Shorty star’s perfect storm
Pua weds his angel: Tears, twins and torrential rain
On the morning of Pua Magasiva’s wedding, it’s bucketing down. Plans for an outdoor ceremony have been ditched, with a white marquee erected on the soggy lawn of the riverside Auckland venue as the rain pounds down.
Making matters even more fraught, the power is still out five days after a violent storm hit the region, so historic tavern The Riverhead is running entirely off a generator.
But as the guests trickle in and bride Lizz Sadler prepares to make her entrance, miraculously the skies clear and the bunch of white umbrellas Woman’s
Day has brought along are suddenly redundant. Disaster averted! However, moments later, the groom collapses against a wall in tears. Amid the crowd of guests, the Shortland
Street actor and Flava radio host, 37, has spotted his twin brother Tanu, who had been scheduled to undergo heart surgery in Wellington and wasn’t going to attend.
Unbeknown to Pua, the operation was postponed and Tanu secretly travelled north. Composing himself, the Samoan-born star tells us, “Oh, man, I lost it just then. It means everything to me for my twin to be here. We’re like yin and yang, but he’s always had my back and made sure I felt safe ever since we were born. This is the best surprise.”
But the tears aren’t over yet. As Pua, in a custom white linen suit from Hallensteins, and his groomsmen wait at the altar, the best man, Pua’s cousin Fa’atonu Fili, sings a tune he wrote about the bride and groom’s relationship.
“Though we’ve had some ups and downs, we’ve made it through somehow,” he croons while the gorgeous tutu-clad flowergirls, Pua’s daughter Jasmine, seven, and Lizz’s girl Laylah, six, sprinkle white rose petals down the aisle. “When I look in your eyes, all I can see is my forever,” he continues as the bridesmaids file in wearing pretty pastelblue chiffon dresses.
Then there’s a collective gasp as a serene, radiant Lizz, 31, in a figure-hugging, mermaid-shaped Jane Yeh dress made of ivory French lace, with a long, dramatic train, enters the marquee on the arm of her father.
As he’d predicted before his big day, the groom is already wiping away tears. Later, Pua explains, “I was
so caught up in emotion. She looked like an angel. I couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked – and the fact she was dedicating her life to me.”
When they meet at the altar, under an arch decorated with palm fronds and white roses, the glowing couple clasp each other’s hands and whisper loving words.
Afterwards, Lizz recalls, “I thought I’d be really nervous, but I was so happy. And Pua wasn’t hysterically sobbing, so that was good too! I was wearing the necklace he’d bought me before the wedding, and I told him I was glad he was wearing the watch and fragrance I’d got him. His lucky number is 14, which is why we married on the 14th, and I’d written him a note with 14 reasons why I love him, so he was telling me how much he appreciated that.”
Following a Samoan welcome to the 125 guests, the celebrant, Pua’s good friend Siona Tulia, discusses the “new family unit” the couple are creating today, and speaks of the “social media world” that brought the bride and groom together.
Pua, who’s played nurse Vinnie Kruse on Shorty since 2003, first laid eyes on Lizz on Instagram in October 2016, when she innocently followed him. Despite having almost 90,000 admirers on the app, the actor instantly took notice of the beautiful blonde and the sweet snaps she shared of her daughter, and they began swapping messages
Just 10 months later, last August, Pua surprised the primary school teacher by popping the question on a snow-capped peak above Queenstown during a romantic helicopter flight.
It’s been a whirlwind romance, but the star insists, “I was listening to my heart. When I proposed, I knew it was the right thing to do.”
Love&laughs
After Jasmine and Laylah hand over the rings, Pua and Lizz exchange the vows they’ve written together, promising, “If we should stumble, we will work together solidly and as one. We will always have each other, our beautiful girls and, most importantly, our love.”
Then it’s on to some more tongue-in-cheek pledges they’ve written separately, with Pua bringing the house down when he swears, “I promise to try to not eat with my mouth open, to not bite my nails and not pick at my feet – only yours because I have a weird fetish like that. And to keep my singing to a minimum, even though it’s good, especially the high notes you like. I’ll also try not to snore too loud, fart in front of you, scuff my shoes or make weird noises. Um, actually, I’ll shut my mouth, not move at all and just love you always, shall I?”
Then, speaking together again, the bride and groom pledge, “I swear to share everything with you as you are my everything. I will treasure you and encourage you, be open with you and true to you for eternity.”
Afterwards, Pua and Lizz sign the official papers, with his twin Tanu and her sister Virginia Peek acting as witnesses while the Starship hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” plays. Pua later explains, “There’s a line in that song that goes, ‘Let them say we’re crazy. I don’t care about that.’ It’s a close representation of our relationship because we’re really passionate, full-on and a little psycho with each other.”
After a Samoan blessing, the couple are pronounced husband and wife, and the guests cheer raucously as the newlyweds share a long,