Grieving fiancée of Sydney shark attack victim breaks her silence with a touching photo of their engagement as friends tell all about their love story before he was killed by a 4.5m great white
- Simon Nellist, 35, killed by four-metre-and-a-half great white off Little Bay
- About to marry Jessie Ho after wedding plans were disrupted by Covid-19
- Ms Ho has been silent since Mr Nellist died, but she shared a photo on Monday
The shattered fiancée of a dive instructor who was viciously mauled to death in shark attack at a Sydney beach has shared a touching photo of the day he proposed.
Simon Nellist, 35, was preparing for a charity ocean swim at Little Bay, in the city’s east, last Wednesday afternoon when he was killed by a great white shark.
The ‘love of his life’ Jessie Ho has remained silent in the wake of the disaster until Sunday, when she uploaded a selfie of them together by the water in 2019.
Ms Ho posted only the date he asked her to be his wife and the sun-lit photo – leading several friends to come forward to make comments about their love story.
The pair were supposed to marry in 2020, but had to postpone until the middle of this year due to the pandemic.
Family members had been expecting to fly in – but are now booking flights to attend his memorial service.
Simon Nellist and Jessie Ho (pictured together) were supposed to get married in 2020
British diving instructor Simon Nellist, 35, died just 500ft from horrified beachgoers near Sydney
Ms Ho captioned the photo ‘06.2019’ – the day Mr Nellist proposed to her.
One friend commented on the photo and said she loves the story of their engagement, adding that she wasn’t surprised he popped the question.
‘I love the story of the not so surprising surprise engagement,’ she wrote.
‘Simon was truly one of the good ones and I will miss him. ‘
Another friend said she admired the couple for persevering through a long-distance relationship.
‘You guys were the love story that made me believe in long distance relationships and making each other grow in all the best ways,’ she wrote.
‘He’ll be missed.’
One friend commented on the photo and said she loves the story of their engagement, adding that she wasn’t surprised he popped the question. Pictured: Simon Nellist and Jessie Ho
Others share their condolences and spoke about their ‘beautiful love story’.
‘You guys crammed a thousand years of adventure into your time together – keep it going beautiful girl, I know you can. Love always,’ one friend wrote.
Another said: ‘What an amazing photo. Send all my love and energy your way and to all the loved ones who are dear to you both.’
Drones, jetskis and helicopters trawled beaches near where Mr Nellist lost his life – searching for sharks and human remains.
At about 1pm on Monday, authorities spotted a tiger shark at Malabar Beach – just 5km from the fatal attack on Wednesday.
More to come
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