Chantelle Otten's sweet reaction to Dylan Alcott being named Australian of the Year

Sexologist Chantelle Otten, 30, has taken to Instagram to share how proud she is of her boyfriend Dylan Alcott, 31, being named Australian of the Year for 2022.

Chantelle was in the crowd in Canberra when the tennis star, Paralympian and disability advocate was awarded for his inspiring work.

Taking to Instagram, Chantelle shared that she was "bursting with pride" in a lengthy post.

"Dylan you are so deserving of @australianoftheyear," she wrote. "Your passion, determination and strong work ethic inspires me daily, and I’m so excited, as I have been every single day of this relationship, to see you change the world. And you’re doing a bloody [good] job so far!

RELATED

• Sexologist Chantelle Otten shares hilarious Dylan Alcott bedroom confession 

• Chantelle Otten sees 'bright future' for sex and disability: 'Not there yet' 

• How to tell if your sex life is healthy - and five ways to improve it

"I adore being your partner and will be cheering you on every single day, screaming your name with the rest of team Alcott and Aussies alike.

"You’ve already made Australia so proud, let’s have fun with this year."

Angus O'Loughlin, Dylan's ListenABLE podcast co-host, commented, "Life is good," while Jaguar Jonze added, "Behind every great man is an AMAZING WOMAN 🔥 you both are so inspiring (and too adorable)."

"Dylan's speech had me like 😭😭😭 So deserving, and it's exciting for what this means for people with disabilities," one user wrote.

"Well deserved Dylan. Thank you for your example of resilience, determination humility, hard work, acceptance, respect, kindness and grace," another added.

Dylan also took to Instagram to share how grateful he was for the honour, writing, "Wow. I’m forever grateful. My purpose today and everyday is to change perceptions so people with disability can live the lives they deserve to live. I’ll do my best to make you all proud as your Australian of the Year."

Earlier in the day, Dylan played Great Britain's Andy Lapthorne at the Australian Open, winning 6-3 6-0 and he's set to play in the final on Thursday. It will be his last tournament with the Aussie focusing his attention towards his commentary career.

When he took the stage at the ceremony, Dylan gave an emotional speech about how he once "hated" himself for being different, but now feels like the luckiest man in the world.

He also admitted that he thought frontline workers who have been working incredibly hard throughout the Covid pandemic deserve the award more than "a guy who hits tennis balls for a living and likes talking".

"I was born with a tumour wrapped around my spinal cord that was cut out when I was only a couple of days old," he shared. "I've known nothing but having a disability. If I'm honest with you, I can't tell you how much I used to hate myself. I used to hate having a disability. I hated it so much, I hated being different and I didn't want to be here anymore."

He added that this was made worse due to the fact the only time he ever saw someone in a wheelchair on TV was in a road safety ad that saw someone drink drive and be left paralysed.

"There would be someone like me in tears because their life was over and I thought to myself, 'that's not my life" but I believed that was going to be my life'," he said.

"But I'm so lucky that I had the best family, some of the best friends, my beautiful partner and my whole team who told me that I was worthy. And that I was allowed to be loved.

"It wasn't until my teenage years I started seeing people like me."

Dylan continued, "I love my disability. It is the best thing that ever happened to me.

"I love the person that I am and the life I get to live and I'm the luckiest guy in this country, easily."

Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.

Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.