Finding Love On Stage (And Making It Last)

I could not have done Hamilton, any of it, the auditions, the show without Rob's support and being a constant soundboard and cheerleader for me.

I feel like if it wasn't for Chloe, there's a good chance I probably wouldn't be a performer anymore. But we live in a performer's household, you know. We call each other. We talk to each other about performing issues and maintaining our career and our mental health around it.

Welcome to separate bathrooms. I'm Ali Dado.

And this is my husband Cameroon.

Cameroon Dado. Are you doing your Spanish self today or whatever that is being the actor that you are.

We are talking to two actors, Chloe Zuel and Rob Mallett. They're married, They've been married for a couple of years. Chloe is currently starring as Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton. Holy Moly, is this woman incredible. She has starred as Katherine of Aragon in six She's done a nice in West Side Story, just to name a few. She's incredibly talented, and she's married to a very talented fellow.

Rob Mallett, who really for me. We met a few years ago we did the Rocky Horror show, and it was evident to me after about two weeks of rehearsals that we were brothers from another mother. It was a terrific bloke. Chloe and I worked together in Legally Blonde a number of years ago, and these two, when I heard they got together, We're just like, Oh, what a perfect what a perfect dexter would have given him a ten.

They would have been sent to Stradbog Island, they would have gotten down.

They are joining us today in the bathroom to talk about all things early relationship. They've got a young marriage there, separated at the moment because of COVID. Rob's in Tazzy, Chloe's at home in Sydney. Let's bring him into the bathroom. Hi, Chloe and Rob. Well the conversation.

How often do you guys zoom each other? You're in separate states, right, Yeah, we are.

We're zooming each other pretty regularly at the moment. I'm currently in hotel quarantine in Tazzy and clothes in lockdown in Sydney. So we're on the blower to each other pretty regularly at the moment.

Yeah, how did you two actually meet?

We were shown nance, so we met on Lams.

We first met in hang I say that slowly you were a what come on?

Can?

We were, Well, I'm only saying I'm saying that for our listener. I'm saying that for our listener because they don't understand.

That, Tracy, and but a show nance is a relationship that blossoms on a show. But actually is the definition for show nance a romance? It only exists within the show. I'm not sure if so, we're not. I think it is okay. So we met on Lane, I think.

And because I think everyone was calling it a showmance and we were like, it's not a show mat with a real deal.

See we proved it.

So what was the show again?

Leni's Arb which we started in twenty fourteen and toured. So we were fast friends when we started rehearsals in Melbourne, but then took a while to find each other and flourish. But then, yeah, we were lucky enough to then be on tour with each other for a good year and then have never worked together since.

Is that probably a good thing, do you think in relationship wise, when you've got two actors in the family or would it be a good or?

I guess I would say, but.

I don't know. I feel like we worked well together then and we Yeah, it's hard to know, given that we've never worked together since.

Yeah, i'd love to do a show with Rob I love I'd love it for so many reasons, Like I really respect him as an actor and a performer, so I would love to be on the floor with him, watching him work and you know, playing off each other.

I would love that, And I would love to have.

A shared experience again, Yeah, because I think that's really beautiful. And the logistical part of it, which is that you get to live together and be in the same place, which is not, as you both know, not always the case when you're working. It's often you get this great job and this great opportunity, but the compromise, the sacrifice, is that you're away from your family and your partner. So yeah, I would love it.

What was the attraction for both of you to each other?

Take it away?

Oh, it's me first.

Okay, It's hard to explain, I think because we instantly became friends, and you know when you just you can net with someone and you instantly know like, oh, this this person is my people. You know. There was like a night really early on maybe week two of rehearsals, or week one that we all went out and got dinner and Rob and I just chatted for the whole night and really got along and shared the same views.

What is this?

I don't know, Roch totally.

I agree. It grew completely organically, and you know, next time and we're sharing Spotify playlists and you know, developing all these sort of mutual interests and passions.

How's navigating the separation? You know, you've only been you've been married two years, but obviously you've been you were dating a bit longer than that. And how's that been for you?

Yeah?

I mean, thankfully We've got plenty of practice of it. But unfortunately this period, you know, is as just messy as you know, the whole situation that we're in at the moment, given that we're going to have to now spend eight, nine, ten weeks apart or whatever it is, and we've never had to do that, and we've worked all across the world, you know, I've spent periods of months in Japan, and Chloe's done cruise ships through Asia and tours in Germany and blah blah blah, and yet

In seven years we've spent maximum five weeks, I think.

Yeah, when we're touring within a pretty make sure that it's a fortnightly trip to see each other. And you know, the idea that we're going to have to spend the longest time in part and we're only Sydney to Hobart is outrageous. But anyway, it's just the side of the times. So, yeah, how do we manage constant communication? And yeah, just making that sacrifice to get on a plane and go see each other. You know, it's critical.

