Has Sophie Delezio fallen in love?

He’s talltall, dark anand handsome – and has captured the teenager’s heart

Everyone fell in love with Sophie Delezio when she made national headlines as the heartbreaking little bandage girl who almost died in a freak accident at the age of two, only to then suffer a heart attack when she was struck on a pedestrian crossing two-and-ahalf years later.

But last week the teenager was dancing in the arms of good-looking American design student Sebastian Bielski, 20, who she met when she moved to the UK to study sociology and international relations at the University of London.

“It was the most wonderful night,” sighs Sophie, who is now a beautiful 18-year-old.

“My friends and I went to one of the uni balls – it was a boat ball on the River Thames, and it was just such a cool experience. I loved it! I probably should be focusing more on my studies...”

Could the hesitation be a distraction in the shape of Sebastian, or Seb, as Sophie affectionately calls the US student?

“We’re just friends – I promise!” Sophie says, giggling infectiously.

“I’ve made so many wonderful friends. We all live together in a hall, and there are people from so many different universities and places around the world.”

When Sophie moved to London late last year, she didn’t know anyone, but has forged a tight group of friends, including the dashing Seb, who accepts her for who she is without dwelling on the terrible tragedies in her past.

Her unbelievably cruel start to life is the stuff of nightmares. Sophie lost her feet, an ear and some of her fingers when a car ploughed into her Sydney day care centre just before Christmas in 2003, before suffering a heart attack when she was hit by a car and thrown almost 20 metres in another terrible accident in May 2006.

Sophie has never let the accidents or the lifelong disabilities they left her with prevent her from chasing her dreams. “I’ve got a new sense of independence since moving here, it’s taught me a lot,” she says.

‘I’ve got a new sense of independence since moving’

Sophie and Seb had a fun time with friends at a ball.