The wedding bells have rung for X Factor Australia 2012 winner Samantha Jade, who has tied the knot in an extremely intimate ceremony with longtime love and former Sony Executive Pat Handlin in Venice, Italy.
Speaking with the Kyle and Jackie O Show, the now Mrs Handlin revealed that she made the decision to get married in Venice as a tribute to her late mother.
“Venice is a really special place to us, it’s where we had our first holiday together and it was a place that my mum always wanted to go before she passed away.”
“The ceremony was really beautiful in this small quadrangle that was quiet by the water,” she continued.
“It was short and sweet and nothing crazy which is exactly how we wanted it to be.”
WATCH: Samantha Jade wins X Factor Australia 2012
In what may come as a surprise to many, the pair exchanged their vows in front of just a celebrant and good friends Guy Sebastian and his wife Jules, who bore witness.
Whilst some may think Samantha’s relationship with the Battle Scars singer and former Australian Idol winner stemmed from his mentorship whilst Samantha was on the X Factor, their relationship goes back much further than her reality TV days, first meeting when she was 16 working in Sweden.
“I knew him through the industry and then I remember I met Jules and we just completely glued. She’s wonderful, they’re just great people”.
“I feel very blessed with them, it’s like we’ve known each other since we were kids”.
After two cancelled weddings in 2020 due to the pandemic, it seems that the couple was desperate to get hitched after years of delays, even if it meant forgoing a traditional wedding with family and friends back home in Australia.
Samantha told Perth Now last year that she had all but given up on plans for a wedding in 2021, as millions of Australians headed into more lockdowns amid a surge in Delta variant cases.
“Perth borders did not open for a long time, and so we started planning, and then they just kept closing so I was like there’s no point planning, because it’s just, first of all, it’s really expensive, and second of all, it’s just heartbreaking to (cancel),” she told the publication.
The singer, 35, first announced her engagement to Pat in January 2019, after they reportedly started dating mid 2017.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds hopped on a boat with Guy and Jules and partied the night away, New Idea understands.
In photos shared to the Perth-raised musicians Instagram account, the new Mrs. Handlin simply wrote “we did it”, the post featuring a compilation of photos from the couple’s big day, with Samantha stunning in a strapless white dress.
A smart-looking Handlin paired a checkered suit jacket with a white suit and pants.
The pair have since returned home, spotted recently enjoying some retail therapy in Bondi.
It is unclear who designed Samantha’s dress as of yet.