I mean, how are we managing at the moment? I complain a lot, and it's only been two weeks. It's so boring, you know, like having your best friend and the person that you want to spend all your time with on the other end of a phone.

Yeah. And I mean in.

Saying that we're so lucky that we have FaceTime and text and it's not a phone call or a letter. Very grateful for it, but it's like so close but so far, And I think when I think about the fact that it's nine or ten weeks, I feel really overwhelmed. So for me, I need to just stay present and stay in the moment and not think about, oh god, what is to be like next week when he's really busy and working and I'm just staring at my wall at home in Sydney in week twelve of lockdown.

I just sort of have to do.

It day by day and be grateful for the facetimes that we get and know that it's just a short amount of time in the grand scheme of our lives together.

Yeah.

So Rob, luckily you're I mean, even though it's separated, you both you're in Tazzi.

You're able to work. Chloe.

You are the lead in Hamilton, which we saw opening night, and you are beyond spectacular by the way. You just so phenomenal. How has COVID impacted you, because I know Hamilton has come to a standstill.

How has that felt for you?

I don't know how it felt for you. Guys that first week when we went into lockdown. Are you both in Sydney?

Yeah, yeah, so you remember how it was.

It felt a little bit like, Okay, cool, it's just going to be this week or next week and then we'll be out of it. It's a bit of a precautionary lockdown. And so, to be really honest, I think Hamilton is a lot harder than it looks. I found it very difficult to manage doing the eight shows a week. I was really run down and desperately needed a break. So honestly, my first reaction was like, oh God, I really need this one week break, you know, just one

I'm very lucky.

You know, we're here in Sydney, in our place in Clovellly I live. My five kilometer radius is COULDI Beach, Bronti, Bondai, Clovelli Centennial Park. I can walk to all of those places, you know. I feel grateful for that.

Yeah, what was it like, Rob? Because I know we texted before Chloe went on that night and you were excited. I didn't actually get to speak to you that night. How was How was that moment when your wife appeared on stage?

It's kind of surreal, isn't it. Like you know, Chloe and I often say this that we have been super fans of Hamilton since, you know, we first heard it in twenty fifteen or whatever it was, and we still are, you know, And that's kind of rare that, you know, we've listened to that soundtrack so many times and we know the show intimately now and yet we still are

You said, Babe that you felt sick before you came to the show because it was the first time you were seeing Hamilton.

Was that that? Sure?

Yeah, like you were sitting in the food court feeling sick about just being nervous to me and nervous for the first time you're seeing this show that you love.

Of course, thanks for bringing the real stuff in.

Expectations. I know.

I mean, I always feel sick when I go when it's opening night. For you, I get it's that nervousness. I'm really really excited.

But I mean I'm not in the industry at all. But so you guys know it much better than I do.

But I always feel really like, oh, my stomach is not for you.

So I always give you good reason to feel that way because I'm so bloody.

Insecure, aren't we all?

Though?

Are you?

Do you guys feel like that.

I could not have done Hamilton, any of it that auditions, the show without Rob's support and being a constant soundboard and cheerleader for me the whole time, the whole time everything. You know, I will come home and talk about a scene and chat through different ideas about it and we talk it through. And I mean when I auditioned for Hamilton, it was the second part of it was all via tapes and that was I mean, I don't know how you two go with self tapes, but the two of us.

Do not go well.

And we had this really big, high pressure thing that we were doing in lockdown in Tasmania last year and I was stressed and Rob was trying to help me with it, and yeah, I couldn't do it without Rob. And so that's why he probably felt nervous because he knew intimately how I was feeling about that moment.

And are you are you the same? Rob?

Does?

Does Chloe support you with your She does?

She does. I mean it's worth noting the closest we've ever come to divorce is self tag Oh my god, they're disasters.

Yeah, but we hate those stuff. We stopped doing them together, but then in lockdowns.

You have no choice.

Yeah.

Yeah, no, it's a recipe for disaster.

Did I I think I read somewhere Chloe that you for this role of Eliza in Hamilton, that you had like like a picture board and you had intentions, set a vision, board, and can you tell us about that and tell us what that meant to you and how that worked for clearly it was this success.

But it's funny, isn't it. You Know, people talk about manifesting a lot. It's kind of like a cool hip thing to say over the last few years. And honestly, there was a point maybe four years ago. I'm trying to think it was just after lamy Is where I desperately wanted to be Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and I thought that I was manifesting that I don't know what I was doing, but I don't I wasn't doing it right anyway. I didn't get that role and I didn't

Rob talked me off the ledge, you.

