Jessica Mauboy on love, marriage and babies
It has finally happened. After seven years, Jessica Mauboy and her boyfriend, builder Themeli Magriplis, have moved in together under the same roof.
It has been just three days, which may be why Mauboy is beaming as she talks to WHO from inside a conference room at Sony Music’s Sydney headquarters. “He’s here, full-time!” she chirps. “Last night I was in the kitchen, halfway through cooking our meal, and I looked over at him sitting on the couch. I walked over and said, ‘You’re actually here. You’re not leaving tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that. You’re here to stay!’ And he looked at me like, ‘Yeah, you crazy woman.’”
Magriplis moved from Darwin to be with Mauboy—the two maintained a long-distance relationship that probably earnt them plenty of frequent flyer miles—and he could be forgiven for thinking she’d gone a little mad. Because her starring role in the Seven Network’s new series The Secret Daughter, which was written specifically for Mauboy, took a lot out of the seasoned entertainer.
“TV is a beast,” Mauboy says with a laugh. “I was scared every single day” over the course of filming the 6-part series. “I really had to pysch myself up sometimes” to play pub singer Billie Carter. “She’s an Indigenous woman. I am, too—I’m a living example of it. But I’ve never been that expressive about it … I really had to take her story back home to Darwin with me, ask questions, watch my aunties bring their children up on their own. I feel very honoured to be filling these shoes.”
Now she’s delivered the most challenging project of her career, does her recent move with Magriplis mean there may be wedding bells—or even a family—in Mauboy’s own future?
“I love the idea of having children with Themeli,” Mauboy replies. “I love the idea of being married to him. We already kind of are. I can see the colours, I can feel the energy. One day, I hope it happens. Going back to children? I love kids. But not at this time. Maybe in the next two years. Billie is my life at this point!”
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