AFL legend Barry Hall and former Hi-5 star Lauren Brant are celebrating their second wedding anniversary this week.
Lauren, 33, shared a sweet photo of herself with her husband Barry, 46, showing off their marriage certificate on Instagram on Friday.
‘Two years, the most romantic escape fueled by LOVE and LIFE. Words cannot describe. I love you Barry,’ her post read.
The couple secretly married in February 2021 so that her terminally ill sister-in-law Sandra could attend the wedding. Sandra was married to Lauren’s brother.
She tragically died just two weeks later, after her second battle with stage four bowel cancer.
Lauren Brant and Barry Hall celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary this week, after secretly tying the knot in front of her terminally ill sister-in-law.
In the picture, the couple pose and proudly display their marriage certificate and Lauren looks elegant in a flowing beige dress.
He also shared a message for Barry on his Instagram stories, writing: ‘Happy anniversary Barry. Here’s to surviving this chaos together.
In June 2021, the couple confirmed that they were secretly married in February and were expecting their third child during an emotional interview on A Current Affair.
Lauren also shared a message for Barry on her Instagram stories, writing: ‘Happy anniversary Barry. Here’s to surviving this chaos together’
‘Two years, the most romantic escape fueled by LOVE and LIFE. Words cannot describe. I love you Barry,’ her post read.
Sandra, who was 41, was able to be Lauren’s bridesmaid during the ceremony, which occurred just two weeks before her tragic death on March 4 following her second battle with stage four bowel cancer.
In heartbreaking scenes that aired, Lauren was seen talking to Sandra in her hospital bed after it became clear that she would not win her fight against the disease.
Lauren said: “Since I was a little girl, I dreamed of getting married and there were three things I knew for sure: it would be me, my mother and my sister as my bridesmaid.” So… will you be my bridesmaid?
In June 2021, the couple confirmed that they were secretly married in February and were expecting their third child during an emotional interview on A Current Affair.
Sandra, who was married to Lauren’s brother Tyron, emotionally responded, “Are you kidding me?”, before finding out that the couple would be eloping in 24 hours with her by their side.
The show then cut to a clip of Barry proposing to his future wife at Sandra’s bedside, where he said, “…instead of being partners in love, I think we should be husband and wife.” Will you marry me?’
After a resounding yes, the family headed to the picturesque spot where Barry and Lauren were legally married.
Sandra was able to be Lauren’s bridesmaid at the wedding, which took place two weeks before her tragic death.
“I was too weak to walk, so [her husband Tyron Brant] I had to carry her and stuff,’ Barry recalled tearfully in the interview.
“No matter what pain level I was in, she…was quite inspiring.”
Speaking about her surprise diagnosis in 2019, Lauren said: “We never thought it would happen to our family, we never thought it would happen to Sandra.”
“We never thought that it would affect us to the point of losing it and the thing is, maybe it could be here with us if we caught it early enough.”
Sandra was officially declared cancer-free in March 2020, but learned the devastating news that her cancer had returned only a few months later.
Barry and Lauren eloped within 24 hours of their engagement, in a simple field of sunflowers surrounded by their family.