Know, he said, you're more than your work, and he brought me a bunch of beautiful flowers and you know, let me cry for a long time. And so after that, I stopped sort of putting things out there that I wanted because I think I was scared of it. And then when it came to Hamilton, I think it was around two thoy and sixteen or seventeen, I was like, I really feel like I'm going to be in that show. I don't know why I feel like that. I feel almost detached from the feeling. It's just like a knowing.

It was the first time i'd made a vision.

Board, and she was really into it, and I was like, okay, yeah, I'll do it with you. We'll do it on New's Eve. And so we made these vision boards and I put Hamilton all over it. I actually put a different role. I put Angelica on there because I thought that's what I was right for, and just Hamilton in general put that on my vision board and that was twenty sixteen,

Yeah, I think the last bit you just said, then be open to the different ways that it can happen, because we get so I do anyway I get. I can get very specific about manifesting, and then when it doesn't look like I think it's going to in my mind, I feel like I miss it sometimes because it's happened in a different way. But I've gone, Oh.

Yeah, I heard something once that it was like, you know, manifesting is like going to a restaurant and ordering exactly what you want, but then being happy with whatever comes out. So you put out a specific order of what you would like, but then you let go of the result of what it actually will turn out to be. But I agree with you, Cam, you know, it's things are happening around it, and you sometimes miss it because you're so focused on that one specific thing.

Yeah yeah, I like.

The idea of a you order a steak sandwich and it comes deconstructed.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there you go.

Are you are you similar in that way?

Rob? Are you a manifesto?

Look, I'm sort of naturally a bit skeptic of all of this stuff traditionally, but you know, it's in the earth. Then one of my huge kind of growth areas with Chloe that she's brought me alongside lots of stuff. And you know what I've come to realize is that And you know, New Year's Eve just gone. We sat and we did our vision boards and they hang in our bedrooms currently bedroom. Sorry, we do have one bedroom.

Separate your separate bedrooms at the moment, but what.

I've kind of realize is that really it is just another way of goal setting, you know, and so many people so often just have this notion of I want to succeed, I want to particularly performing, It's like I want to get a show, I want to get a lead. It just it demands you to be specific. What show, what lead? What are you going to do to get it?

You know?

And why?

Yeah.

What I loved about both of you when we were working together, Rob and I had a romance. You guys had your showmance. We had a romance there in Adelaide doing Rocky Horror. You both are very dedicated to to what you do in this Australia. In industry, we have to be diverse, don't we. We have to be able to be nimble and jump from one like from TV as you say, to stage two, cabaret, whatever it is to stay working. Because there are difficult times in our game,

I feel like Clo and I navigate it both very differently and wear some of those things differently. I feel like I just have a naturally kind of healthy level of stolicism that are able to kind of cop some of those setbacks and move on. Don't get me wrong,

So it would be such a shame if you weren't a performer anymore, because you're so good and you've got so much more to share. So I think I probably bully you into persisting sometimes, But I'm not like, I'm not apologizing for it because I think while you are someone that is so versatile, and you are that person that is good at everything. You know, you went from picking apples last year to being a mechanic and what else, Like every job that you do you're very good at.

Thanks, that's very kind. I think, you know, I suffer a bit from that comparison thing. You know, I look at guys I went to school with and stuff. Who are you know, owning businesses and successful, and you just it's hard. I remember signing Lise and theater. I think to us once early on in Lame Is, you know, sometimes it's hard to feel like we are adults as actors.

I mean you've touched on some great things there. I agree with you about the acting feeling a bit childlike because we're told what to say, we're told what to wear, we're told when we can go and have a break, all those things you're needed. Now, come stand here, say those lines, wear these clothes, and go home. And sometimes we get paid a lot of money. A lot of times that money has to stretch over months and months, and people don't understand that.

Is it too personal a question to ask if children are in the future for you too?

No, it's not.

Yes, yes, I hope so. But I think something we've talked about a lot actually about what it means for a woman in the industry to have a baby. It's not as simple as just taking some time off work. For a woman in music theater. I can only speak to that because that's just what I know. I would assume I wouldn't in my costumes, knowing the show and knowing my costumes, I wouldn't be able to work past

Yeah, and they're really I mean, as you say, if you worked in a company, an office job or whatever, there's there's maternity leave, there's job security, there's everything that, but the entertainment industry doesn't have anything like that, including you know, COVID payments as far as I understand too, So it's it's something that I think a lot of

And I don't know because I haven't had a baby, but I would assume that you don't know how you're going to feel after you've had the child.

And everyone has.

Different berths, And it's not as simple as sitting down at a desk or being on the phone. It's your you physically, mentally, vocally, every thing. You need to be ready to be back on stage or performing again. So to actually then get back to work requires.

Work.

Yeah, and you have to be ready physically to do that and be in front of people. So yeah, it's huge.

This is where you get to jump in the shower together. It's our two minute shower.

Been here together.

