugs. I bring you a coffee every morning and then if you go upstairs, there’s like coffee mugs everywhere. There’s coffee mugs in the bathroom. There’s coffees mugs on my dresser. And so I walk down with like four days’ worth of coffee mugs.

What is your favourite and least favourite song I’ve written about you?

L: The favourite song you’ve written for me is The Reasons Why, the wedding song that you wrote. That was a beautiful song. What is my least favourite?

A: Maybe Smile is your least favourite … or just not the video clip …

L: We were together for two years and you released a song called Smile. And in this song, the film clip, you’re like, “oh, can Lachie play the partner role?” and management said no. This dude looks legitimately exactly the same as me, which is what frustrated me the most. At the end scene, you’re climbing up a rope and then you smooch this bloke. So that’s actually probably my least favourite part.

Funniest sibling moment you’ve witnessed?

L: One of the funniest ones is our honeymoon where everyone was supposed to be shipping off after the wedding on the final day back down to Brisbane. We were staying up for our honeymoon. And George conveniently had extended his stay somehow. The next four days, he’s crashed our honeymoon and Emma was furious. Whenever Emma gets left out on something, it makes me laugh so much because she fires right up.

Originally published as ‘It was terrible’: Amy Sheppard and Lachlan Stuart on moment that almost ended their relationship