Rhett Biglands to wed Janaina Lopes close to where they met in Brazil
FORMER Crows ruckman Rhett Biglands and his Brazilian fiancee Janaina Lopes will be going back to where it all started when they tie the knot later this month.
FORMER Crows’ ruckman Rhett Biglands and his Brazilian fiancee Janaina Lopes are going back to where it all started when they tie the knot later this month.
The couple, right, will exchange vows in a church just walking distance from the Rio de Janeiro bar where they first met during the 2014 World Cup.
“It just seemed natural to go back there. It’s an amazing place,” says media personality Rhett, 41, who played 134 matches for the Crows before his 2008 retirement.
“Rio is on a lot of people’s bucket lists, it’s going to be a lot of fun. The toughest thing has just been co-ordinating it all.”
He adds with a laugh: “But the other option was just to get married here in SA at a winery, which would have been a lot more work for me.”
The couple welcomed their first child, Aria, in January.
They will have about 100 guests at the October 20 nuptials.
Among those attending are several of Rhett’s old footy mates, including Adelaide AFLW coach Matthew Clarke, Scott Welsh, Mark Stevens, Ben Hudson, Bowen Lockwood and Nathan Bock.
Nike store owner Rhett – who also works for Triple M radio during the footy season – first approached Janaina shortly after the 2014 tournament final.
“Brazilians are very passionate about their soccer and they’d just lost the final 7-1 to Germany ... I tried to say ‘hello’ to her in Portuguese and she kept trying to get rid of me,” he says. “She thought I was German, and they were hating the Germans at that point. She finally worked out I was Australian and then we chatted in English.”
Originally based in the US, Janaina and Rhett remained friends until the end of 2015 before starting a long-distance relationship, taking turns visiting each other.
He popped the big question in June last year, getting down on one knee in a Balinese cave.