Dylan Alcott was named Australian of the Year for 2022, accepting the incredible honour in a room filled with important and noteworthy people like previous AOTY, Grace Tame.
But in that room full of recognisable faces and big names, Dylan only had eyes for one woman; his beautiful girlfriend Chantelle Otten.
Photos from the night show her tearfully embracing him as he was announced as the AOTY recipient, her pride clear as she cheered him on just as she does at many of his tennis matches.
But who is sexologist and author Chantelle and how did she win the heart of one of the country’s greatest tennis players?
Chantelle embraces Dylan as he’s named Australian of the Year for 2022.
(Image: Getty)On paper, their careers couldn’t be more opposite, but in reality both of these powerhouses are committed to removing stigmas that exist in our everyday lives.
Dylan through his work as an activist for the disabled (including his Ability Fest, the country’s first and only completely inclusive, fully accessible music festival) and she in her work as an award-winning sexologist.
They have navigated a range of challenges, including periods of long-distance and lockdown in Melbourne, and have continued to go from strength to strength.
They’re also quite candid about their relationship, aiming to help remove the stigma surrounding romance and sex for people with disabilities.
“I love life. I have a beautiful family and a beautiful partner and it’s very rare that I don’t wake up happy,” Dylan told The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2019.
The cute couple met when Chantelle attended the launch for Dylan’s book, Able, at the tail-end of 2018.
She was a plus-one for a friend and was begrudgingly dragged along to the event.
“That night I was dealing with PMS, my hair was slicked back and I was wearing an old t-shirt and sneakers,” Chantelle told Mia Freedman on her podcast No Filter.
Chantelle says she knew Dylan was the one the moment she laid eyes on him.
(Image: Instagram)“I think it was just, you know, one of those days where you’re just like, I am mopey as. And I was so looking forward to going to dinner, but we had to go to this book signing.”
“I looked across the room, and I saw him and I just went, ‘Ah, that’s my person’. That’s the person I’m going to be with for the rest of my life,” she divulged.
Despite literally having the best communication skills for this type of situation, through her work as a sexologist, Chantelle found herself shying away opting to “stare” at Dylan rather than speak to him that night.
However, the two then connected on Instagram and they planned to get a drink. Their casual drink turned into a 12-hour first date.
“He was just so beautiful to look at and the way that he spoke. And I think I just recognised that what he was doing was so similar to what I was doing. I really felt like I had met my match at that point,” Chantelle explained on No Filter.
WATCH: Dylan Alcott’s heartbreaking Logies acceptance speech. Story continues after video.
While Chantelle was actively using her work to remove stigmas surrounding sex, Dylan’s activism was working to remove stigma surrounding those who live with disabilities.
Chantelle had also worked with many clients with disabilities in her sexology work.
After their first date, Chantelle briefly returned to Holland, where her family are from and things cooled down for a minute. However, things picked right back up when she got home – she moved into Dylan’s house about a week after her return.
Then, they began to tackle the stigma around disability together.
“A lot of people think that people with a disability don’t have sex but I’m having the best sex of my life and it’s important for me to say that,” Chantelle has said.
The happy couple at the 2019 TV WEEK Logie awards.
(Image: Getty)“Dylan and I are quite private but it’s important to get the word out. For me, working with people and having them know I’m in a relationship with someone with a disability is great.”
Dylan also speaks about the stigma in order to dismantle it.
“So many of the 4.4 million people in Australia with a disability struggle with dating and sex,” he said in a chat with Stellar.
“I know that when I was a teenager I wondered, ‘Can I do it?’ and ‘How do I do it?’ I questioned whether anyone would love me because I’m in a wheelchair.
“I want to change the misconception that (disabled) people can’t have sex or be in relationships or fall in love. The only way to destigmatise it is to talk about it.”
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The couple were living together during various lockdowns in Melbourne – which they saw as the perfect chance to expand their family.
“Sauce Alcott. Proud mum and dad,” Chantelle wrote on Instagram alongside pictures of their dachshund puppy, Sauce.
Sauce Alcott has his own Instagram and is a star in his own right.
From what we can tell, he stays in Melbourne mostly with Chantelle, while Dylan’s career sees him travelling the world. The Paralympian is one of Australia’s highest-performing athletes. After relinquishing his Australian of the Year 2022 title, he hopes to spend more time with his girlfriend.
The couple share an adorable dog named Sauce.
(Image: Instagram)But in October 2023, Chantelle took to Instagram to shut down rumours that she and Dylan had quietly split.
“Yes, we’re together. I just like my privacy. I like my offline life to be my offline life,” she said in response to a fan asking if they were still dating.
“I think I already share a lot and the past few years I’ve just become more insular. It makes me feel good and it suits me.”
We can’t wait to see where life takes the couple next!
(Image: Instagram)This article originally appeared on our sister site, Who.
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