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A fateful meeting at a Melbourne bar and a radio show plea: Dave Hughes and his wife, Holly Hughes’ 14-year marriage is built on humour

''Luckiest day of my life, no doubt about it.''
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Dave Hughes (AKA Hughesy) and his wife, Holly Hughes, have been together for 14 years and their love story is genuinely a meet-cute worth a Hollywood movie.

It was a seemingly ordinary Friday night in 2002 when Holly found herself at a bar in Melbourne’s CBD.

Dave was also in the venue with a friend when a string of fortunate events led them together.

After talking all night, the three of them walked to an ATM together before Holly called a cab and headed home.

This could have been the end, but Dave wouldn’t let her slip from his fingers, so he came up with a plan to woo her during his radio show.

In an interview with the Herald Sun, Holly, who reports for the publication, opened up about how she didn’t realise Dave was interested in her until he revealed his feelings on his show.

“She looked me up and down, and I thought she was perusing how sexy I was.”

(Credit: Getty)

“It was on the Monday morning that I got my first taste of the way the next decade or so would play out. He talked on radio about our meeting, yelling at his mate for not leaving the two of us alone,” she said.

Holly planned to come on air and talk to her future husband but she backed out of the plan.

“He asked me to call into their show, and I did, but I chickened out before going on air. Nevertheless, that call led to our first date that evening,” she revealed.

Three days later, they went on their first date, and in 2006 they made things official by getting married on New Year’s Eve at the Flemington racecourse.

They share three children; a son called Rafferty and two daughters, Sadie and Tess.

On Dave’s radio show to celebrate 18 years together, fans of the couple were treated to an excerpt from Holly’s 2002 diary entry which details her first impressions of her husband.

She had written, “He’s so, so, so, funny… but he wasn’t interested in me. I want to date him.”

Of course, in the years since the husband and wife have proved they’re an excellent match through their similar sense of humour.

In 2014, Holly went undercover for the Herald Sun to report on Dave’s comedy show.

She wrote a hilarious line about how his comedy changes when he doesn’t think she is around.

“There were some parts he might have left out if he’d known I was there. I don’t remember him mentioning getting an erection on a massage table when I saw his act in Adelaide,” she wrote.

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On his show Hughsey We Have A Problem, Hughesy overshared once again, but this time about his wife and misreading her intentions.

To build up his joke, he revealed their lacklustre attempts to get in the mood. He said, “Foreplay has become a little bit not as romantic as it should be, and I’m blaming her.

“She looked me up and down, and I thought she was perusing how sexy I was,” he said, recalling a recent night in bed. But alas, Holly was not on the same page.

“She had a look in her eye, and I thought, ‘She wants me so much, she can’t handle it.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘have you put the bins out?'” he said.

Take a look back at Dave and Holly’s long-lasting relationship through the years.

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Dave and Holly in 2013 attending Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse.

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They looked so in love at their 2008 wedding.

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Enjoying a night out together for the opening night of Singin’ In The Rain in 2016.

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Here they are looking dapper.

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Hughesy captioned this picture, “Got talked into buying these shades. Wife reckons I look like John Lennon.”

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Dave Hughes

He later wrote a doting and hilarious post to complement this photo of Holly.

“16 yrs ago on Valentine’s Day she revealed her new ‘I ❤️ Dave’ ankle tattoo. Thankfully it’s still there.”

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On vacation together, Hughesy wrote, “Toast to Kids Club.”

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The couple together at another event and looking as glamorous as ever.

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The couple teamed up to write a series of kids books together. Here they are photographed promoting it on The Project.

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Here they are having fun at the Australian Open.

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Holly and their children sometimes appear on Dave’s show We Have A Problem, and of course, hilarity ensues.

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