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Melissa Fyfe

Melissa Fyfe

​Melissa Fyfe is an award-winning senior writer with Good Weekend.

How do you strike up a chat with someone you don’t know?

The one topic you should never use as a conversation-starter (and what to say instead)

Breaking the ice with a stranger is an artform: experts recommend learning to nail “body torque” and subliminal cues as well as “safe starter” questions.

  • Melissa Fyfe

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To survive the dog park, manage your expectations, come armed with an understanding of the etiquette required, and keep a close eye on that pooch.

Is your dog secretly stressed? The subtle signs most owners miss at the dog park

Five expert-approved steps to navigate a pooch playground without the drama

  • Melissa Fyfe
Virginia Giuffre’s injuries from a domestic violence assault by her then-husband Robert Giuffre in Colorado in 2015.

Violent incident between Giuffre and husband revealed as legal fight over her fortune rages on

A police report has revealed details of a violent incident between Virginia Giuffre and her estranged husband as a bitter legal fight over her multimillion-dollar estate resumes in the Supreme Court.

  • Carla Hildebrandt and Melissa Fyfe
Bandt on his wheels of steel: he’s a passionate DJ, favouring European house music.

‘I had a little happy cry in the Uber’: the post-election moment that moved Adam Bandt to tears

After the shock loss of his federal seat, former Greens leader Adam Bandt has a new focus: powering up the low-key Australian Conservation Foundation.

  • Melissa Fyfe
Kah with one of her favourite horses, Dollars: “I was just like that crazy horse girl who never grew up. I love how hard they try for you.”

Tragedy, scrutiny, a six-day coma: How Aussie star Jamie Melham got back on the horse

She’s survived a bad fall, the death of dear colleagues and more than her fair share of controversy. We have republished this Good Weekend cover story from this time last year after Jamie Kah – now Jamie Melham – won the 2025 Melbourne Cup.

  • Melissa Fyfe

‘Excuse me. I’ve killed my wife’: The ongoing menace of forced marriage in Australia

At 21, Ruqia Haidari was murdered by the man she was forced to marry. Other women in Australia have made desperate escapes to avoid a similar fate.

  • Melissa Fyfe
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Michael Sukkar.

Numbers man: What Liberal powerbroker Michael Sukkar really believes

He’s an influential Liberal conservative fighting for his political life in the nation’s most marginal seat. How deep does Michael Sukkar’s conservatism run and how does religion guide his politics?

  • Melissa Fyfe
Lidia Thorpe: “The country doesn’t see the really generous, kind and caring person she is,” says Thorpe’s friend, Sissy Austin.

‘When someone says something nice to me, I just burst into tears’: Inside the mind of Lidia Thorpe

The independent MP knows she’s both loved and loathed, including within her own community – but wants to make it clear she’s more than “an angry black woman”.

  • Melissa Fyfe

Ryan accidentally swiped ‘no’ to Nell on Tinder. It took him three years to find her

Vitiligo model and content creator Onella Muralidharan represents those who don’t conform to beauty norms. Ryan Smith was enchanted the moment he saw her.

  • Melissa Fyfe

My tween is obsessed with skincare. How did it come to this?

When a 10-year-old wants – nay, needs – a $40 lip balm.

  • Melissa Fyfe