A woman has revealed how her husband was reunited with his wedding ring – 10 years after losing it while snorkelling on their honeymoon.
Alana McMillan, 33, and her farmer husband Russell, 39, were staying at the Warwick Resort in Fiji when his ring vanished without a trace just four days after they tied the knot in 2008.
The band was thought to be gone forever after the newlyweds, from Queensland’s Allora, frantically scoured the ocean.
Alana McMillan, 33, and her farmer husband Russell, 39, were on their honeymoon in Fiji in 2008 when he lost his wedding ring while snorkelling (pictured before the band disappeared)
Fast forward 10 years, Russell has reunited with his wedding band after his workmate Will Clothier found it when he was holidaying at the same resort in 2010
‘We were pretty frantic,’ the mother-of-two told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We looked for maybe half an hour but we truly didn’t believe we would find it in the ocean, we thought we’d never see it again.’
But fast forward a decade, a random conversation between her husband and his workmate Will Clothier brought a glimmer of hope to the missing ring.
‘About two weeks ago Russell was talking to his colleague Will over beers when they both realised they’d stayed at the same resort in Fiji,’ Alana said.
‘Russell mentioned he’d lost a ring 10 years ago and Will said he found a ring eight years ago while he was in high school holidaying with his parents.
‘Will remembered the ring was covered in moss and he gave it to his parents to keep safe. But Russell thought it couldn’t be his because it was a decade ago.’
The band was thought to be gone forever after the newlyweds, from Queensland’s Allora, frantically scoured the ocean just days after their nuptials (pictured in Fiji in 2008)
The pair have two children together six-year-old son Jackson and daughter Reagan, aged 12
After piecing together the puzzles, the workmates realised Will had found the ring just two years after Russell lost it.
‘Will called his parents and asked if they still had the ring,’ Alana said.
And two days later, Will picked up the band from his parents home – and much to their delight, it was Russell’s wedding band after they matched it to old photos.
‘The whole thing is mind blowing, I can’t believe it still,’ Alana said.
‘It’s unbelievable. When it came back to us, I was like “oh my god that just doesn’t happen”. I pushed it onto Russell’s finger and now he can’t get it off.
‘It’s a bit faded, the detail just looks old but that’s normal because it was in ocean for two years.’
To mark their 10-year anniversary, the couple will be heading back to the same resort in March to celebrate their decade-long marriage together
The family-of-four live in Queensland – where Russell works as a farmer and Alana is the founder of Alana and Co. creative studio
And to mark their 10-year anniversary, the couple will be heading back to the same resort in March to celebrate their decade-long marriage together.
‘Our 10 year anniversary this year is a big deal. Life is really good at the moment and it’s been a really nice way to start the year,’ Alana said.
‘The ring adds to that, it’s an awesome year to find it and it’s nice for me too, it’s so sweet to see a ring on his finger.’