Lean on me

Through heartbreaking loss and shared hope, Allison Langdon and Maryanne Larkin have forged a treasured friendship.

-  SAMANTHA TRENOWETH

Its a little after eight in the morning and Allison Langdon is shedding rivers of tears. The A Current Affair host is settled on a couch, in a ray of warm winter sunshine, listing all the things she treasures about her longtime and much-loved friend Maryanne Larkin.

“You just meet some people who honestly light up a room,” Ally begins. “They have so much warmth and generosity. She’s so fun, and anyone who meets Maz just wants to be in that circle of hers. If something’s going on in your life, she’s the first person to reach out and check in and see how you are, to remember dates, to check in about the kids. She’s genuinely so warm and wonderful. I’m so appreciative that, thanks to Gavin and Mike, I get Maz in my life.”

Mike, of course, is Ally’s husband, the journalist Michael Willesee. Gavin Larkin, Maryanne’s husband, died in 2011 from lymphoma, a little over two years after he founded the iconic mental health campaign, R U OK?. Michael and Gavin were mates, but Maryanne and Ally might even be closer. They’ve been drawn together by loss and common goals, and times that have tested them to the core.

“What I love about you, Ally, is your warmth, your authenticity,” Maryanne chimes in. “You are all over my kids when you see them, which I love. You just get them. You feel so much for me and for others, which is one of the things that makes you so good at your job. I remember, after Gav died, you were the first one to say, ‘let’s have a coffee’, and you were crying more than I was. She always cries more than me.”

“I know,” Ally smiles, wiping away tears. “It doesn’t matter how many years have passed. I do this every time ... I don’t think that part ever gets easier. When I think about what you guys went through at that time - it stays with you. It changes who you are. It does change everything forever. How you got out of bed each day and raised your beautiful kids, still managed to take the time to think about everyone else...”