A friendship that blossomed between two Australian primary school students at the foot of Uluru has grown into romance that will soon become a marriage.
Elysia Simons was nine when she met Paul Van Der Toorren while filming the iconic “I Still Call Australia Home” Qantas commercial with 100 other children from the Australian Girls Choir and National Boys Choir.
“Paul stood to my right and in between takes we would chat and joke around. One of the things I remember most is Paul being this shy, smiley kid that looked away as he giggled at my (probably not funny) jokes,” the 25-year-old, who is now a wedding and family photographer, wrote on Instagram.
“We saw each other a few times after at choir events, but being nine-year-olds in an age where there was no Instagram, Facebook or mobile phones, it didn’t even cross our minds to exchange details.”
It wasn’t until they were teenagers that the pair managed to reconnect through mutual friends on social media.
“Paul was back in my life. After having many connections through school and uni, we were constantly drawn back to each other,” she wrote.
“Not too long after, our friendship turned into mutual crushes and I soon realised that what we had was better than the best kind of love.”
The couple had daydreamed of returning to the place where they met, Uluru, to reminisce about their first day together. When Simons received a call from Qantas four weeks ago, everything seemed to be falling into place.
Elyshia and Paul reconnected through My Space when they were 15. Source: Facebook
She was told they'd be flown — business class — to participate in an event called Field Of Light as part of a new documentary for Channel 9.
"This was the most random, exciting, crazy call but naturally we jumped at the amazing opportunity," Simons writes.
"We stopped at sunset at the most breathtaking spot near Uluru and as we were being interviewed Paul confessed that we were not actually there to view the field of light at all.
"We were there because he needed a way to get me back to the special place we had met 16 years ago."
In fact, Paul Van Der Toorren, 26, had enlisted the help of Qantas and Channel 9 to get them there. While the cameras were rolling he got down on one knee and, fighting back tears, proposed.
And, of course, Simons said "of course!"
The pair are planning to marry in Melbourne's Yarra Valley in January.
Top Comments
I wish all the happiness in the world to these possible soul mates. In this world environment the future for our grandchildren looks scary. However, every story of happiness arising from tragedy, of strangers reaching out to others and of love transcending time and distance, restores our faith in human nature, even for a brief time. More importantly, it gives us hope that there are positive human elements that can survive. It gives us hope that love is still as strong a force as ever.
Very cute :)
Congratulations!