Comedian Steph Tisdell had a delightful old-fashioned courtship with Jessie – and was struck by her small, everyday acts of kindness

• Find more stories from The moment I knew series

In my early 30s I’d decided I didn’t want to swipe right on another man holding a fish on dating apps and I was taking tentative steps into the world of dating women in my home base of Brisbane.

Things hadn’t got off to a great start and as I tried to refine my approach, a friend posed a question that I’d foolishly never really considered: what did I actually want in a partner?