They both proposed. This is how I chose.

I hardly dated as a teenager, so you can imagine how shocked I was when in my mid-twenties, I was in love with two men, and both of them wanted to marry me. Even talking about it now brings back that feeling of shock and surprise.

The first prospective husband was the man I had been dating for four years, and had recently moved in with. Our relationship was really hard and filled with challenges. He was older, had a bitter ex-wife and two children and a difficult mother.

On paper, this man was all wrong for me. We had completely different backgrounds, beliefs, family values, hobbies, even food preferences. It was so, so wrong.

The second prospective husband was the man I had loved since I was a teenager. He was a family friend and I’d loved him secretly, never for one second dreaming that one day he may love me back.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Love Is Now. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words. 

On paper, he was perfect. My family already knew him and loved him. We had practically had the same childhood, we were the same nationality, the same religion. We both valued our families above all others and even liked to do the same things. It was so, so perfect.

But my ‘perfect on paper’ man was a risk. We’d never even officially dated before. Was I willing to walk away from a four year relationship with a man I loved to risk it with the man I had always loved?

I was the most confused I’d ever been. 

After weeks of absolute torture, trying to make what would be the biggest decision of my life, I came across a movie I’d watched a few years earlier. Five minutes into the movie, I suddenly and with blinding clarity knew who to choose.

The movie was Thank God He Met Lizzie.

This Australian movie was released in 1997 and it had a profound impact on me for the longest time. The basic story is, a young couple meet, fall head-over-heels in love, move in together and then suddenly, are at that place where they either get married or break up. He breaks it off, telling her the magic is gone. She is devastated, as is he.

He then meets and quickly marries the next woman he meets.

On the night of his wedding he realises he has made a huge mistake. Relationships aren’t about magic and excitement, they are about love. And just because the spark had gone from his first relationship, it didn’t mean it was time to break up.

The final scene is one I think about all the time. It is a few years down the track and he and his wife have two children who they are taking for a day at the beach. They look like any other perfect family. But close up, they are just going through the motions.

So back to my decision: I stayed with my boyfriend. We are now married with three children.

I have no regrets. When I met my husband we fell madly in love. We were nuts for each other. Even though we were all wrong for each other. Even though it was so, so hard.

And it wasn’t an epic Hollywood romance that showed me the way. It wasn’t Jack and Rose in Titanic or even the epic Pride and Prejudice.

It was a little Aussie move starring Cate Blanchett before she was famous, Richard Roxburgh before Moulin Rouge and Frances O’Connor before A.I. Thank God for Thank God He Met Lizzie, and thank God for Australian cinema.

A new movie I consider to be the next Thank God He Met Lizzie is out now. It’s called Love Is Now. Watch the preview and you’ll see what I mean.

Because sometimes it takes a movie about love to give you all the answers you’ll ever need about love.

What is your favourite Australian film of all time?

Here are some of our favourite Aussie classics. Is your favourite in the list?

To celebrate the release of Eponine Entertainment’s “Love Is Now”, we have 5 major prizes to be won, including a Nikon Camera and a Reid Bike. To be in the running, CLICK HERE and tell us in 25 words or less ‘what love is to you right now’.

We can’t wait to hear your answers, so enter today for your chance to win a prize pack valued at $4,000.

For the competition T&Cs, click here.

If you had one chance to live in the moment and you missed it, how far would you go to get it back? Everything can change in an instant. Don’t miss Love Is Now, the breathtaking film being called “The Australian Notebook”, exclusive to Hoyts cinemas.

Love Is Now – only at Hoyts, December 4.