Shorty Sweethearts Becky & Jay - ‘It Almost Ended In Disaster!'

The real-life husband and wife reveal how their romance nearly hit the rocks

- Sebastian Van Der Zwan

Jay can’t imagine life without Becky now he’s put a ring on it. “We are each other’s priorities,” he says.

When Shortland Street’s real-life lovebirds Becky McEwan and Jay Kiriona tied the knot in lush forest on the shores of Taranaki’s breath-taking Lake Mangamahoe, the earth literally shook.

The New Plymouth-born actress recalls, “It was a beautiful, sunny morning, but as soon as I stepped out of the car in my dress, rain started pouring down and we had to hide under the trees with our umbrellas. Eventually, it stopped and I was able to walk down the aisle, but as we were exchanging our vows, we had rolling thunder and the ground was trembling. It felt electric.”

Her husband, who hails from Whanganui, adds, “At first, I thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen. It was a moment of fear and anxiety, like everything was ruined, but as I looked around at our friends and family, I realised how amazing it was. It was like a scene from a movie.”

‘I wanted to make sure I could be with one person for the rest of my life’

The besotted couple wed during a thunderstorm.

The cinematic ceremony in February 2019, just a week after Jay started on Shorty, was an epic climax to a seven-year relationship, but incredibly, the stars say it almost never happened, with their romance hitting a serious speed bump three years in.