THE STORY OF US
THE GOGGLEBOX COUPLE TALK LOVE AND MARRIAGE
They’re two of our favourite couch potatoes – Gogglebox’s long-married couple Lee and Keith. And while the lovable pair from Melbourne like nothing more than sitting down to watch the telly on a sofa layered with towels – because, explains Keith, he “spills stuff ” – they first met in a far more sparkly setting. “It was at the Carlton footy club disco back in 1979,” says Keith. “Carlton won the premiership, so it was a good year.” For former bank teller Lee, who was just 18, it was, shall we say, an unforgettable first encounter with 19-year-old council worker Keith. “I remember seeing some bloke with long curly hair leaning over the table kissing a girl and I thought, ‘What a douchebag this guy must be! Who does he think he is?’ ” “And that’s how we first met,” chuckles Keith. What were the duo wearing that fateful night? “I only had two pairs of pants back then – they were blue cords, so I wore them with a T-shirt,” says Keith. To which Lee adds: “Back then, I was skinny, so I was wearing these tight white pants – ones you had to lie on the bed to put on and do up with a coat-hanger – with a pink singlet. My grandfather used to say to me “My God! Did you paint those pants on?” Clearly, though, it was a case of opposites attract for Lee, now 56, and 58-yearold Keith. “We’re both Virgos, but we’re nothing alike,” says Lee. “Keith will walk in and just drop things and I can’t stand it. I’ve got a bit of OCD. I like everything in its place as I’m a very big neat freak. I don’t even like anyone sitting on my bed.”
In 1985, the pair married in a small church in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
“I remember seeing Lee walk down the aisle and thought, ‘She’s a lucky girl, she’s got me!’ ” says Keith, grinning, “Nah, I thought, ‘I’ve done well here!’”
That night, the bride and groom feasted alongside 250 of their nearest and dearest at their local reception venue.
“We had the footy team, the cricket club, our work people all there,” says Keith, with Lee agreeing: “Yeah, pretty much everyone. We had an eightcourse meal – it was beautiful. We seemed to eat Italian food all night. My mum always said ‘Make sure you’ve got plenty of food. Doesn’t matter if there’s leftovers.’”
These days, Lee and Keith, who feel “lucky in so many ways,” are doting parents to their two adult children, a son, Joel, now 27, and daughter, Shannon, 23.
“The kids have been great,” says Keith. “Our son’s bought his own brand-new home now,” says Lee. “I thought to myself, ‘He stayed with us for too long and saved too much money!’”
Just as you’d expect, Lee and Keith are taking reality TV fame in their stride.
“We love doing the show,” says Keith. “It’s a hard job sitting on the couch having a beer and watching the telly!”
As for the secret to 33 years of happily-married life, Keith puts it down to the following: “Have each other’s back and be trustful and respectful of each other ... and always do what Lee wants!”
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