Innehållsförteckning för TAK2345 från Take 5

Twice our wedding went up in flames Coral Denakis, 27. The fire alarm beeped above me as I saw flames licking the window of our Holiday Inn. “Matthew, wake up,” I said, shaking my partner. “A car’s on fire outside.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. I’d met Matthew, 28, on Tinder and we’d hit it off straightaway. We’d both been in the army and loved to travel. Seven months into our relationship, he’d proposed and I said yes. We wanted a big wedding with all our loved ones later on but, fearing Matthew would be deployed overseas, we’d planned a smaller ceremony just with our parents. Now, as the smoke alarm screeched, I wasn’t sure if either of us would make it to our nuptials the following day. “There’s…

She educated an entire generation of Cleo readers about women’s sexual health and empowerment in the ’70s, and Ita Buttrose has continued to spread the word about important issues of the day ever since. Now, she has a new message for Aussie women – if we want to stay healthy, we can’t ignore our bones. As an ambassador for The Big O, the media icon is on a mission to get us talking about bone density scans. “Good health, particularly as we get older, is so important because it allows us to continue to do all the things we want to do,” she says. “But it’s very hard to get away from the fact that 40 per cent of people over 70 have never had a bone density scan.” While…

When I found out what he’d been up to, he needed an ambulance Lynn McGarry, 36. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s so peaceful here isn’t it?” my boyfriend Stephen, 42, said. I nodded as I listened to the birds chirping. “It makes me feel so close to Dad,” I whispered back. After my father died two years earlier, I often took a walk to the scenic spot behind his house to remember him. Stephen liked it there, too. We’d met nine years earlier, when I was 27, and he approached me at a mutual friend’s party. I assumed he was just after one thing but as we got chatting I realised he was sweet and funny. “He’s not like other blokes,” I told my two…

If there’s one film that’s synonymous with Los Angeles, it’s Pretty Woman. The 1990 beloved classic stars Julia Roberts as Vivian, an escort, and Richard Gere as Edward, the wealthy businessman who hires her to accompany him to a few events on his social calendar. The two predictably fall in love against a backdrop of some of LA’s most famous sites. It’s all so romantic and likely to inspire a few trips to the City of Angels… STAY Remember the look on Vivian’s face when she’s first welcomed into the lobby of the hotel where her knight in shining armour, Edward, is staying? You too can have that experience! The movie was filmed at the Beverly Wilshire, a five-star hotel in Beverly Hills that oozes oldschool glamour and remains one…

When my husband’s ex-wife died days after giving birth, I knew what we had to do Christie Werts, 48. Holding up a picture, I showed my kids my date for the night. “What do we think?” I asked them. “Um, he seems… interesting,” Megan replied, screwing up her nose. At 43, I’d been single for a few years and despite finding connections along the way, no-one had ever fit the bill. Megan, 16, and my son, Vance, 10, were tired of seeing me alone. But for me, they always came first, and that included approving any potential suitors. I’d dated guys in the past and on the second or third date, introduced them to my kids, which I know now was too soon. Unfortunately, the men got scared off. “I’ll…

We’re proud to be mermaids! Vicki Farslow, 72, Wellington, NZ. I pulled my dressing gown tighter as the icy wind licked my skin, leaving me shivering and longing for the bed I hadn’t long left. “Let’s get this done,” I said to my neighbour, Kamala, who stood beside me at the edge of the ocean in Paekãkãriki, NZ. It was 2019, and I was struggling with mental health. I’d just spent three months in Nepal working as a counsellor with kids who lived in dire poverty. I was also a passionate environmentalist, and after attending a presentation about the climate crisis, I fell into a deep depression about the state of the world. “I need something to help put me back together,” I’d told Kamala. While researching ideas, I read…

