Who needs helicopters and roses to fall in love on TV? Certainly not Australian Survivor stars Lee Carseldine and El Rowland! Give these doting Brisbane parents a deserted beach and a banana leaf and they’re sorted!
After 12 months together, these island snuggle buddies are stronger than ever.
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These two were giving us all the feels during last season’s Australian Survivor.
From their Brisbane abode with their adorbs blended family, including Lee’s boys Jake, 11, and Sam, nine, and El’s son Darcy, five, the pair chat about their happy life…
We can’t believe it’s been a year since you met! Are you still in the honeymoon phase?
El: Everything is going really well…
Lee: We don’t know when the actual [anniversary] date is… There were a couple of big moments we could pick [from].
Was there a moment on the island when you were like, “Yep, you’re The One”?
Lee: There was a night when it was pissing down with rain, and El came and lay on top of me and then put a banana leaf on her, and I was thinking, “Oh yeah, this girl really cares about me.” I was in a world of pain at that stage – I don’t do cold well – and El obviously doesn’t have an inch of body fat on her, so her doing that made me feel pretty special.
And were you thinking at that point, “Maybe we’re more than friends”?
El: He had a boner. [Jokes]
Lee: It was freezing cold – there was no way that I could get a boner! [Laughs] It was weird, because in a game where you’re not supposed to trust anyone, for some strange reason I knew she was never going to turn against me. I just had a gut feeling.
Do you think the producers put you in the same tribe hoping that sparks would fly?
Lee: I asked the producers when we caught up at the Logies [in April] and they said, “We are good at casting, but we aren’t that good.” [Laughs] I think… all the stars aligned. I think the gods were being kind to us.
When did you move in together?
Lee: That happened in February. It’s been great! I wanted her here all the time from the start; it was just then blending the family together.
Stronger than ever… El and Lee say that not even the show’s producers could predict the feelings they’d develop.
Has that been tricky to navigate?
Lee: It was something a bit different, but you work together as a family.
Do the boys get along?
El: There’s a bit of an age difference, so they like different things. Sometimes Darcy and I will do things by ourselves, although we’ll spend at least one day together on the weekend as a family.
Have you talked about more kids?
El: I’m feeling quite clucky at the moment. I love kids, but it’s a difficult stage in our lives, because we are working towards our goals. The lifestyle we live at the moment allows us to achieve those goals, so I think at the moment the time isn’t right. There might be a time later down the road where we might decide to have a little bub.
Lee: We’ll keep you posted!
For more couple-y goodness from Lee and El, including their thoughts on this year’s cast (they aren’t loving everyone!), pick up this week’s issue of OK!, on stands now!
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