The first time Tim Wilson proposed to his partner, someone asked the Liberal MP: "Why bother?"
This time around, he hopes for a better response.
The long-time same-sex marriage advocate put the question again on the floor of federal parliament: "Will you marry me?"
"Yes" was the response from Ryan Bolger, sitting in the gallery, perhaps the first proposal to be recorded in parliament's official record of proceedings.
It followed an emotional speech during debate on a private bill to legalise same-sex marriage, which Mr Wilson helped draft.
He recalled the day when he first proposed as the sun rose over One Tree Hill on Hamilton Island.
"I gave you the ring on our left hand and said 'I don't know what this ring represents or means, but will you take it as a sign of my commitment," he told MPs.
"Thankfully, the answer was yes."
But, through tears, he spoke of the "bittersweetness" in the days that followed.
Friends and family were happy with them and for them, but others simply did not know how to react.
Many text messages went unresponded to, while some people politely changed the topic or fell silent in conversation.
Mr Bolger kept pushing for an engagement party, but Mr Wilson was hesitant.
"The truth was I kept delaying it, perhaps wrongly, because the strong message I took from so many people's silence response was no-one would come," he said.
"On informing one person of our news they responded: "Why bother?"
"At the time I fell silent and I've never had an answer to that question, but the Australian people have now answered it for me."
