By January, I was ready to get back to work again and decided that Sydney, Australia, would be my next destination. For one thing, it was summer there, and why not chase an endless summer? For another, I’d lined up a few high-paying gigs and a six-month volunteer stint at a horse rescue north of Sydney in a rural town that looked absolutely stunning.
I told myself that I had already planned on going this direction before I’d learned that LTZ would be in the same part of the world. Telling myself this little white lie over and over made it seem quite true.
Regardless of why I went to Sydney, the experience was life-changing for me, in more ways than one. Once the Vanity Fair article hit in February, my social presence increased to nearly ten million followers, which put me in an entirely new influencer category. My mind was blown by the level of success and opportunities that were coming my way.
Being a public persona was weird, so I really wanted to choose what I did wisely. Agents, managers, and lawyers were circling my wagon, but I decided to manage myself. Mainly because I knew what mattered to me. The money I made gave me the power to raise awareness of animal rights issues throughout the world. When I volunteered at an organization and set up a fundraiser, my following gave them access to more money than they had ever dreamed possible.
It was a big responsibility. An endorsement from @alexlerouxseattle meant exposure. The exposure led to scrutiny. Before I’d commit to a non-profit, I had to research it meticulously. I’d even created applications. A lot of my time was spent vetting these places to make sure that any money raised under my name would be used for the right things.
Australia was such an incredible country that placed such a high value on conservation. They also had so many species that needed help. My plan was to spend six months, one month each at rescues for racehorses, dingo-hybrids, kangaroos, emus, and two months at the Great Barrier Reef to delve into all of the sea life conservation efforts. Each of these organizations received over a million Australian dollars from my followers, which was record-breaking fundraising in the animal rights community. The best part about all this was now I was more famous for my animal charitable work than my single-girl travel tips.
Television, radio, and podcast hosts began to book me, literary agents contacted me to write books, producers wanted me to be on television shows. One company wanted to create an entire docu-reality show around my adventures, it was crazy. Despite all these opportunities, I found that I didn’t crave the spotlight. I preferred to work behind the scenes.
The other big change for me was my Australian boyfriend, Sam. We met at the Great Barrier Reef and hit it off immediately. He was gorgeous. His sandy-brown hair was longish and wavy, his chocolate-brown eyes were kind, and his body was surfer-licious. His heart was in the right place too, including our shared passion for animal rights. We were still in that googly relationship stage where we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.
Until Sam, it had been a nearly eight-month sex drought after Barcelona. I was desperate to recreate the immense pleasure I’d discovered with Jace.
There was only one small problem.
Yeah.
Sam was on his “gap” year, which many Aussies took during college, so he didn’t have any responsibilities. We could spend all of our time together, and he traveled with me for work and fundraising activities. I’d never dated anyone so proud to call me his girlfriend. I’d met all of his friends, learned how to surf, and spent a lot of time at his parents’ house in the suburbs of Sydney. Everything was perfect on paper, and it was awesome to have companionship after being on my own for so long.
Plus, I loved Australia. My only problem was the visa. I was on my second ninety-day visitor’s visa, and once it ran out, I’d have to leave. During my first stint, I’d popped over to New Zealand for a couple of weeks for a vacation and came back to Oz. With my social media presence through the roof, I didn’t want to risk getting kicked out on a technicality.
According to the Australian government, I wasn’t legitimately working. The “influencer” career was such a new “profession” that there were no rules to follow about how I was paid or where to pay taxes. My dad helped me get a business manager to help with all of that, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the shit would hit the fan.
Toward the end of my second visa, Sam and I were having dinner at his folks and Sam got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. Shocked, I didn’t know what to do. I loved him, but I certainly wasn’t sure about forever with him.
His whole family got excited and all of a sudden there was talk about fiancé visas and me moving to Australia permanently. Aside from my mom, it was the first time in forever that I felt enveloped with acceptance. Zoey and I hadn’t spoken in months. Jace and I had basically lost touch too, only checking in with each other occasionally.
Suddenly, becoming Sam’s fiancée felt like the best idea in the world. In fact, I convinced myself that it was the answer to more than just my travel issues. He gave me