We keep our answers a little short because we're into water conservation. And so if you both give us your answers on this one. What's your best quality communication?

Probably patients, okay, And so now what is your partner's best quality?

Okay?

Well he stole mine. Yeah, I'm.

Constant kindness despite the person's situation or whatever is being thrown at him. I'm always, actually still to this day, blown away by Rob's inherent kindness.

I'm always very impressed, close, very quick, and a very accurate judge of character. I think that's a great strength of his Who do you admire.

That's so broad?

Like?

In what sense that is broad?

Isn't it?

You're broad.

Any any any topic.

I guess whatever you whatever you choose, keep politics out.

I admire people that are at the top of their fields, moving through challenges and doing it anyway, you know, brave, brave people that are driven and believe in themselves.

I admire that, and I aspire to be like that.

Yeah, I agree. I feel like we share this sort of admiration of people who, yes, are in positions of power and can still show a lot of kindness and keep their feet on the ground.

What does your perfect day look like?

My perfect day involves exercise, some sort of exercise, so I love it. I love yoga, pilates and newly trampoline, rebounding, delicious coffee, always, sunshine, ocean, quality time with rob and really good music.

I don't drink coffee, so I don't need coffee my day. But I love being in nature, in the nature. I love being nature, specifically in the bush. I like being surrounded by friends, by family, by my wife, Like God, where is this day coming from? Imagined?

It'll be here?

Yeah? In fact, probably our wedding day was probably nearly our perfect day. In fact, given that on an Apple Orchid, we were surrounded by the most extraordinary combination of our friends and family, which you know, had gathered in this remote spot, like it was very nearly perfect.

It's very rare.

It's very rare that you get to with being a performer, have all your close friends from your shows together, because we're always all so spread out.

So that was really special.

Finish this sentence. What the world needs now is.

Take it away back, ladieswith.

I'm going to say.

Connection with each with other humans and you and the world in itself, connection to the impact you have on other people and the world around you.

I'm going to be a little bit contradictory to that, and I'm going to say unplugging. I feel like we do need to unplug it then also means yes, connection with those around you. I think the twenty four hour news cycle, I think social media. I just think it's

Your partner in one word.

Speak of once, what's yours? What's yours for each other?

I'm curious.

Oh yeah, oh, I hadn't.

Even one's ever asked us that question. I'm going to say in one word, Wow, you think.

About it, I'll tell you. Mine for Chloe. So mine for Chloe would be fierce. And she's fierce in every area of her life. She's so committed to every task she puts her mind to. She is a fiercely loyal friend to her friends, she's fiercely dedicated to partner, to me. And yeah, that's that's my one word, all incompassing.

I find it hard to just some rub up into one word. I don't want to like kind feels feels wrong but right at the same time, like I don't know if it's kind or generous, like a generosity of spirit that I have never experienced in anyone else before.

But that's a lot of words.

So that is a spirit, isn't it. By the way, Just while you're saying that kind was my word for Allison?

Oh thanks, I was going to say courageous for you.

There you go, Hey you guys.

Oh wait, I thought of one brave.

There you go.

That's a good word too.

Hey you guys, Thank you so much for your time, and I just hope that you are together in person loving each other up very soon.

I hope that too. Thank you both, and we look forward to the entertainment industry rocking again and watching you both up on stage as much as possible and having your your storyboards and your vision boards come to life for reals.

Thank you appreciate it.

Likewise, Yeah, thanks guys.

Bye, thank you.

I haven't seen either of those two since Hamilton, and I just got a real pang of like, oh, just love for them. Yeah, the good people.

They are good people, so talented, and I just I know, I know we've said it and it is, it is in the news, and I think it can't be said enough. Is what we're all watching in lockdown is entertainment. We're watching TV, we're watching reality, we're watching you know, filming

You know.

So yeah, beautifully said, Actually, because we're all hanging as audience members to be entertained again. And I feel like, as you said the other day, I think, like, no wonder they're in America making more content because we've basically drained the well of stuff that was made pre pre COVID, And so it's how much we need and rely on our entertainers. Yeah, and how much you know, you realize how much love we love them.

Yeah, sitting in an audience, you know, we'll have it again. It's coming, it's coming. That feeling is spectacular. So it's just so grateful that.

The two of them would come on and open up like that and talk to us beautiful. Yeah, so lovely.

Alrighty, Well, we'll be back next week with another episode of Separate Bathrooms. Honey, I will be my courageous self and you continue to be. That was really love asked that question.

Yes, that was big. I had never thought of it, so that was took me a bit a back, but yeah, it was very nice to be asked.

I love your kindness till next week. Keep in touch on Instagram, I'm at Cameron Daddo, Ali Dado and we have our separate bathrooms Facebook page as well. There's other great podcasts happening on Nova Podcasts checking out grab the player, download them all. We will catch up with you later