Bain a good catch, says former love

Heather Gillies, husband Andrew and baby Eli. Photo / Supplied

The former long-time girlfriend of David Bain believes he'll be a "good catch" for someone.

Heather Gillies, formerly Hall, broke years of silence to talk of her jubilation after her boyfriend of five years was cleared of killing five members of his family.

The Australian-based mother of one also lifted the lid on her visits to Bain in prison and their break-up.

Gillies followed the retrial via the internet from her home in Toowoomba, 132km west of Brisbane. The verdict left her "absolutely ecstatic" but her happiness was mixed with sadness that Bain spent so long locked away.

"It's a tragedy really. It shouldn't have taken this long. It shouldn't have happened at all."

She shared the outcome with her husband of 2 years, Andrew, 42.

"He has not met David and he doesn't know the ins and outs of the situation like I do. But he supports me, and supports mine and David's friendship, so in that sense he was very happy."

The 35-year-old primary teacher hopes to catch up with Bain when everything has calmed down.

Asked if she ever doubted his innocence she said: "It's a natural human reaction for someone to wonder what happened.

"That's the only sense that I questioned, 'Was it him?', because he was the only one that was left.

"I had a moment of, 'I wonder if' and then, 'Nope, can't be'. I don't want you to put that I questioned him. It's the natural human reaction, I think, to wonder what happened.

"I'm not a poor judge of character, I believe."

Gillies has remained in email contact with Bain and he has seen photos of her 10-month-old son Eli.

They started dating in April 1996 when she was about 22, two years after Bain's family was murdered.

They first met in mid-1992 as 18-year-olds at Opera Alive, a youth version of the Dunedin Opera Company, but she was "too selfish and into myself to even really consider other people".

They performed together in several productions but didn't become firm friends until university, when they sat together in music lectures.

The relationship grew when Gillies supported Bain through his arrest, trial and subsequent prison sentence.

She admits to being as surprised as anyone when she realised she was in love with him. That was at the end of 1995 after he presented her with a rose-engraved mirror for her birthday, made by a fellow inmate.

"It wasn't something either of us set out to do. Realistically, it wasn't probably the wisest decision to make but at the time we had hopes that he was going to get out."

Gillies "tried as often as I could" to see Bain in prison, but visits became harder when he was moved from Dunedin to Christchurch.

"It probably averaged out to about one weekend a month. Sometimes more than that. I wrote him letters. We wrote a lot of letters. Phone calls. A lot of visits. A lot of kilometres racked up."

Gillies was one of many supporters who visited Bain regularly. Some Saturdays up to 30 people would be waiting for a chat.

"It was getting a bit ridiculous at times," she says. "There were a lot of people turning up. We didn't get our own rooms. It was all in the same visiting hall with everybody.

"In that time we were not alone because someone's always watching.

"Obviously, you can't have prolonged physical contact but hugs, yes. You are allowed to touch the people you are visiting."

Gillies was ready for the next step, possibly engagement, but the unusual circumstances became too much and the couple split on good terms after about five years.

"Distance was a big one, of course," she says.

"Obviously, we couldn't plan for any sort of future because we didn't know what the future would hold.

"And it was just the fact that ... I was becoming my own person. We were just moving in different directions."

Gillies was reluctant to talk about her favourite memories or the contents of their letters.

"The whole time was special. We enjoyed each other's company and it was always nice to be there. Yes, he is very romantic but that goes along with the type of person he is. He thinks of others before himself.

"They were wonderful times and I don't regret one moment. We learnt a lot about each other from it."

Gillies says they are "still very close" and hopes Bain can lead a normal life in New Zealand.

She says he is a gentleman who believes "chivalry is not dead" and asks New Zealanders to "leave him be" to get on with his future.

"I do believe he'll be a good catch for somebody one day."