Marion, 56, from Port Macquarie, NSW, shares her true life story:
The marriage counsellor looked at my hubby Geoff and I seriously.
“There’s no easy way to say this,” she began delicately. “It seems you’ve both fallen out of love with each other.”
Hearing the words from this stranger was oddly reassuring.
After 30 years of marriage, it was true that I no longer had feelings for Geoff.
It wasn’t that he was a bad man, he was just… boring.
When i thought back to what had made me smitten for him, I drew a blank.
Now the kids had moved out, we barely spoke to one another.
I couldn’t remember the last time we’d had sex!
Later that night, Geoff sat next to me on the couch.
“I don’t want to lose you,” he said sadly.
I nodded slowly, unsure of what to say.
“I thought maybe we could go on a romantic getaway and try to reconnect,” he suggested.
“It’s worth a shot,” I mumbled, not convinced.
We both needed help to reconnect.
He brought out some brochures for a bunch of fancy-pants trips to Paris, Venice and Bruges.
“No darl,” I told him. “The exchange rate’s stuffed and we don’t earn enough. How about a weekend in Perth?”
“Perth?” he gasped. “There’s nothing there but a casino!”
I loved a good flutter on the pokies, but bit my tongue to avoid an argument.
In the end, we decided on a week in Bali.
I figured that if Geoff got on my nerves, I could ditch him for some shopping.
I might even get my hair braided with beads.
But on our first day, he surprised me by announcing we were off to the butterfly park.
Great, I thought sarcastically.
If it was up to me, I’d have stayed at the bar for some cocktails by the pool.
But Geoff was insistent, and I didn’t want the trip to be a complete disaster.
After just five minutes inside the humid enclosure the sweat was pouring off me.
Get me out of here, I thought.
The trip to Bali was not what I expected.
Then, suddenly, a beautiful blue butterfly landed on my nose.
A wave of euphoria washed over me.
I’d never felt anything like this before; it was like walking on water.
It flew past my ear gently, brushing softly against my flesh.
“Don’t go,” I whispered.
But it disappeared into nowhere.
Turning around, I saw Geoff.
My heart started beating erratically.
“Let’s go back to the hotel,” I said, squeezing his hand.
We’d no sooner walked through the door before we were bonking our brains out.
The next week flew by. We barely left the bedroom!
Back home, we were like giddy teenagers who just couldn’t get enough of each other.
“The trip worked wonders,” Geoff said. “why don’t we renew our wedding vows?”
I agreed it was a good idea.
The butterfly put the spark back in our marriage.
We’d go back to Bali and have a private ceremony.
The more I thought about Bali, the more I recalled the blue butterfly and how it had left me weak at the knees.
Every time Geoff touched me, I imagined its silky wings fluttering against me.
On the morning of our second wedding, I woke up and hopped in a taxi.
“The butterfly park,” I told the driver.
I knew I had to see the blue one again.
But as hours passed, it was nowhere to be seen.
If I didn’t leave now, Geoff would think i’d done a runner.
High-tailing it back, I quickly got changed and we said our vows in front of a celebrant then settled down for a drink.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” Geoff admitted later.
“Why would I do that?” I smiled coyly.
I can never tell him where I really spent the morning.
We’re more in love than ever.
I don’t trust myself to go back to Bali. It feels unfaithful.
Instead, I let him book us a trip to Europe.
It’s great to feel such passion for Geoff again.
I’ll always be thankful to that butterfly for putting the spark back into our marriage.
(All images: Getty Images)
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