LAYNE Beachley and Kirk Pengilly are one of Australia's odd couples.
On the surface, it's hard to see what a world surf champion would have in common with a rock star - and they've now admitted that they thought the same thing when they first met.
The couple spoke to magazine The Collective this month, saying "they didn't have anything in common at all, and at the time, neither of us were really interested in finding someone else".
Appearing on The Daily Edition, the couple, who were married in 2010, said their first date needed a bottle of Italian liqueur to get things going.
After promising mutual friend Jon Stevens (from the band Noiseworks) that they would go on a date, Beachley says at first the couple were less than impressed with each other.
"Jon made me promise that I would take Kirk on a date. And I had no interest in it whatsoever. And Kirk had no interest in me. And when I took him on a date I took him to Dee Why RSL ten pin bowling."
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Star couple: Our first date was a nightmare Source: News Limited
"And then I took him to a restaurant at Dee Why beachfront, and we were literally yawning at each other's faces. There was no chemistry, no connection - we really didn't want to be there."
Pengilly admits they were actively looking for ways to leave.
"(We were) talking about our ex partners and why we broke up. We were trying to sabotage it."
Beachley said she "went to the bathroom looking for a window to climb out of".
"He was thinking of leaving money on the table and thinking, should I do a runner?" she said.
But their fate was sealed when the owner of the restaurant joined their table for a chat.
"He had a fresh bottle of Limoncello that his grandmother made, and the rest is history … to the point where we actually toasted with Limoncello at our wedding 10 years later."
Kirk Pengilly and Layne Beachley spoke in depth with The Collective magazine, which is on sale in newsagents now.
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