Brief
Couple says daily kisses strengthen intimacy, cites health benefits
The pair share a routine of brief kisses twice daily and discuss scientific and historical reasons why kissing matters.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Every morning and evening Aurelia St Clair and her wife Tamara Natt exchange a six‑second kiss, a habit they say punctuates their day and deepens intimacy, SMH reported on October 9, 2026.
St Clair, 31, and Natt, 35, split their time between Tweed in northern New South Wales and Melbourne. Natt described the routine: “Aurelia will always drop me off at the train in the morning, and we’ll have a kiss goodbye, and then she’ll pick me up with our dog, and we have a kiss hello.” She adds that the kiss feels like “punctuation” to their relationship.
The couple recalls their first kiss at an airport on the Gold Coast, where Natt pulled into the pick‑up lane, left the car running, opened the door and kissed St Clair on the spot. They say that moment set a pattern of using kisses as a non‑verbal connection.
Historian Katie Barclay, a professor at Macquarie University, explains that kissing has shifted over centuries. In medieval Europe it signalled contracts, fealty and affection, but “over time, the reasons for kissing declined, becoming an intimate gesture of romantic love and family life,” she told SMH. Barclay’s forthcoming book, The Kiss: A History of Passion and Power, explores this evolution.
From a health perspective, the article notes that human lips contain thousands of nerve endings that send signals to the brain, making a kiss a potent sensory experience. While our sense of smell is weaker, close contact allows us to detect a partner’s scent, a natural indicator of attraction. The piece suggests that kissing can trigger the release of oxytocin and other neurochemicals linked to bonding, though it does not cite specific studies.
Overall, St Clair and Natt present their brief, twice‑daily kisses as a simple ritual that reinforces emotional closeness, while experts contextualise the practice within a broader historical and physiological framework.
Key facts
- Aurelia St Clair and Tamara Natt kiss each other for about six seconds each morning and evening. (smh.com.au)
- The couple split their time between Tweed, NSW and Melbourne. (smh.com.au)
- Historian Katie Barclay says kissing evolved from contractual and feudal uses to a romantic gesture. (smh.com.au)
- Human lips have thousands of nerve endings that send signals to the brain, making kissing a strong sensory stimulus. (smh.com.au)
Sources
- [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “How kissing can boost intimacy and transform your relationship”
