Lily Mae's love hopes 'I'M AFTER THE WHOLE PACKAGE!'

The star of screen and stage reckons life is perfect but for one tiny thing

- Cloe willetts

Not many young women celebrate turning 22 by bungee jumping off the Auckland Sky Tower – especially if they have a heart condition. But that’s what daredevil Down for Love star Lily Mae Ivatt chose to do last month, followed by gambling at the casino for the first time with her parents Hayley and Chris.

“Some people think bungee jumping is a bit too scary and risky,” says the theatre actor and dancer, who once did catalogue modelling for The Warehouse. “But I did it for myself.”

Lily Mae, who has Down syndrome, was born with a complete atrioventricular canal defect – meaning she had a large hole in her heart and one valve instead of two. Despite receiving lifesaving surgery at six weeks old, it hasn’t stopped the hip-hop and contemporary dancer from courageously grabbing life by the horns.

For Lily Mae, who started dancing at the age of two, performing comes naturally. So when she wanted to join theatre productions at high school but was only given minor roles, she felt "alone and sad”.

However, in early 2020, she joined the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective, co-founded by actor Charlotte Nightingale and Mike Eaglesome, to make the performing arts accessible and empowering for people with disabilities.