'NEXT CHRISTMAS I'LL BE a married woman!'

Sophie Delezio is ready to celebrate the holiday season with her best friend and fiancé, Joseph, after a year that's seen an engagement, a move to a new home and another critical surgery.

- JENNY BROWN

Sophie Delezio loves Christmas – the joy of gift-giving, extended family get-togethers, lazy summer days and her mother’s legendary plum pudding. This year, however, the festive season will be even more special as Sophie prepares for her upcoming wedding to “best friend” Joseph Salerno following 12 months of life-changing events.

First, there was Joseph’s romantic, flower-filled proposal on Valentine’s Day. “Joseph is the most open and accepting person I’ve ever met. It’s an absolute honour to be marrying him,” Sophie told The Weekly back in April.

Then Sophie had surgery to repair a dislocated knee in order to walk down the aisle. And right in the middle of her recovery, the couple moved house to their “forever” home in a beachside suburb of Sydney.

“Surgery, moving, travel, recovery. It’s all been such a blur, the craziest time,” smiles the vivacious 22-year-old, who became Australia’s sweetheart after she was horribly injured in two separate car crashes as a toddler.

It’s no wonder she’s looking forward to the summer break.

“I always love Christmas, the special atmosphere when family comes together and everyone’s so happy,” she says. “But this year I’m looking forward to that holiday break more than ever because there’s a lot of big things ahead in the new year.