AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Files - Flawless Print - Lucy Articles
Lucy's Love Catch
Lucy's Wedding Joy - My Perfect Love Match
New Zealand Woman's Day
27 October 1997
Scanned/transcribed by MaryD
The Xena star is blissfully happy about her upcoming wedding.
NEWLY engaged Lucy Lawless has landed the right man, says a family friend
who saw love blossom between the Xena: Warrior Princess star and television
producer Rob Tapert.
North Island tour operator Doug Posa knew the pair were meant for each other
when he noticed their "special chemistry" during a fishing outing last year.
"They looked like the perfect family," says Doug of Lucy, her new man and
her daughter Daisy, 9, who had escaped Auckland for a weekend.
"I think both Lucy and Rob enjoyed getting away from the pressures of
filming, and the publicity. Although they were very restrained in front of
Daisy, you could see there was chemistry."
Doug, who has known dolphin-watcher Lucy for five years, says she, Rob and
Daisy spent an idyllic day fishing off Whakatane, and American-born Rob was
thrilled to catch two yellow-fin tuna.
"Lucy and Rob seemed so compatible. They both loved the sea, that was
obvious. They were both just so easygoing, so easy to get on with. I know it
is a cliche, but they were made for each." Doug admits he was cautious about
Rob, a big-time Hollywood television producer, but he quickly warmed to him.
"He was a down-to-earth person, just like Lucy, not a big flashy producer
like you might think. If you didn't know he was an American, you would think
he was a Kiwi.
"He got on really well with little Daisy. He would make a great father."
It was no surprise to Doug when it was announced on US television show
Entertainment Tonight last week Lucy and Rob were to marry in the New Year.
"I am not sure you can ever say at the beginning of a relationship they were
destined to be married, but I'm certainly glad they are going to tie the
knot, and I wish them all the best," says Doug.
Rob reportedly proposed to super-sexy Lucy, who has just finished a sell-out
seven-week season of Grease! on Broadway in New York, over a candlelit
dinner for two. It will be the second marriage for both lovebirds. Lucy was
formerly married to bar manager Garth Lawless, Daisy's father, and Rob was
married to a US television scriptwriter.
Lucy's large, close family was delighted to hear of her engagement. Her
proud parents, Frank and Julie Ryan, flew to New York to see her play Rizzo
in Grease! and to share her happy news. They also passed on congratulations
from Lucy's six brothers and sisters, and then toured the US on a holiday of
a lifetime.
Handsome, laid-back Rob is popular among the crew on the set of Xena, a show
he sometimes directs. His no-fuss personality is reportedly what Lucy loves
about him. The happy pair love to take time out in Taupo, where they indulge
in Rob's passion for fly fishing.
When they're not away on romantic weekends, they love to don jeans and
T-shirts and hang out in her west Auckland home, which she has had
extensively renovated.
Although Lucy is excited about the upcoming nuptials, she says divorcing her
first husband recently and being a single, working mother was the hardest
personal challenge she has overcome. Her bravery and courage, qualities she
shares with her dynamic character Xena, are especially admired by actor
Geoff Gann — otherwise known as Karen Dior — who appeared with her on the
highest-ever-rating episode of Xena in the US earlier this year.
When Geoff, who has AIDS, heard of Lucy's engagement he spoke of his special
friendship with the stunning actress. He says they met on the set of Xena in
Auckland and quickly forged a close friendship.
"Lucy and I just bonded instantly and became best friends," says Geoff. "I
told her about having AIDS and she told me about the accident [last October]
that broke her pelvis. She gave me so much support. She helped my acting and
is really the most fabulous and giving person."
The episode, filmed last October and expected to screen in New Zealand next
year on TV3, saw Geoff playing a man masquerading as a female beauty queen.
Xena discovers his facade and keeps his secret, with the episode ending in a
poignant kiss, which caused a stir when it screened in the US.
But Geoff says Lucy ignored opinion she was wrong to kiss an AIDS sufferer.
He says the kiss was at her insistence, to prove that people with the
disease deserve to be treated like everyone else.
"The whole scandal that Lucy Lawless kissed someone with AIDS just made
people want to watch," he says. "It was just supposed to be one of those
beauty-pageant kisses on the cheek, but Lucy suggested I should grab her,
dip her and give her a really passionate kiss," he laughs.
The furore over the kiss didn't phase Geoff, who was taunted as a child for
being gay. His AIDS has improved since he started taking a revolutionary new
treatment, protease inhibitors. He says his next move is to try to catch up
with Lucy. "Most of all I would love to go back to New Zealand and do
another Xena."
Story: Anna Avino & Eric McFarlane