When it comes to metabolism, you’ve likely heard it all before… there has been countless reports about how those with a higher metabolism tend to be thinner, ways you can speed yours up… and on and on. Metabolism is the way in which your body expels energy and burns calories. It never stops, even when you’re asleep, converting the food you eat into energy to breathe, think, pump blood and repair cells, just to name a few. Despite all the good it does for our bodies, metabolism often gets a bad rap, with people often blaming weight gain on a slow metabolism. Everybody’s metabolism works differently, and the speed of your metabolism is usually determined by genetics or age. With so much confusion around what your metabolism can and can’t do,…

Congratulations on finding love a second time round! Now you can focus on getting your money matters right to help ensure you and your family get your happily ever after. ABS figures show the divorce rate is highest for people in their 40s. And with life expectancy in Australia and New Zealand in our 80s, odds are most of these people will settle down with a new partner, and even remarry. While it may be a win for love, merging finances a second time round can be complex. It pays to be diligent now to avoid a mountain of headaches later on. CUT THE CORD The first step is to ensure you have fully cut the cord with your former partner. Close any joint bank accounts. Ensure utilities, subscriptions and…

Nothing makes a statement quite like a bold lip, and red is a classic shade that has stood the test of time. To help you find the perfect shade and finish, we went straight to the experts who share tips on nailing a flawless pout. IT’S ALL IN THE APPLICATION “When we’re younger, and our lips are still full and our jawlines are tight, a red lip is often an easy choice,” says Sarah Laidlaw, Priceline Hair and Makeup Director, who notes the trick to pulling off a racy hue is how it’s applied. “As the lips get thinner and the edges of the mouth start to droop, following the lip line faithfully can leave you with a downturned mouth. Apply the colour a few millimetres in from the outer…

There was only one prize for me... Kane Parker, 30, Penrith, NSW. I took a sip from my coffee and read out the next clue for the crossword in front of me. “A limb, three letters,” I said. “Leg,” my girlfriend, Choeli, suggested. “Or arm.” It was a Saturday morning in 2022 and Choeli, 25, and I were in a cafe solving puzzles together, like we did most weekends. I’d met Choeli in early 2020 while studying at the University of Wollongong. At the start of 2022, her law career took her to Canberra, while I moved to Penrith to work as a cardiac sonographer. We agreed that our relationship was too good to lose, so each weekend one of us would drive three hours to visit the other. I…

I decided to view my cancer in a positive way Rosanna Principe, 55, Adelaide, SA. Tucking into Easter lunch with my family, I plastered on a smile. I’d had some bad news a couple of weeks earlier, but I didn’t want to ruin the day with my parents, Maria, 80, Osvaldo, 82, my brother, Franco, 57, and his wife, Elvira, 51. For weeks, I’d been experiencing soreness in my left breast. A scan and a biopsy at the hospital had revealed it was breast cancer, and I needed a mastectomy. The day after Easter lunch, unable to keep my secret any longer, I told my parents the news. Mum sobbed, and Dad had tears in his eyes. “I’ll be okay,” I said. “I’m going to get through this.” I’d always…

Hi Take 5ers, My mother-in-law keeps dropping hints that she’d love to have our six-yearold son over for sleepovers at her place from time to time. I’m unsure how to respond to her, as my son has told me he doesn’t want to stay at Grandma’s place because he finds it boring. My husband says we should still push him to go because his mum is a lonely widow and it would bring her so much joy, but I don’t think it’s fair to force him to stay over if he doesn’t want to go. What should I do? Brooke*, 37. Maybe have her stay at your place instead, so she still has time with her grandson and he doesn’t have to go over there. Julitha Mary Are YOU in…

People told me I was broken but they were wrong... Sam Drummond, 37, Brunswick East, Vic. My heart beat faster as the surgeon placed a mask on my face. “Don’t worry, young man, we’re going to fix you,” he said, as I drifted out of consciousness. It wasn’t until doctors told me I was broken that I thought I needed to be fixed. Up until then I felt no different to anyone else. I’d been born in 1986 with pseudoachondroplasia – a form of dwarfism that impacts bone growth. Doctors had told Mum if I didn’t have surgery I’d end up in a wheelchair. So, aged five, they straightened out my legs via surgery, but when they bowed again as I grew, I was wheeled into the theatre for a…