Monique and Krzysztof are like a cosmic comedy, a blend of opposites, like salsa and maple syrup, or lightning and marshmallows. It's probably their unique origins, with Mon hailing from South Africa and Kris from Poland, that makes their story so delightfully quirky. Despite their differences, they balance each other out!

We’ll skip the “how they met” and go to their first date. November 2021. Mon’s initial thought about Kris was “he’s cute but vanilla”. Kris’ initial thought about Mon was “she’s small and elegant.”.

Despite Mon’s first impression of Kris, she found him intriguing, so much so that Mon didn’t want their date to end. She suggested that they go to a cool Italian place for supper. However once there, she was so excited and nervous that she couldn’t eat, much to the amusement of Kris.

The plot thickened quickly, and their relationship transformed into a captivating rom-com. The real revelation came when Kris jetted off to Poland for Christmas and Monique headed back to South Africa. Even across continents, they managed to talk every day.

Fast-forward to early 2022 when Mon's parents visited Sydney, and Kris was introduced to them. It was a hit, with Mon's parents clearly seeing Kris as decent and well-mannered (is this another way of saying vanilla?)

A few months later, Kris took Mon to Poland to meet his parents. Despite language barriers (they communicated using a translator app), Mon and Kris’ parents connected as if they knew each other for years.

When asked what Mon loves and admires about Kris, she describes him as being kind, gracious, easy going and intelligent. He ticked all of her boxes. The fact that he is funny and good looking is a bonus.

For Kris, he fell for her lovely smile and loved that she was a good person. He fell for her beauty and was drawn to her engaging personality. He loves how she is super funny and always trying to make jokes.

About their engagement… in February, 2023 Kris suggested that they go look for engagement rings. “Yassssss!!!!”, she thought, though she answered in a more calm and collected manner. After several requests from Mon for Kris to advise her when he planned to propose (she needed to look good and have her nails done) Kris wasn’t going to be party to her requests and wanted to surprise her.

The perfect opportunity presented itself when Mon told Kris that she would be taking him to Tasmania for his birthday. Kris, knew her nails would be done for this occasion! Ever the romantic, Kris contacted the Hobart Royal Botanical Gardens and had organised to have the gazebo decorated for the proposal. Once there, Kris suggested a walk to the gazebo and to have a look at it for wedding inspiration. Mon, was clearly horrified as it was set up for a private function and was reluctant to enter. On Kris’ insistence, they went in where Kris got down on one knee, proposed… and now they are married.

Even chalk and cheese can write their own love-story…