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A passionate kiss at the stroke of midnight is the perfect way to celebrate the start of a

new year. For Brad and Hilary Lauder, it was the start of a perfect partnership.

It was a typical London New Year’s Eve for event manager Hilary Lauder, who had casual plans to ring in 1999 with a small group of friends. In fact, she was so sure it would be nothing special that she almost didn’t bother going out. “I had arranged to go and spend New Year’s with Rachel, one of my best friends from uni – she lived in a large share house in Richmond. I was actually thinking, ‘I can’t be bothered to go.’ Then I looked at my horoscope and it said something along the lines of ‘you should go out tonight.’”

Little did Hilary know she would meet the future father of her children as she stepped through the door of the boisterous London home, inhabited by six Brits and one Aussie. “I thought I would just have another typical New Year’s Eve,” remembers Hilary. The first person she laid eyes on was a strapping Australian rugby player named Brad, who had recently moved into one of the rooms. “I was one of the first to arrive,” recalls Hilary. “Brad was sitting at the table. He was big, loud and confident and when I walked in, he said, ‘So, young Hilary, what do you do?’

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I was a bit cheeky back to him. I think he quite liked that I wasn’t shy or taken aback.”

Brad, who had recently moved from Brisbane to work in a marketing position in London, wasn’t looking for love that night, but was struck by Hilary’s cool demeanour and intelligence. “We were at opposite ends of the room for a while,” remembers Brad.  “There was a kitchen, with about 20 of us packed in there. One of my mates was in her ear, talking to her about physics. Another girl had taken quite a liking to me, so I was being crowded into a corner.” Hilary and Brad managed to sneak in some conversation throughout the night. Discovering they shared a background in event management meant they had plenty to talk about. “I thought she was very attractive,” says Brad.  “To be honest, I thought she was out of my league.”

As the new year arrived, it became clear Hilary had been quietly won over by Brad’s relaxed Aussie charm and sense of humour. “It’s a very English thing to kiss everyone at the pub or party at the stroke of midnight,” Hilary says. As ‘Auld Lang Syne’ played, Hilary took the opportunity to plant what she now describes as “more than a friendly peck” on Brad. “When we kissed at midnight, it came as a little bit of a surprise to me,” Brad confides, “I didn’t realise she was interested.” Brad was also surprised when Hilary talked to his brother on the phone and gushed about the impression he had made. “My brother and family called from Australia,” says Brad. “Hilary got on the phone in the middle of the pub, telling them how lovely I was. I thought, ‘Hang on, what’s going on here?’”

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