weddings

After four tough years Robin Bailey has married Sean Pickwell in a beautiful ceremony.

 

This post includes mentions of suicide and may be triggering for some readers. If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner or in Australia, contact Lifeline 13 11 14 for support or beyondblue 1300 22 4636.

Four months after announcing her engagement, Triple M presenter, Robin Bailey, has married her partner, Sean Pickwell in a stunning ceremony at Newrybar Hall in Northern New South Wales.

The radio host was walked down the aisle by her three sons, Fin, 18, Lewin, 16, and Piper, 14, and despite only having four months to prepare for the wedding and an inclement late afternoon storm, the photos looked stunning.

“I have so many people to thank for the most wonderful love filled weekend of my life,” she wrote in one caption.

“BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE EVER ! Sean and I got married in front of all our family and friends . I have never felt such love!” she wrote in another.

“My boys were amazing and our new family of nine (with two amazing girlfriends Georgia and Rubie) is just the greatest gift EVER.”

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Image: Ben Clark Photography
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However, four years ago, Bailey was in a very different point in her life.

In 2014, her husband of 16 years, and father to her three sons, Tony Smart, took his life after a long battle with depression.

Two year later, Bailey reflected on her grief in a post for 973FM, while also sharing the news of her new relationship.

"My life is moving on and in the last couple of weeks I have realised that again, for the first time in years, I am feeling normal," she wrote.

"That healing has also been helped by a very special man who came into my life and took my hand.

"His name is Sean we were friends 25 years ago when he was my boss and we reconnected by accident."

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Robin and Sean with their children. Image: Ben Clark Photography.
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Bailey told Mamamia on the No Filter podcast, that it started as "a friendship and texting and so on".

“I think I just needed someone to give a shit. For me. And he absolutely does. He is such a kind, kind lovely man. He doesn’t interfere in my life, but he gets it,” she said.

Although they lived in separate states - she lived in Brisbane and he was a Sydney man - they would fly up and down the coast, spending weekends with the other's family.

“He’d separated [from his wife] a while back, so he was more open in some ways, and I think because he was in the industry there were a lot of boxes ticked because I knew him. I felt safe. And he got my world," she said.

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"I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him." Image: Ben Clark Photography.
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Then a year after she publicly announced their relationship, Bailey and Pickwell were given some awful news. He was diagnosed with liver cancer, a condition he's still battling today.

Three days before the third anniversary of Smart's death, Pickwell was set to undergo a 10-hour surgery to remove the cancer, along with roughly 40 per cent of his liver.

Reflecting on the difficult time, Bailey shared with Stellar Magazine her glass-half-full approach during her family's challenging time and what it meant for her then, still relatively new relationship.

“As far as we’re concerned? I don’t know yet. Maybe this will fast-track long-term plans. Major bumps in the road make you re-evaluate," she said in August of 2017.

“This is big, and it’s hard for everyone to get their heads around. But it’s certainly brought out the best in people."

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In July of this year, Pickwell proposed to Bailey while they were on a family holiday visiting Movie World on the Gold Coast.

She walked down the aisle in front of 120 family and friends while ex Voice-contestant, Simon Meli, sang the James Taylor classic 'How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).

Watch Robin Bailey walk down the aisle as she marries Sean Pickwell.

Video by Robin Bailey

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, Bailey called Pickwell her "absolute soulmate".

“I’ve waited 50 years for this man to come into my life … but, at the same time, we came to each other when we were both ready to – the timing is everything,” she said.

"I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him. He is the most precious gift, for my children and for myself.”

All of the photos have been used with permission from Ben Clark Photography. You can see more of his work on his Facebook page here.

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner or in Australia, contact Lifeline 13 11 14 for support or beyondblue 1300 22 4636.

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