Frances Abbott set to marry after two-week engagement

Bill Shorten offers Tony Abbott’s daughter some wedding advice after she announced her engagement to an Olympic rower.

Frances Abbott

Bill Shorten has congratulated Tony Abbott’s daughter Frances on her whirlwind engagement to Olympic rower Sam Loch, jokingly suggesting that she should get government frontbencher Christopher Pyne to arrange the wedding and Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese to DJ.

The former prime minister’s 26-year-old middle daughter announced her engagement on Instagram yesterday, revealing that she had agreed to marry 34-year-old Mr Loch just a fortnight after meeting him.

“First of all congratulations to Frances and in particular, her fellow. He sounds like a very lucky fellow,” Mr Shorten told the Nine Network this morning.

“A couple of bits of life coaching: One, if you are going to have the wedding, get Albo to be the DJ and maybe get Pyney to help with the arrangements.

“And in terms of that, I just want to remind Frances that remember weddings are never about you and your beau, they are about your mum and your dad, so as long as you do what Margie and Tony say about the wedding, you’ll have a super wedding,” Mr Shorten said.

Frances Abbott engaged

Ms Abbott took to ­Instagram yesterday to reveal she was engaged to 34-year-old professional rower Sam Loch, who represented Australia in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

“Two weeks was all it took to know forever with you was a mighty fine idea,” the fitness blogger wrote.

Frances Abbott’s fiance Sam Loch. Picture: instagram

The announcement has come as a shock to Ms Abbott’s followers. The personal trainer and body builder recently described herself as “so single”, when interviewed for the November issue of ­Harper’s Bazaar Australia.

Ms Abbott recently made headlines for publicly backing same-sex marriage, despite her father’s rival position as a leading voice in the No campaign. Seventy-five per cent of voters in his Warringah electorate voted Yes.

Frances Abbott posted these photos of her with fiance Sam Loch on social media. Picture: instagram