ABBEY GELMI The House Rules host shares her special day
The ‘House Rules’ host tied the knot with Sky Racing presenter Ben Way in a stunning ceremony
Things couldn’t get much better for TV presenter Abbey Gelmi. The gorgeous brunette tied the knot with long-time boyfriend, fellow sports broadcaster Ben Way, on Friday, November 29, just a few months after landing the highly coveted role of House Rules co-host alongside Jamie Durie. “It’s everything I’d ever hoped for,” she tells WHO over the phone from the House Rules set.
Straight back to work after her wedding in the Adelaide Hills last Friday, the 29-year-old relished a rare day off to marry the love of her life.
Dressed in a custom Pallas Couture gown, Gelmi said ‘I do’ to Way at the stunning Lot 100 in front of 140 family and friends including Abbey’s grandfather Olympic champion Herb Elliott, singer Rob Mills and Home and Away star Sam Frost. “We had the best time. It was perfect,” Gelmi gushes.
The Perth-born TV host attended 10 custom fittings with luxury bridal house Pallas Couture to create her dream wedding dress. “The dress was a real princess moment,” she says.
“I always thought I’d be more of a sleek slip kind of gal but by the time I put on a princess dress I knew that we were going to have to widen the aisle. It was just so beautiful. I loved how soft and romantic it was while also being almost a T-shirt cut so I felt really relaxed and like myself.”
The former Miss Universe Australia contestant changed into a second dress at the reception by
“The dress was a real princess moment. It was beautiful”
Australian designer Lillian Khallouf.
With Seven presenter Matt Doran as MC and the photographer being Gelmi’s old friend and former Australian Survivor contestant Jarrad Seng, Gelmi says many aspects of the wedding were “a logistical nightmare” in the lead up, but “all worth it in the end”.
“Jarrad is Passenger and Ed Sheeran’s photographer and he travelled 24 hours and took three flights just to shoot our wedding,” she explains. “And then he’s turned around to fly back to Uruguay to meet Passenger in 24 hours. The Passenger fans actually started a hashtag because Jarrad missed some gigs so apologies to them!”
Even choosing a state for the wedding was difficult for the hard-working pair who hail from Western Australia and South Australia. “I hunted high and low for the venue, before we even got engaged, sadly,” Gelmi says,
laughing. “Adelaide is obviously where Ben is from and considering we live in Sydney, and Perth is where my family are from, it was kind of the happy medium. With Adelaide, the Hills is only half an hour out of the city and so it allowed us to have a venue that felt like you’d really escaped the city.”
The couple – who live in Bondi with their dog Harry – first met at work. “I had just started an internship at Fox Sports and I was newly single,” Gelmi recalls.
“Ben was the anchor and I thought he was pretty cute. It all sort of went from there. We always joke that I pretty much chased him profusely which is sadly the case.
“We started off in the workplace together which of course had its little dramatic moments but mostly it was just fun, and we knew from the beginning that it was something pretty special.
“From the moment we first kissed, it was like, OK, this is it. We’ve been full steam ahead ever since.”
The couple are now so excited for married life. “We moved in together, we have a dog, I was so happy when we got engaged and now, we’re married!”
With her career reaching dizzying new heights this year, thanks to landing the role on House Rules, Gelmi had no choice but to postpone her honeymoon for the foreseeable future.
“It’s been difficult going straight back to work after the wedding,” Gelmi admits. “Hopefully we will be able to book a honeymoon soon, hopefully mid next year.”
However, the humble TV talent is quick to add that she’s grateful for every day of work she has on House Rules. “It’s everything I hoped it would be and more,” she says. “It’s one of those jobs that took me by surprise, and I was just so thrilled to be considered, let alone to get the role. And working with Jamie has been such a dream. He’s such a legend and has been there for me from day one. The contestants are gorgeous and there are so many twists this season.”
Gelmi took over from former host Johanna Griggs a few months ago after it was announced that the popular presenter was leaving the reno show after six seasons.
“Joh’s an absolute champion,” Gelmi says. “She’s someone who has always been so kind and such a support to me.
I was lucky enough to see her a few weeks ago and she wished me all the best.”
With so much going on in their lives, even struggling to find time to go away on their honeymoon, will Gelmi and Way have children one day?
“If it was up to Ben, we would probably have a backyard and kids as of a few years ago,” she reveals, laughing. “He’s been waiting to see what my timeline was like but at the moment with work, it’s tough enough to fit in time for each other. But a little dimpled version of Ben would definitely be on the horizon for me. It’s just when we can fit it in.”
“If it was up to Ben, we would have had kids a few years ago”