Jock Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Zonfrillo has made many beautiful tributes to her late husband since his tragic passing in April 2023.
Most recently, the mother of two took to her Instagram account to share a video montage of their wedding day, January 1, 2017.
In the accompanying caption, Lauren poured her heart out describing what she imagined their future would have been together.
WATCH NOW: Lauren Fried celebrates what would have been Jock’s 47th lap around the sun.
“Happy anniversary My Love,” Lauren shared.
“Our dream of growing old together in the middle of nowhere in Italy – kids and dogs under our feet, you laughing your enormous laugh, falling asleep on your chest – is so vivid.
“That’s where I imagine you now. Lx”
Lauren also paid a heartwarming tribute to her late husband for Father’s Day 2023.
Sharing a carousel of images of three of the four Zonfrillo children, Lauren wrote about his love for his children, and how they will all continue to carry a piece of him in their hearts.
“When I met Jock he had two daughters, we then made two gorgeous babies together. There were 20 years between his first child and his last, and he was a different person and parent for each of them. What was the same was that he loved them beyond any words or actions,” she penned.
“Jock never really grew up: he taught the kids ways to do things that would drive me crazy – from dunking their roast chicken directly INTO the gravy boat as it was the safest way to cover the entire surface area, how to wedge a whole donut into their mouth at one time, to scaring the absolute sh*# out of me for a laugh.”
“There are roles that I can pick up, but this one – the cheekiness that was his parenting superpower – that is uniquely his. Beyond just being a Dad, he dreamed one day to be a Nonno. I wish he had that chance.”
“Ava, Alfie, and Isla – I’m so grateful that he left a little piece of himself behind in each of you. You are brave and strong and the sole reason why life will be wonderful again for us all. lz”
Friends, family, and fans were quick to show their support for the Zonfrillo family in the comments section.
“He taught me so many things about being a legendary Dad. Wish he was here to see it one day. Thinking of you and the fam as always,” wrote fellow MasterChef judge and firm friend Andy Allen.
Only a few weeks prior, Lauren celebrated what would have been her late husband’s 47th birthday.
Taking to his Instagram account, Lauren posted a video montage of many of their happiest times spent together.
“Happy birthday my love. Some moments from your birthdays together, never more special than today.”
“Today the kids and I are together; spending time with you, watering your grass, singing you songs, still not grasping what forever is like without you in it.”
“You eclipsed our family with your chaos and fun, and we are trying to find our new true north. I’m grateful that we are finding moments of joy in our smaller family, knowing that you are forever my husband, forever their Dad/Papa, forever a part of us.”
The birthday tribute comes just weeks after Jock made his final post-humous appearance on MasterChef in its grand finale for 2023.
Since his passing was announced a year ago, it’s been easier to forget that the larger-than-life character is no longer with us, as audiences across Australia have watched Jock on their screens judge this year’s competitors.
But pass away he has, the finale ending on a heartwarming note, with an in memoriam segment that asked viewers to “Give it up for Jock Zonfrillo.”
WATCH NOW: Lauren Fried breaks down over Jock’s last post-humous appearance on MasterChef. Article continues after video.
Ahead of the finale airing, Lauren took to Jock’s Instagram account to reveal that whilst she had struggled to watch the season, she would be tuning in for the finale.
“As a family, we are going to try to watch it. We haven’t been able to watch this season just yet,” she explained in an emotional video.
“We used to really enjoy watching the finale together. It was something Jock was really proud of. It was a job he really loved doing and so we’ve decided we’re going to honour that and we’re going to keep doing what we would normally do.”
“I’ve got so many messages from people today…and they all seemed to be really sad,” she continued before adding: “I just wanted to get on here and say yes it is sad.”
“But this is something he loved doing and this is not the end of the line for Jock. We have so many wonderful recipes of Jock having fun, of travel, of family stuff that I would love to share with everyone and it’s very much a way I can find meaning through all of this.”
Just weeks prior, Lauren marked another bittersweet milestone with her late love, sharing that it had been seven years since the pair had gotten engaged in Scotland.
“This week seven years ago, up in the Scottish highlands, Jock asked me to marry him,” Lauren wrote.
“He took me on a 4WD adventure from Loch Lomond, up some hectic winding roads, to the top of a very windy mountain.”
“Down on one knee he asked that we give our future children the opportunity to love and enjoy Scotland as we did, he also proclaimed that he loved me more than Tunnocks Caramel Logs (which is a lot!)”
WATCH NOW: Lauren Fried marks one month since passing of beloved husband and MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo. Article continues after video.
Friends and fans of Jock’s were quick to jump into the comments section, sharing their heartfelt condolences to the family during this emotional time.
“That’s a LOT! And he did,” fellow MasterChef judge and firm friend Andy Allen wrote in reference to how Jock loved Lauren more than his favourite sweet treats.
The caption was accompanied by four photos, one of the couple happily posing for a picture post-engagement, and the others depicting their shared Scottish adventure.
The engagement throwback comes almost a month after Lauren broke her silence about her husband’s death, taking to his Instagram account to share a heartfelt video, thanking the public for the love they have shown her family during this heartbreaking time.”
She captioned the post with the simple line of “Hi, it’s Lauren” whilst adding the hashtag #thankyou to a 90-second video of herself speaking directly to the camera.
“It’s been a month now since we lost Jock and I put a line in the sand thinking that at the one-month mark, I would turn some sort of corner, obviously that hasn’t happened….” Lauren began the video.
“I just am overwhelmed by the messages that came in from people all over the world who knew him or didn’t know him. I wish he knew how loved he was and the impact he had on so many people.”
She went on to express her uncertainty about what the future would hold for her two young children Alfie and Isla, as well as adult stepdaughter Ava, as well as the many projects that Jock was passionately working on prior to his unexpected death.
According to Lauren, these included yet-to-be-published behind-the-scenes content from MasterChef, books, a fashion range, bespoke spirits that were currently ageing in a Tasmanian distillery as well as a television series filmed in Italy last year – all of which Lauren said she was “pondering what is appropriate or not.”
“Jock and I worked really hard on his social media and so I have to try to make a decision whether we keep it going or not.”
“If I don’t really know what’s right I’ll put a poll-up on here [Jock’s Instagram account] and you guys can tell me yes or no. And somehow we’ll work out if there’s a path forward here or if we don’t do anything at all.”
Fans and friends were quick to hop in the comment section of the video posted late Sunday night, sharing in their sympathy and support.
“Love Jock, love you, and love the family xxx” wrote MasterChef co-judge and firm friend Andy Allen.
“Love you and know that when it feels right for you it’s right….you all have so many projects you worked on together. There is no rush don’t feel a need to do anything except to take care of yourself and family ❤️” commented fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.
“Loz lovely, follow your heart ❤️ and anything you decide it will be supported by his friends, family, and fans. You were a super couple and all that hard work whether you decide to share it or not will be treasured forever. Sending lots of love to you and your beautiful family,” MasterChef 2022 finalist Keyma Vasquez also commented.
