“How I found my own voice” Jessica Mauboy

As she makes the transition from nervous Idol contestant to confident Voice coach, Jessica Mauboy shares the difficult path she trod to speak her truth proudly.

- TIFFANY DUNK 

Snugly wrapped up in a fluffy pink coat, ensconced on her couch in Sydney’s eastern suburbs with a steaming mug of tea and a slumbering dog by her side, Jessica Mauboy is the picture of bliss. Waving off her fiancé, Themeli ‘Them’ Magripilis, as he heads downstairs to catch up on overdue paperwork, she leans in eagerly, ready to share her happiness with The Weekly – albeit over Zoom.

We’ve been trying to arrange a catch-up with the singer for weeks, with the COVID shutdown scuppering many well-laid plans, but finally here we are face-to-face in our new digital world. And it’s fair to say that lockdown suits Jess.

“For me, it’s been a really mindful process,” she says of the enforced break which has seen gigs and travel plans canceled, as well as Them’s construction business halted. “It’s taught me to be patient. It’s taught me that everyone is in the same boat, the same situation, some more so. And if all my family are okay, then I have nothing to worry about. Plus They and I are here and we have each other – we keep each other safe.”

Having started out dating as teens, the pair have navigated the wild ride that propelled Jess from an unknown aspiring singer to a multi-award-winning artist. Through it all They have been by her side, her constant in the storms that have broken along the way.