Sophie Monk marries Joshua Gross in secret elopement

Popular TV personality Sophie Monk and her longtime partner wed in a private ceremony at their Central Coast home without guests, Stellar reveals. See the exclusive photos here.

When Stellar spoke to Sophie Monk and Joshua Gross during a special shoot to celebrate their engagement last year, they hinted their wedding would be “small” and “just about us”. But no-one expected it would be quite this small.

On a Monday afternoon in March at their home on the Central Coast of NSW, the pair – who met on a long-haul flight from San Francisco to Sydney in 2018 – said “I do” during a private elopement, and invited Stellar along for the ride.

In their first interview as a married couple, given just moments after they exchanged vows, the couple reveal how they pulled their wedding together in less than three weeks – and why it was always going to be this way.

Sophie, Josh, congratulations on your marriage. How was the day?

Sophie Monk: It has been so beautiful and relaxed. We didn’t know what the day was going to look like because we rushed it, and it has superseded our expectations.

I never get nervous; obviously in my job you can’t. But I got so nervous when he was about to walk in and see me in my wedding dress. It was really unexpected.

Joshua Gross: We’ve had a really lovely day together. We woke up together and it’s been a dream. When I’m with her, it’s just smooth. I couldn’t be happier. It’s been such a pleasant surprise to see it unfold all day long. Everything has been spot on.

Sophie Monk and Joshua Gross on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar.

Did you always plan to elope?

SM: We always thought we’d elope, to be honest. So many people said to me, “I didn’t even see my husband on the night; if I had my wedding over, we’d just elope.”

Each to their own, but this is more our style. We’re quite private anyway. We had a massive engagement party last year and it was so nice. So we thought, well, why don’t we just get married at home?

I’ve seen people get really stressed about their wedding and ours has been so stress-free. I wanted to get my favourite photographer and I said to Josh, “My favourite shoots are always with Stellar.” And he loved the engagement shoot we did with Stellar, too [for a February 14 cover story last year].

It was a quick and easy decision so we have the best photos to always look back on.

JG: There’s the public side of Sophie, but having this private moment feels very “us”. We’re joined at the hip more often than not so it feels pretty natural. Now that we’ve done it this way, it just feels so right that I’m glad we didn’t take on any pressure to do it any different.

Sophie Monk and Joshua Gross eloped in a secret ceremony. Picture: Steven Chee

A lot of couples who elope choose to jet off to somewhere exotic. Why was your home

the right place for you?

SM: We’re just so comfy here. I love being at home. With my line of work, if I’m working

on a show, I’m away for six weeks, so I’m not home a lot. I’m a homebody for sure and

so is Josh. We don’t really like going out. We’ve got land and space and it just feels so “away”. We love the privacy.

JG: This feels like our sanctuary. All my greatest memories are little things like having coffee here in the morning with Soph, and now I’m going to be able to sit out here and have coffee and be like, “That’s the spot where we got married”, or “That doorway is where we had our wedding photos taken!”

Will the wedding be a surprise to your family and friends?

SM: I’ve told a few close family and friends, but they don’t know the day. I’m 42, so I feel like they’re like, OK, do it your way.

We figured, if you don’t invite one person, then no-one could get upset. We know everyone will be happy for us if it’s just the two of us – and then everyone doesn’t have to buy another present, so I think secretly other people will be happy we’re doing it this way.

Sophie Monk: “people will be happy we’re doing it this way.” Picture: Stephen Chee

Sophie, you’ve said before that you’re “not very good at being mushy”, but do you think your inner romantic came out during the course of this wedding?

SM: Yeah, because I care about Josh so much. Our vows were quite serious, which is just not naturally where I sit. I always want to default to humour. I tried to write them carefully and keep it romantic.

Tell us about your dress. How did you know it was the one?

SM: I tried it on for the first time today. It fit like a glove, it was perfect – it was just how I’d imagined it. The designers, J’Aton Couture, are incredible. We didn’t give them long [to design it], but they’re pros.

I sketched it out a couple of weeks ago with my stylist. I wanted to just keep it simple, beautiful and timeless, but still “bride”. I wanted two dresses, for two different looks. I wanted to keep it not too modern or in too many trends where you look back and the style has dated;

I wanted something timeless where it doesn’t age badly.

Honestly, I wear uggies and trackpants every day; that’s my style. I’ve seen my stylist whip up a dress in a day for work or whatever, so I trust her.

Monk’s dress was designed by J’Aton Couture. Picture: Steven Chee

Sophie Monk: “(My dress) was just how I’d imagined it.” Picture: Steven Chee

What was it like seeing each other for the first time at your wedding?

JG: I got really nervous beforehand. I got dressed and was waiting for a while for the reveal. It was quite a moment. I’m used to her looking stunning all the time during red carpets; she’s a very beautiful girl. But that reveal was just something I couldn’t have even anticipated.

I started crying as soon as I saw her, which I didn’t plan on at all. But yeah, it hit me hard. It really did.

SM: When Josh walked in and cried, it just made me cry because I love him so much, and I was like, “Oh I can’t cry, my eyes, my make-up … We have to get the photo.”

It was almost like when I first met him on the aeroplane. It reminded me of all that. It was just beautiful. And I could see he loved me in his eyes. I’m so lucky.

Sophie Monk: “I only started planning my wedding two or three weeks ago.”’ Picture: Steven Chee

Joshua Gross: “We’re 100 per cent in.” Picture: Steven Chee

Do you have a honeymoon planned?

SM: We haven’t got a honeymoon planned because I only started planning my wedding two or three weeks ago!

So I think we’ll take a week and decide. We’ll organise it like we did with the wedding: quickly. We’ve got some downtime now. Josh wanted to just grab a Winnebago and drive around and I went, “No, I don’t think so. I’ll book into a hotel, you can do that. I’ll meet you there.”

He loves camping and stuff. It’s just not me. Again, we’re very 11th hour [with planning], and not having kids, I think you can organise stuff very last minute.

What does the future hold for you as a couple now that you’re officially hitched?

SM: I mean, of course, you’d love to start a family if it happens. So just go with the flow, like we do with everything. There’s no pressure on anything.

JG: Whatever life throws at us, we’re going to be there together. And whether that’s family, travel … We’re 100 per cent in.

Originally published as Sophie Monk marries Joshua Gross in secret elopement