Sienna Keera, 27, shares her story with Take 5’s Claudia Poposki:
I settled onto the couch with my fiancé George after putting our two-year-old son, Oliver, to bed for the night.
Opening up TikTok, the video sharing site, I saw one of ours was going viral.
Immediately, I went to the comment section.
“Time to turn these off,” I said to George.
We’d often get nasty comments about our relationship, saying things like I was only with George for money and clout. It broke my heart.
It was also infuriating as I’d made such a commitment and uprooted my entire life for my loving relationship.
It all began in 2018 at home in Sydney.
Scrolling through Netflix I came across the UK show People Just Do Nothing, a mockumentary about a West London pirate radio station called Kurupt FM.
As I watched, I became increasingly attracted to the funny character of Craig, played by George, a plus-sized man with beautiful eyes.
One night, I decided to reach out to him on Instagram.
It wasn’t something I’d normally do, but I felt drawn to him.
I love your show so much, you’re so funny, I messaged him.
Due to the time difference, his reply came through a few hours later.
Thank you. What do you like about it? he asked me.
We started exchanging messages for a while, becoming friendly then flirty.
At that time, I was planning a trip to Europe with my friend.
But when she had to cancel her travel plans, I decided I’d go to London, Amsterdam and Paris on my own.
The day before I arrived in the UK, I messaged George.
I’m going to be in London tomorrow. I’d love to see you, I wrote.
I’d love to, he replied.
Arriving at my Air BnB, I did my best to recover from the long flight.
I was brimming with nerves about meeting George.
What if it’s different in person and really awkward? I fretted.
But when George arrived, with his gorgeous smile and a bottle of vodka, all those fears dropped away.
“Hey,” he said, pulling me in for a hug.
From that moment, we were inseparable.
He took me to the Tate Modern gallery and to dinner, showing me all the sights London had to offer.
I invited him to go on the rest of my trip with me and we spent the next six weeks living in a romantic bubble.
I was shocked when people would recognise him on the street, asking for a photo and stopping for a chat.
As our trip continued, conversations turned to whether our relationship could continue if I went back to Australia.
“If I move, I’d have to start my acting career all over again,” he said.
“That’s fair,” I nodded. “I don’t really have a job that I love back home, and London’s so beautiful. I want to move to be with you.”
At the end of our trip, I applied for a visa and went home to pack up my life.
In Sydney, I sat Mum and Dad down in their kitchen.
“I’m moving to London to be with George,” I told them.
Mum’s mouth fell open, while Dad sat wide-eyed.
“You’ve just met him. We don’t know him,” Mum said, concerned.
“I know it sounds unhinged, but I just know he’s my person. We can organise for him to meet you on Skype,” I replied.
We did just that, and my parents could soon see why I loved him.
Shortly after, I started living with George in London.
A few months later, we went on holiday to Venice, Italy.
One evening, we were sitting on a gondola with the gondolier crooning in the background.
The city was beautiful and my heart felt so full.
George then pulled out a small box.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
I began to cry. “Of course!” I said, hugging him.
A few months later, I fell pregnant.
I was nervous to become a mum, but George supported me through it all.
When we welcomed little Oliver into the world, we immediately fell in love with him.
But just as our family grew, the world locked down.
Like so many during the pandemic, I turned to TikTok to ease my boredom.
George and I thought making funny and sarcastic skits would be fun and lighten the mood for others.
We never expected our account to blow up the way it did – and we never expected that our love story and differing appearances would cause such a stir.
Because George was larger and I was slender, some didn’t believe our relationship was genuine.
With tears in my eyes, I’d read the comments.
Blink three times if you’re being kept against your will, one person said.
Is this just a publicity stunt? another read.
It stung but there were also some amazing remarks supporting our relationship.
Eventually, I decided to focus solely on those.
Besides, the only people who mattered were George, Oliver and myself.
“Don’t let them get you down, babe,” George told me, having already developed a thick skin from his time in showbiz.
Our social media content allowed us to work from home, while George was in between shoots, and spend more time building beautiful memories with Oliver.
Now, I ignore any negative comments on our posts and focus on the real world.
My parents recently came for Christmas and got to meet their grandson for the first time. Of course, they adore him.
While Mum and Dad are here, I’m really looking forward to marrying George and vowing that our union will last a lifetime.
That should hush the naysayers – not that they matter!
Taking a chance on love like I did doesn’t always pay off – but I’m so grateful my leap of faith did.