KERRI-ANNE & JOHN’S CELEBRATION OF LOVE
After 33 years of marriage, the loving couple’s bond is stronger than ever
As far as Kerri-anne and John Kennerley are concerned, their marriage has mostly been one big, wonderful love affair. As such, they always make an effort to celebrate their wedding anniversary on August 18 in style.
Last year, however, this was not possible, and for a while it looked as though their party was over. John was in hospital, his future in grave doubt, following a fall that tragically left him an incomplete quadriplegic.
For Kerri-anne, that time is a blur of hospital wards, doctors, pain, heartache and helplessness – something she will never forget no matter how much she may want to.
So last week, 33 years after their glamorous 1984 wedding at the Sydney Opera House, she made sure the day would once again be a happy event, full of love, laughter and champagne.
Incredibly grateful to have John by her side, the TV veteran chose one of the couple’s favourite restaurants – Otto Ristorante, on Sydney’s fashionable Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo – as the venue for their celebration.
With John, 76, now in a heavy electric wheelchair, going out for the day is no easy task, but the couple made it to the restaurant via a special taxi with a hydraulic lift.
With John dressed in a dapper suit Kerri-anne had altered so he could get into it – he can’t move his arms – they were joined for the day by John’s son from his first marriage, Simon.
Simon has returned from England to assist Kerri-anne and a team of nurses with his father’s care.
Life is far from easy for the tight-knit family, but ask Kerri-anne, 63, if the effort is worth it and it’s likely she’ll point to her husband’s beaming smile.
Surrounded by his glamorous wife and dedicated son – not to mention countless friends who’ve seen him through the worst period of his life – John’s smile says more than words ever can for Kerri-anne.