'SHORTY STAR JESS' ENCHANTING ENGAGEMENT

The actress reveals how she fell in love with her on-screen ex-girlfriend and lifts the lid on the magical proposal

- Kylie Bailey

After a long week filming on Shortland Street, Jess Sayer arrived home as darkness was falling. As she pulled down the drive of the bush-clad West Auckland bungalow she shares with her partner Amanda Tito, she was surprised to see a beautiful picnic set up on the lawn.

Walking down a path lit by flaming tiki torches to keep the mosquitoes away, the actress and playwright was delighted Amanda - who works as a director on Shorty and also acts - had organised what looked to be a date night.

Jess recalls, “We work so much that nights together are few and far between, and our favourite thing to do is to be at home with the kids, so I thought, ‘Oh, this is so lovely!’”

Yet although she was greeted by “the kids” - their two cats, Fennec and Hunu, and 10-year-old dogs, Mona and Bruce - Amanda was nowhere to be seen. Instead, on the table, Jess saw a bottle of her favourite rum, an instant camera and a note saying, “Take photos of things that you love until I get back.”

Smiling, she recalls, “So I started pottering, taking photos of the rum and the kids.”

When Amanda, 36, returned, she invited Jess, 34, to their outdoor fire pit, where she had prepared their favourite meal, vegan sausages and flame-cooked potatoes. As they reclined on the picnic blanket with their kai, gazing up at the stars, Amanda knew it was her now-or-never moment.

“The whole time I was trying to get up the courage to propose, and I knew if I didn’t do it then and there, the moment would pass,” she grins.