Jessica Mauboy is sitting in a field of hydrangeas in the middle of a flower farm in the Southern Highlands of NSW. “I’ve never been to a flower farm before, it’s a magical experience,” she grins, looking out over the sea of pink, blue, purple and green.
It’s one of many new experiences for Australia’s multi-hyphenate star: Pop singer, actress, talent-show judge, Indigenous role model. The 34-yearold is about to release her new album, embark on an Australian-NZ tour, star in the film Windcatcher, and is settling into the newest chapter in her personal life: That of a married woman.
In 2022 Jess married Themeli ‘Them’ Magripilis, who she met in a nightclub in Darwin when they were both 18 years old. The pair share the same upbringing and love of family, so it was only natural that her Top End wedding became a celebration of love and a coming together of cultures: Them’s Greek background and Jess’s mix of Aboriginal (on her mother’s side) and Indonesian (on her father’s side).
“It was a very cultural celebration … a cultural infusion. There were moments when
