“Love was right in front of them”: How MAFS’ Ella Ding and fiancé, Guy fell in love

Married At First Sight Australia star Ella May Ding is married to Guy Palermo!

“Waking up on my 30th birthday a wife❤️ To the man of my dreams,” she captioned the adorable photos on Instagram (below).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🖤ELLA MAY DING🖤 (@ellamayding)

The guests at Ella’s Gatsby-themed 30th birthday party didn’t suspect they were also there to celebrate a wedding ceremony when a short film began to play featuring flashback videos of the pair, and snippets of the couple saying “I do.”

Best friend and former MAFS participant, Domenica Calarco arguably had the best reaction, breaking down into tears as she slowly pieced together that Ella and Guy got hitched.

It was a short engagement for the couple after a casual morning run for turned into a surprise engagement

“A morning run turned into a proposal … I SAID YES 💍,” Ella captioned the heartwarming video on Instagram.

While in tears, Ella celebrated her engagement with her family and friends, including her MAFS co-star Dominca Calarco who commented on the post: “STILL BAWLING 💍💍💍😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️”

Mere hours later, Ella shared a photo of the pair all loved up, presumably from the engagement party as she donned her stunning wedding ring. 

“24.02.24💍 The man of my actual dreams proposed to me with my friends & family,” she wrote.

“I love you. I love us. And thank you for choosing me. Everything that we have been through lead us back to eachother, it was all worth it ❤️”

In October, many speculated the pair were engaged when images obtained by The Daily Mail showed Ella presenting a gift to her then-boyfriend. However, it was a ‘bit’ for advertisement.

The lovebirds first launched their relationship in April 2023, with Ella making it Instagram.

“I guess this is a hard launch,” she wrote alongside a picture of the couple.

There were few details around her new man at the time, but a source did inform The Daily Mail that he was “lowkey” and knew how to play the long game.

“Her boyfriend is very lowkey, no one knows who he is. They’ve known each other for six years and he’s been pursuing her in that time. Love was right in front of them the whole time,” a source told The Daily Mail.

Prior to her relationship with Guy, Ella was in a relationship with Made in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire in 2022. The pair chatted online for months before meeting in real life – with their relationship playing out on the E4 show. However, the pair split in October 2022. 

“Made in Chelsea was pretty crazy. The show was intense. It was probably harder than MAFS. It’s such a short period of time. I didn’t find love,” she explained during Channel Nine’s Upfronts presentation in Sydney.

Ella stole Australia’s hearts when she first appeared on the 2021 season of MAFS, where she was married to Mitchell Eynaud. 

While she didn’t find a husband on the series, she was incredibly grateful for the experience, especially since it was where she met her best friend, Domenica Calarco.

“Crazy to think, if we didn’t go on MAFS we wouldn’t be travelling the world together,” Ella wrote on Instagram last year during the pair’s holiday.