“Everyone’s dream is to fall in love with their best friend.”
– Sophie
Everybody was in on the big secret, except Sophie Delezio. Her parents, brother, overseas friends – even her nail artist – knew boyfriend Joseph Salerno was about to pop the question in the most romantic way, on Valentine’s Day.
“Oh my God, I had no idea,” laughs Sophie, her big blue eyes out-sparkling even the diamond and platinum ring shining on her finger. “Funnily enough, I got a heart painted on one of my nails the week before and joked that it might give Joseph the hint! That’s how little I suspected what he had planned.”
Good mates for years before they became romantically linked, theirs is a love story against the odds. Terribly injured in two separate car crashes as a cherubic toddler, little Sophie’s courage and tenacity rapidly made her Australia’s sweetheart. And, eventually, Joseph’s too.
“She has always been the strongest person I’ve ever known. I could tell from our first handshake, a very strong grip,” smiles Joseph, recalling that fateful face-to-face when they were both Year 9 students. “Strong, confident and generous, those three words best describe Sophie. That’s what I see when I’m with her.”
The feeling is
