Couple who met after losing their first spouses marry in an intimate wedding - Money

A couple who met at a bereavement support group tied the knot in an intimate service after he proposed from his hospital bed while battling Covid.

Rosie, 39, and Jonathan Gill-Moss, 43, of West Malling, Kent, exchanged vows in a civil ceremony on Monday evening, just hours before Boris Johnson plunged the nation into lockdown.

The couple met in 2019 at a support group for bereaved spouses.

Rosie’s husband’s Ben vanished while scuba diving off the Kent coast in March 2018, leaving her to raise their children Monty, Hector and Tabitha. Jonathan lost his wife Sarah, mother of his daughter Holly, to cancer.

Newlyweds: Rosie, 39, and Jonathan Gill-Moss, 43, of West Malling, Kent, met in 2019 at a support group for bereaved spouses and tied the knot this week (pictured)

Family: The couple with Rosie’s two sons and daughter and Jonathan’s daughter from his first marriage. The couple are raising their four children together

Late husband: Rosie lost husband Ben when he went missing during a scuba diving trip off the coast of Dover in March 2018, leaving her to raise their children Monty, Hector and Tabitha, then only six months old. Pictured, Rosie with Ben

In early 2020, less than a year after they started dating, the couple were dealt another blow when Jonathan was admitted to hospital with a severe case of Covid-19.

He was placed in intensive care and fell into a coma, and Rosie and their families were warned to prepare for the worst.

When Jonathan woke he realised ‘how close he had sailed to the wind’ and proposed to Rosie in an emotional video call from his hospital bed.

He spent a total of six weeks in hospital and credits adictaphone given to him by Rosie that was filled with messages from loved ones for helping him get through the ordeal.

Celebration! Rosie and Jonathan’s marriage was witnessed by two close friends, pictured

In early 2020, less than a year after they started dating, the couple were dealt another blow when Jonathan was admitted to hospital with a severe case of Covid-19. He proposed in a video call from hospital

Rosie and Jonathan with their children, Monty, Hector, Holly and Tabitha

Jonathan proposed to Rosie (pictured together) after reaslising how ‘close he’d sailed to the wind’ when Covid-19 landed him in a coma in hospital

Rosie and Jonathan with all four children as he recovered at home following his hospital stay

Rosie and Jonathan, who are raising their four children together, had planned to marry in a small service the week before Christmas but were forced to cancel their plans when the region was placed into Tier 4, meaning weddings could only take place in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

Rosie said: ‘That beacon of light that we had so, so looked forward to was blown out.

‘But after the news I received in March that I may never see Jon again, it was just a minor blip in comparison. And watching the devastating losses so many have suffered this year, it was really just a small setback.’

The couple had planned to rearrange the wedding for sometime this year.

Sealed with a kiss: Rosie and Jonathan exchanged vows in front of two witnesses

Radiant: Rosie and Jonathan rushed to marry in a civil ceremony before lockdown, pictured

When it became clear the country would be placed in a national lockdown earlier this week, they decided to see if they could wed before tougher restrictions were enforced.

Registrar at The Mansion House in Tunbridge Wells agreed to marry them on Monday, hours before Boris Johnson made his lockdown announcement.

The couple, who forgot their wedding bands in the rush, exchanged vows in front of two close friends and had their family and friends watching via video call.

Rosie said: ‘The register office rang at 4.30pm and we were husband and wife by 6pm.’