Fiona Sandiford gets in bed with Savage Garden's Darren Hayes for some pillow talk. Fiona: Getting into bed with you would excite many girls. What is it like to be a sex symbol? Darren: I don't think I am at all. The minute anyone steps in front of a camera they become 50 percent more attractive. It's like alcohol: When you're drunk you think you're a much better dancer and a great deal funnier. F: How would you know? I thought you didn't drink? D: Actually, I had my first alcoholic drink this year. It was a mudslide - a chick's drink! I was wasted after it. I suppose I'd never drank alcohol before because I had a hang-up about it. Now I drink once a month and I'm eating meat again too. F: You're now okay about eating something that used to walk? D: I was vegetarian for seven years, but after touring for eight months I felt exhausted and needed more substance. I realised there wasn't a moral or social reason to be vegetarian. I really believe we're predators. If you can catch it, you should eat it. F: Given that we're in bed together, what would you want to find out about me? D: Previous history is important, but I wouldn't want to know every gory detail. I'd want to know if you're up for it. How recently you'd come out of something. Single is a plus. Available is good. I'd ask your star sign to see if we had basic compatibility. I'm a Taurus. I'd want to know basic life questions. Do you want kids one day? I want kids. It's important to find out someone's history and whether there are any scary issues from the past. F: And I'd want to find out about your scary issues. How do I know you're not married? D: Well, technically, I am still married to my wife, Colby, but we haven't been together for over a year. She's my best friend in the whole world though, and if she ever wanted to get married again we'd get divorced. F: I'm glad that's sorted out. So you're back on the market? D: I'm single for the first time since I was 17 and it's very liberating. For a long time I looked for love from external places. I looked at my career as a way to get attention and love. I looked at relationships as a way to fix insecurities or pieces of me that were missing. But I think I was cheating myself from growing because I was relying on somebody else to do it. It's harder to do that work yourself but I'm at a stage now where I realise that being alone isn't that bad. And I think that I'm a more complete person and have more chance of attracting the right kind of people. F: I suppose marriage must have inspired some of your songs? D: Of course. All our songs are about real life experiences. Even when we're schmaltzy, I think we're sincere. Although pop music is a commercial product, it's also bathed in sincerity. I don't see why pop music shouldn't have a heartbeat. F: You sentimental sausage. You seem more of a snag that a typical Aussie bloke. D: I'm definetly a snag. Come on, look at me! I cry at movies. I put make-up on and get my hair done by a fabulous hairdresser. What more is there to say? F: You're in touch with your feminine side, but what kind of woman do you go for? D: Someone who's genuine, with integrity. Somebody's most attractive when they feel good about themselves. I think it's got very little to do with the exterior. But I like dark hair and pale skin. Maybe I'm searching for myself. F: What turns you on physically? D: It's all about eyes and lips. You've got to have fat kissable lips. You see, I'm searching for myself! I've got fat lips and if you don't have similar lips then we don't have lip action. Bad breath is a no-no. So is hair under the arms. I'm sorry women - kill me, I'm sorry. F: Assuming she has meadow-fresh breath and smooth pits, how long do you usually wait before sleeping with a woman? D: I've waited 6 months. I've waited five days. The shortest was five minutes. F: You'd skip the main course and go straight for dessert, eh? I take it you have a high libido? D: I think you could rate your libido by how often you masturbate, couldn't you? Well, just daily. I have friends who do it three or four times a day. I don't actually masturbate when I'm in a relationship because I want to give the person my full attention. F: And if she gives you her full attention, where should she concentrate her efforts? D: It's all about my nipples. They're more sensitive than my penis. Just look at my nipples and they're anybody's. Seriously, you can't touch my nipples. It feels like you've grabbed my donger. If anyone grabs them I'm like, "Whoa, back off!" F: So once she has you by the nipples, would it put you off if she'd slept with more people than you? D: All jokes aside, sexual history is a touchy subject. With AIDS, it's important that someone's been responsible and safe. But if you ask too many questions, you start wondering if you are better, if you're not as good, is it big enough, whatever. You don't know how you rate and the more knowledge you have, the more you question yourself. F: Even though you must be a rich man, I won't take your wealth for granted. Has all that money made you happy? D: It's ironic because it's always millionaires who say money doesn't make you happy. It's easy for them to say. Money can solve life's stresses but it can also be a distraction because it gives you so many choices. I live in San Francisco now and I am going through the green card process at the moment. F: If we decided to get out of bed, would you take me to some wild music industry party? D: No. I think drugs and alcohol are a distraction. They compensate for insecurity and I've never needed to rely on them. I think it's a sign of low self-esteem. If you need a chemical to make you more interesting then you're pretty boring, really. F: How do you know when you're really in love? D: I fall pretty quickly. I can't eat. All I can think about is that person. I would sabotage my career for love. F: Do you think falling in love is worth the heartache? D:Yeah. There are two choices you can make. You can keep your guard up and never get hurt, but you'll never really experience love. Or you can let your guard down. It's the only way you can let someone inside. It's a cliché but I'd rather have been burned than never been in love at all. Life's too short.