The moment I knew: he’d never wanted children but would with me

In 2003, in my early 30s, I was working for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company The Really Useful Group in Sydney. I’d seen several shows Pete had designed and liked his work; when he came to my office to show his portfolio we hit it off and ended up sitting on the office stairs talking for ages.

I had unexpectedly taken a job in London but was genuinely interested in putting him forward for projects, so we agreed to stay in touch. Almost two years later I learned he was working in Shanghai. By chance I was flying there the following week and we arranged to meet after a dinner with my bosses.

Tired as we were, we went to a bar where Pete put down a large sum of cash to pay as we drank; the night was long and our conversation wandered well beyond professional matters. I found out he was recently single, from a big family and didn’t plan on having children; I surprised myself by blurting out that I’d always wanted to be a mother.

Australia, Sydney

lloyd webber, theatre designer, sydney, shanghai, london, motherhood, children, portfolio, cash, relationship