Sophie Monk and fiance Joshua Gross share intimate engagement details
In their first-ever interview as a couple, Sophie Monk and her fiance Joshua Gross exclusively share the intimate details of their engagement.
Stellar
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If on January 15 you heard a loud eruption, there’s a perfectly good explanation. It was the sound of the nation’s hearts exploding after Sophie Monk revealed on Instagram that she was engaged to her boyfriend, neurosurgical robotics consultant Joshua Gross.
And the sound was so loud because it didn’t stay confined to social media for long. Among the sea of COVID stories, Monk’s news made front-page headlines and even interrupted radio bulletins.
For everyone invested in the long and tumultuous love life of the singer, actor, presenter and self-appointed “bogan” – who we first met as a member of the girl band Bardot when it was formed on the reality show Popstars in 2000 – it was the good-news story we needed.
After two failed engagements, first to Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden – who went on to marry Cameron Diaz in 2015 – and then to businessman Jesse Esberg, followed by an unsuccessful stint as The Bachelorette Australia in 2017, the 41-year-old had finally found “the one”.
The serendipitous fact that she met the then US-based Gross, 37, on a long-haul flight from San Francisco to Australia in 2018 makes their love story all the sweeter.
And Monk has certainly felt the public’s support. “I was crying reading the comments on my Instagram,” she says now. “I feel like people are very invested in my story. They’ve known me for 20 years and I could feel people’s love through the reactions.”
Now, in their first interview together, the couple tell Stellar about their low-key Christmas Day proposal and future plans.
Sophie, when you spoke to Stellar back in September 2019, you told us that Josh was “the one”, and he just had to propose. It looks like he got the hint...
I feel like I gave enough hints. I wasn’t very subtle, was I? Ever since I met him, I’ve been doing interviews saying, “I’m going to marry him.” So, I feel like he didn’t have a choice.
Sophie, of the four famous romantic film pairings you recreated for our photo shoot – Pretty Woman, Grease, Dirty Dancing, and The Notebook (on the cover) – which, if any, do you think best represents your relationship with Josh?
Maybe we’re a mixture of them all. [We’d probably] be a spoof comedy. Don’t get me wrong, I love romantic movies – I definitely have that in me – but in real life, romance is different for me.
If Josh turned up with a boombox, I’d be like, “What are you doing, loser?” I find the little things romantic, like getting me coffee in the morning.
Josh, how did you feel about Sophie talking so openly about an engagement before you’d even popped the question?
Josh: We had talked about it and it was obviously something I wanted as well – it wasn’t a one-way thing. When it came to the media stuff, I tried to disregard that and stay in my lane as much as possible. I don’t think it influenced me, to be honest.
Sophie: I’m not as desperate as it smelled in the press. I read comments and everyone was like, “This chick is so desperate!”
Josh, when did you decide to propose?
I worked with jewellery designer Luke Rose to design a very individual ring. That was probably six months before I proposed.
So while I was hearing all this media stuff, I was well into the process. But then the trips I’d planned to propose on didn’t happen because of COVID. So I did it on Christmas Day. It was just us, at home, having a coffee in front of the tree.
I did have something I wanted to say but, in typical Sophie fashion, she talked over the top of me and said yes before I could get out my best spiel [laughs].
Sophie: He knelt down, and I just said yes before he even asked. He’s like, “Hang on, I’ve got stuff to say!” And I’m like, “It’s good, yes!” And then I cried.
Were you nervous, Josh?
Absolutely. It’s a pretty big decision and no matter how much you talk about doing it, it’s still a big commitment from both of us.
Sophie, did you get any sense that he was going to propose?
Yes, because there was a paparazzi shot of him leaving Luke Rose, so I kind of guessed. – and my heart broke for the surprise. But then I guess I was prepared in a way.
Josh: I was a little heartbroken when I saw [the shots]. I’d gone through six months of cloak-and-dagger secrecy to get this done without Sophie knowing because I wanted her to have a good surprise.
Everything is so public for her, I thought this is one thing we can have behind closed doors. So that was a little heartbreaking. I was planning on proposing a little earlier and [the media attention] sort of paused things for a while.
But Christmas is my favourite time of year, so I knew I was going to do it then.
What did you want in your ring design?
Something unique. The fact that we met on a plane is a crazy thing for us, so I put clouds under the diamonds. It’s a unique place to meet. Normally I get on a plane, put my headphones on, and don’t talk to anyone.
Josh, what’s it been like stepping into Sophie’s world of fame and celebrity?
It doesn’t really affect me. For the first 12 months [of our relationship], I never really looked at anything in the media which, looking back, was a good decision.
Sophie: I don’t live in that world, either. I look at it as just a job. I only have a couple of friends in the industry; all the others have known me for 20 years and don’t care about the press. But Josh took to it very well. He understood it all quickly.
It’s so good coming from different walks of life; we respect each other’s jobs. I’ve seen relationships where couples who are both in the industry fight over the press or compete with each other.
What do you love about each other?
Sophie: Josh just gets it. He’s emotionally intelligent, then intelligent on top of that. He’s got it all going for him. I was worried at the beginning that he might have been a serial killer because he’s too perfect!
He has a sense of humour and he’s kind-hearted, which is good because I’m really sensitive. There’s nothing I don’t like about him. He even does the cleaning. He makes life easier, because with every stress, every drama, I feel like I have a teammate. It’s just awesome.
Josh: There’s a reason why so many people feel as if Sophie is their best friend or that they know her so well – it’s because she’s very open, very caring and very generous.
I think that’s why she’s had such a long-lasting career. It’s because she’s amazingly kind to everyone.
What are your plans for the wedding?
Sophie: It’s so hard to know what’s going to happen with COVID. It’s unpredictable. I’m about to start working as the host of [a reboot of the dating show] Beauty And The Geek for two months, so after that we may have a big engagement party in Sydney and then go from there.
But we think [the wedding] will be kinda small and just about us.
What does the future look like for you as a couple?
Sophie: We’d like a family, for sure. It’s just about timing. But with my work being so unpredictable, I’ve learnt to go with the flow. You learn not to plan too far ahead. We’ll play it by ear. But we’d love a family.
Josh: We’re both happy to go with the flow. We know we’ll go together, so wherever that flow takes us, we’re in for the ride.
Do you both believe in fate and that you were destined to meet?
Josh: I’m probably more of a believer in fate now. To be living in a different country and to get on a plane and strike up a conversation with someone and then, two-and-a-half years later, here we are living together and engaged... I have to believe in it now.
I used to fly every second day and I’d never talk to anyone. Then this life-changing event happens. And now we’re right where we want to be.
Sophie: I’ve always been a sucker for [the fate thing]. I’ve always said that everything happens for a reason. I’ve always believed in that Cinderella story. It just happened for me at 41... I thought Cinderella was younger? But even on the plane, I said to Josh, “You’re going to want to marry me.”
Josh: She said that as we were getting off the plane. And, I mean, Sophie can predict the future. So who was I to argue?
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