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Features > Five Gold Rings! by David

The 29th of February is the traditional time for women to ask men to marry them, so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to look back at five feisty girls who didn’t want to wait for their guys…

Daphne Lawrence and Des Clarke
Meeting in the unusual circumstance of Daphne being the stripper at Des’ stag do, it was a rocky road to marriage for this pairing. Des Clarke’s engagement to Lorraine Kingham came to a crashing end the night before the wedding when Julie Robinson inadvertently managed to talk her out of it. Des needed a lodger to help pay for his new house so Daphne moved in, and although they were just friends, Des began to fall for her. Daphne however, began dating next door neighbour Shane Ramsay. It wasn’t to last and Daphne had picked up on the spark with Des. As the 1985 season came to a close, Daphne made a candlelit meal for Des and even though he’d vowed never to marry after his experience with Lorraine, Daphne proposed. Des only replied with a smile and we viewers had to wait till the season returned till we knew for sure that they were getting married. That wedding was ruined by a bank robber in a gorilla suit, but after a few months, they got back on track and married in mid 1986.

Cheryl Stark and Lou Carpenter
Strong willed Cheryl Stark set her sights on Lou Carpenter the day he walked into her bar in 1993. Sadly though, Lou had just had his fingers burnt after a silly relationship with the much younger Annalise Hartman. But Cheryl wouldn’t be put off easily and using her lottery winnings, bought a house on the street Lou lived on and invested in used cars just to get close to the car dealer. Lou eventually agreed to see Cheryl, and they got on well, but he was stunned when she stood up in The Waterhole and announced to all it’s customers that they were going to be married! Lou broke it to her that her didn’t want to marry and she left for a world cruise. When she returned a few months later, Lou wanted to get back together but she’d gone cold on him and was more interested in spending time with her teenage children. It took some time before they got back together but once they did, Lou had changed his mind on marriage and he proposed four times, each time getting turned down. Unfortunately Cheryl had been told by a fortune teller that anyone she married would die in their fifties. Lou thought it ridiculous and took her to see another fortune teller; Cheryl was told it would be fine for her to marry again but Lou was told that tragedy would occur if he did. After so many proposals, they never did get down the aisle.

Sindi Watts and Stuart Parker
Their relationship was hard for Sindi’s ex and Stu’s best friend - Toadie - as it came so quickly after he’d split with Sindi and yet things got worse when they both nearly died in the Lassiter’s fire at the end of 2004. Afterwards, Toadie gave his blessing to the relationship and Sindi helped Stuart to get over the blindness he suffered during the fire. This proved to be a testing time for the couple as Sindi almost prostituted herself to pay for Stuart’s eye operation; a decision which disgusted Stu. After getting the operation paid for by The Helen Daniels Trust, Stuart’s sight returned and he and Sindi seemed every bit the happy couple. It didn’t last though. Sindi began acting strangely and mysterious accidents started to crop up around her. Following some hypnotherapy to explore the possibility that Sindi was causing the accidents, she broke down and told Stu that she’d been traumatized during childhood by a fur coat! Impressed with the way Stu stood by her, Sindi spontaneously proposed in Scarlet Bar, to which he agreed. Following the wedding, the truth came out that Sindi had indeed been causing the accidents and she needed psychiatric help. Initially Sindi wanted to end her marriage but Stu wasn’t happy to give up on their future. Eventually, his tenacity paid off and they now live in Oakey together.

Lyn Scully and Joe Mangel
When Joe Mangel returned to Erinsborough in 2005, romance quickly blossomed with housewife Lyn Scully after he’d done a few handy man jobs for her. Although they’d only been dating for a short time, the tragedy of the Lassiter’s joy flight disaster, which caused the death of the Bishop family, seemed to intensify their relationship. Due to her religious convictions, Lyn was already uncomfortable living in sin with Joe, so decided to make an honest man of him and popped the question. Sadly for Lyn, Joe turned her down saying he’d already been married three times and was happy just living together. This wasn’t good enough for Lynnie so, with sadness, she ended the relationship. However, after the Bishop’s memorial service, Joe mirrored his decision to marry Melanie Pearson after the assumed death of Harold in 1991; he got down on one knee and Lyn accepted. They announced their news during the Bishops wake and the future looked bright for them. Unfortunately, the happiness wasn’t to last as just a few days later, Joe was asked to help his son Toby with a his new farm. Lyn bravely told him to go, and although the engagement still stood as he departed, Joe never did return. One year on, Lyn dived into another disastrous relationship with a very different man; Paul Robinson.

Rosetta Cammeniti and Frazer Yeats
Frazer Yeats had decided to woo Rosetta Cammeniti in an attempt to marry into her family’s money and power, but it wasn’t long before he’d fallen in love for real. Sharing a house meant Frazer and Rosie were able to spend lots of time together but Rosie’s reserved nature and lack of experience with men didn’t help their chances of romance. Paul Robinson’s interference caused a brief love triangle that ended with Rosie choosing Frazer but his genuine identity as George Brown caused her to doubt his truthfulness. Everything looked lost when Frazer found a new girlfriend Milly Hallsworth, but she didn’t stick around when Frazer was paralysed after being knocked down by a horse. Rosie stayed by his side, helping him to recover and they soon put the past behind them. Arranging a day at the racecourse, which Frazer had loved before his accident, Rosie proposed, but Frazer had to turn her down; he’d already arranged his own romantic proposal with caterers standing by with champagne, so more traditionally, he got to do the asking. The happy couple wasted no more time and were married just a few weeks later.

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