SOPHIE DELEZIO ENGAGED! WE'RE HOLDING ON TO HAPPINESS

The world-famous burns victim is set to marry her best friend

- Philip Koch.

With a beautiful smile lighting up her face, Sophie Delezio can’t contain her joy as she begins to organise her dream wedding to her high-school sweetheart after he proposed to her with candles, flowers and a diamond ring on Valentine’s Day.

“When I saw all these rose petals, I thought, ‘This is romantic – we can order in some Domino’s and watch a movie,’” giggles Sophie, who was caught completely by surprise when boyfriend Joseph Salerno dropped to one knee.

The pizza and film were put on hold after Joseph’s sweet and thoughtful proposal, which saw him present her with a scrapbook full of beautiful moments in their relationship.

“There were definitely tears,” recalls Joseph. “As soon as I saw her reaction, I was like, ‘Oh, God’, and I started to cry. I was actually trembling.”

Also overwhelmed with emotion, Sophie admits, “We were both crying.”

Sophie, 22, and Joseph, 23, met in Year 9 at Sydney’s Oxford Falls Grammar, where they became fast friends, spending afternoons together and even going as each other’s dates to their Year 10 ball, although they insist their relationship remained platonic.

That was until 2020, when Sophie headed to London for a year to study and Joseph realised just how much he missed his best mate.

“As soon as she came back, we started dating,” says the chef. “Once I saw her again, I was like, ‘OK, this is it!’”

Sophie – who spent last year travelling to 26 diff erent countries with Joseph – adds, “We both had to live a bit of life, experience a bit, and go through hardships and other life-changing events before we ended up together.”