From the moment they met on My Mum Your Dad 2023, Dani and Wes discovered a bond like no other.
Dani’s son Brandon and Wes’ son Jake certainly agreed, and at the Blessing Ceremony they were more than happy to give their approval for the romance to continue.
Since filming ended months ago, 9Entertainment can exclusively reveal that the couple are still going strong and are more in love than ever – and there’s even talk of an engagement on the cards!
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“Wes and I have been living our lives, and we’re very much in love,” Dani beamed.
“It will be really nice to be able to share with everybody that we’re in a very loving and happy relationship. It’s been worth the wait!”
Dani confirmed that in January, Wes – who is based in New South Wales – is going to be basing himself out of her home in Melbourne, after the couple spent hours travelling most weekends to see each other after filming wrapped.
“I’ll be essentially moving out of here and moving to Melbourne,” Wes added.
“[My son] Jake is going to rent my house out with one of his mates and they’re there for the next few years, until Bailey [Dani’s younger son] finishes school – our plan is for Dani to move up the coast.”
“A sea change for Dani!” she laughed in response. “I’m going to be working really hard on my abs so I can dive into the ocean while he’s surfing!”
FINALE RECAP: Families unite and parents are confronted as the kids deliver their final verdict at the Blessing Ceremony
When Dani entered the series she spoke openly about how she’d struggled since the tragic passing of her partner in 2019, Ninja Warrior star and Olympian Paul Lyons.
Dani and Paul had been together for six years before he died from a cardiac arrest.
“Wes and I are deeply in love – I don’t know if I would have got to that place with him if he had some reservations of whether he could live with my sort of baggage,” Dani continued.
“One of my biggest supporters is Paul’s mum, and Paul’s brother. Paul’s mum has been watching the show and she’s been loving every minute of it. She messages me a lot and says how happy she is for me and Wes.
“I show Wes those messages because I need him to know it’s not just me that loves him and my children, but Paul’s family love and accept him as well. They loved me like a daughter and they want me to be happy.
“I feel very loved and very secure for the long term.”
The couple added that while long-distance has been difficult over the last few months, they always knew they never wanted to be apart from one another for long.
“We know we lived in different states, but we never ever saw that as an obstacle,” Dani said.
“It was never in our vocabulary that distance was going to be an issue for us. If you want something to work, you make it work.
“We’d drive through fires and windstorms to get to each other. We would literally do anything for each other and anything to be together.”
The couple have big plans for the future, too.
“We’re also buying a caravan together and we’re travelling Australia,” Dani explained.
“We’ve already been caravan shopping, but we just want to explore Australia together. It’s something we both have always wanted to do, and we just didn’t have the right person to do it with.
“The stars have aligned for us and we’re just making long term plans for our future.”
Dani said that around six weeks out of the Retreat, she and Wes booked a holiday 12 months in advance to Bali.
“I’m calling it a honeymoon even though I don’t have an engagement ring. He’s made the promise now on TV,” she laughed.
“Hang on, at the end of that you said, ‘Was that a proposal?’ and I went, ‘Oh no, not yet, no, no…'” he laughed in response.
The couple were referring to the on-screen moment where Dani spoke about how she still had her wedding ring on, and only wanted to move it to her other hand should the right person come along.
Wes melted hearts at the time, as he replied: “You can leave it there, honestly. Until hopefully one day I can put one there.”
Dani continued during the interview: “I’m only focusing on the ‘yet’. We have a laugh at that, we’ve talked about it!”
They said the day after leaving the Retreat, they sat on their balcony and spoke for six hours straight.
“We just knew right there and then that we had something pretty special, something incredible and that we were going to continue to work on it,” Dani recalled.
“Even though I had to get up very early the next day, I did not want to leave – in fact, I strategically left a sock in his hotel room so he’d have to come back to me.
“From that minute on, we have not left each other’s sides. I’ve checked our phone log; we talk for five hours every day.”
Now celebrating nine months together, Wes concluded: “I’m just living the dream at the moment, to be honest.”
“I’m dying to let the world know [about our relationship],” Dani added. “We’re extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity.”