Hilarious Gogglebox star Tom is the first to acknowledge he’s never at a loss for words. So it came as quite a shock to him to be rendered utterly speechless when he walked into his surprise 50th birthday bash – orchestrated, of course, by the man he loves, Wayne.
‘I had absolutely no idea,’ says Tom.
‘Wayne said we had to go off to see some friends and then this limousine turned up. I actually had a bit of a performance in front of the car and said: “I don’t really want to go anywhere.” He was like: “No, no, we’ll just be out for a couple of hours.” The car took us to this friend’s beautiful converted warehouse here in Melbourne, and everyone was there and yelled “surprise”. There were 30 people, including some of our Gogglebox cast mates, and I love all of them.’
For Wayne, 48, the look on Tom’s face was ‘just priceless’.
‘I can talk under water, but I just stood there in shock. But once they got a cocktail in my hand, I was fine!’ says Tom. Unfortunately, the couple’s oldest daughter, 28-year-old Jade, was unable to attend.
‘It was a comedy of errors,’ says Wayne. ‘Jade and her partner live interstate. Their flight to Melbourne got cancelled and they couldn’t get on another flight, so they jumped in the car and drove eight hours. They got to Melbourne at 1am, only for Jade to wake up the next morning feeling terribly ill. We think she got food poisoning on the way down.’
First laying eyes on each other 18 years ago at a country dance, Wayne and Tom have been a devoted couple ever since.
‘It’s the most cliched gay romance ever,’ says Wayne with a laugh. ‘We met on the dance floor while Kylie Minogue’s Love At First Sight was playing and we’re still madly in love.’
It was only fitting, too, that a very special guest made an appearance at Tom’s party.
Related: Gogglebox stars unite for grand get together
Related: Gogglebox’s Isabella Silbery shows off amazing beach body
‘I always said I wanted a Minogue at my 50th – I didn’t care which one, it could be Kylie, Dannii or even Carol the mother,’ he declares.
‘So,’ explains Wayne, ‘all of a sudden at the party, the lift door opened and Millie Minogue, who is a famous drag queen, walked out.’
Tom adds: ‘It was a dream come true! I got to be pseudo-Kylie’s back-up dancer while we sang Love At First Sight.’
Having raised three children – daughters Jade and 25-year-old Tegan, and a son Zac, 27 – Tom and Wayne are proud as punch of their beautiful kids.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea, on sale now!
TV podcast Binge List this week features Jack Irish, Anne With An E, Home And Away, Ninja Warrior, GLOW, and JK Rowling’s CB Strike – plus we interview Wilmer Valderrama. Subscribe via iTunes http://po.st/syE3JF or OMNY http://po.st/OBos0a
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
