Frances Abbott Reveals How Her Dad Reacted To Meeting Her New Fiance

Frances Abbott surprised the hell out of everybody earlier this year when she announced that she was engaged to Sam Loch, a former Olympic rower she’d been dating for a grand total of two weeks. While we were happy for the two crazy kids, we couldn’t help but wonder how Frances’ staunchly conservative dad would take the news, and more importantly, how Sam’s first meeting with him would go over.

That first encounter with your in-laws is dick-shatteringly uncomfortable at the best of times, and that probably goes double when it’s Tony Abbott‘s rictus smile greeting you at the door. However, according to a recent interview that Frances Abbott gave to Stellar magazine, Sam handled this first interaction like a champ. She explained:

“I think meeting Tones can be quite intimidating for anyone, but that’s what I love about Sam. He’s so grounded, and so settled in his own skin, it felt totally natural. There was no change in his voice, no sitting upright. Dad liked him. Dad likes everyone, but I think he was particularly — well, dad is a rower. He was like, straight away, ‘Let’s talk about rowing.’”

The Abbott parents were as surprised as the rest of the nation to hear of their daughter’s engagement after such a short time. “Mum was like, ‘Frances, you are quite impulsive,’” Abbott said of mother Margie‘s response. “My family just want what’s best for me, as any family would with their daughter. They are cautious because of the time, but they know me.”

Frances Abbott was an extremely vocal supporter of marriage equality, campaigning in support of a ‘Yes’ vote in opposition to her father’s conservative views. In a slightly more upsetting turn of events, she touched on her dad’s issues with homosexuality, believing that they may stem from an incident in primary school, where he was caned for holding hands with a male friend when aged around five.

“When that happens when you are a child, I get why you think this way,” she said. “I’ve been raised to love everybody, to look for the best in everybody. Which is kind of why I don’t get [his view]. I will do the eye roll at Dad, like, ‘OK, whatever.’ I love him all the same.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbsAjRDB-Cm/?hl=en&taken-by=samloch

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV