“I’m honestly as faithful as a golden retriever. But there’s just something about him. It’s like my maternal instinct is telling me that he’s terrific. He makes me feel calm and safe.”
Audrey Wu (29) is a month away from her first child's due date. The whole pregnancy has been a roller-coaster of excitement, anxiety, nausea and anticipation. But there is one man who has been an absolute rock throughout the entire process. And it ain't her husband.
Audrey has been seeing obstetrician Marcus Beck (48) ever since she received the wonderful news. Marcus is a fair bit older than Audrey. Despite being reasonably well put-together, he is not the George Clooney, Andrew Rochford, or Craig Foster type of silver fox. He is average looking at best.
But something has happened over the last eight or so months. She started to find his general manner very reassuring. Then she found herself looking forward to their appointments. And then she came to a rather startling realisation that she had a giant crush on him. She even started dolling herself up a bit for their appointments.
She had heard about this phenomenon before. One of her best friends said that it happened to her. But when she first laid eyes on Dr Beck, she felt pretty confident that she wasn't at risk. She didn't think he was sexy at all. And now here she is. Crushing like she did on Justin Timberlake many years ago. We asked how she felt about her new feelings.
"At first I felt a little guilty. I am and have always been as faithful as a golden retriever. I would never do anything to jeapardise our relationship. But as my sister-in-law explained to me, it's apparently extremely common. It happens to just about all mums. And if we're going to carry this thing around in our belly for nine months, and then have to give birth at the end of it, then surely our husbands don't have the right to whinge about a harmless crush."
Audrey's husband Rory (31) has been very understanding about the whole thing, explaining that he isn't very concerned.
"Nah have you seen him? He's like an old fella. I'm pretty sure I've got him covered. It's just a weird thing that apparently happens to women. They go gaga for the obstetrician. It's weird but not that concerning. I've never actually heard of anyone running off with them, they just crush for a bit and then you have the baby and then you've got more important things to worry about."
And he is entirely correct. While there will always be a fondness for the man who brings your bundle of joy into the world, everyone tends to move on.
Although.... he did look pretty great in his trousers today.