Melbourne Buzz: Dylan Alcott and Chantelle Otten Set the Record Straight

Former Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott first laid eyes on his girlfriend Chantelle Otten at a book signing for his inspirational memoir, Able, in 2018.

The Dutch sexologist was dragged to the event by a friend and had no idea who the Paralympian was – but she knew the moment she saw him that it was love. 

It certainly makes for a romantic meet-cute. The fact Chantelle had only recently separated from her husband at the time is a detail lost to history.

Now, seven years later, the couple, both 34, are the subject of swirling split rumours with Melbourne gossips speculating they are growing apart.

The whispers stem from two things: the couple no longer post about each other on social media as frequently as they once did, and this week Chantelle revealed she’d obtained an American work visa and was exploring career opportunities in the U.S.

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Chantelle surprised many of her followers on Monday when she announced her visa had come through, opening doors for her to move stateside.

It came as her presence on the wheelchair tennis champion’s social media accounts dwindled. Likewise, months have passed since Dylan’s appeared on her Instagram grid.

When we caught up with the pair in Melbourne on Thursday morning, they assured us they were still together. 

‘No, we’re very much together,’ Chantelle said while on a morning stroll in Northcote near the home she and Dylan share.

‘Dyl and I we both travel a lot for our work, but we live together. We love each other. We’re supporting each other,’ she added.

‘We’re still together,’ she stressed, before brushing off the gossip as ‘boring’.

‘We’ve been together for six years now.’

We also caught up with Dylan separately as the Paralympian was jetting out of Melbourne Airport for an engagement for his charity, the Dylan Alcott Foundation.

‘We’re still together,’ he said, pointing to their shared address as proof.  

As for her American working visa, Chantelle said gossips were jumping the gun and her plans to move overseas were not yet set in stone. 

‘I just got the visa. I haven’t made any decisions. I’m not sure yet. It just came through,’ she told us.

Meanwhile, Dylan revealed he did not have an American working visa. 

When we asked if he had any plans to move to the U.S. with Chantelle, he said: ‘I think one day, maybe. I haven’t got a visa yet. We’ll see.’

For the moment, it would seem any big plans for America are on pause as Chantelle continues to work through the grief of losing her mother.

‘I’m dealing with some family stuff right now. My mum just died. I’m focusing on that. She passed away last year. I’m just trying to figure that out,’ she told us.

Veronica Otten died aged 60 on October 11 last year after a battle with leukaemia.

Chantelle announced the news on Instagram days later, sharing a gallery of photos of mother and daughter alongside a lengthy caption.

Describing her mum as a ‘force of nature’, she praised her ‘unwavering strength’ and urged her followers to donate blood and plasma because ‘these donations kept my mum alive through to her final days’.

It comes after Dylan opened up about the couple’s sex life in a podcast chat in April.

He revealed that he used to fear intimacy as a young man, but now wants to dispel myths about disability and sex.

‘People with disability can have sex in whatever way they can have sex,’ Dylan said during an interview on TMZ’s Big Down Under podcast.

‘I think what people think is a standard way [to have sex], not many people are doing that. I’m lucky that I can have sex and I have a beautiful partner Chantelle,’ he added.

The sports commentator, who has used a wheelchair since he was child, said had always had ‘supportive partners’.

Dylan also discussed the prejudice some people with disabilities face when it comes to sex and how he and Chantelle hoped to change those perceptions.

‘But what breaks my heart the most is… What’s the best thing in your life, your family and your relationship,’ he said.

‘Most people would say that and imagine if you never get the opportunity to have that because people think you can’t. That sucks. We want to change that.’