Reality TV favourite Saara Aalto has announced she’d married her long-term partner Meri Sopanen.
The Dancing On Ice, X Factor and Eurovision star, 32, has been engaged to Meri for three and a half years and held a private registry with just herself and Meri in Helsinki, Finland.
The couple had planned a full ceremony with family and friends in Europe this summer, however this was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The newlyweds plan to hold a full rescheduled ceremony in the near future.
Speaking about her intimate wedding to Meri, Saara said: “With all of us feeling so much anxiety and uncertainty right now, Meri and I wanted to celebrate love and put something positive out into the world.
“When we had to postpone the wedding we were heartbroken, but then we realised we could still hold a private registration and celebrate our love together.
“It was the perfect moment.”
The LGBTQ+ activist’s celebrations will continue with her 33rd birthday on Saturday.
To celebrate her wedding and birthday she will be a holding a Queens Live livestream concert with Facebook on Friday at 7pm.
Saara and Meri were engaged for three and a half years before tying the knot (Image: INSTAGRAM)
The singer added: “This livestream concert is the perfect opportunity for me to commemorate something so special and mark the occasion with everybody who has supported me publicly for so many years.”
Saara also launches her singing masterclass today, a five-week course that will give budding singers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be trained and guided by Saara herself.
The singer proposed to Meri after Finnish lawmakers ruled against a petition calling for the marriage equality law to be repealed.
Saara was already engaged to her partner but decided to pop the question once gay marriage in Finland was legalised in 2017.
Saara shot to fame on The X Factor in 2016 (Image: ITV)
Alongside a string of heart emojis, Saara penned: ‘Same sex marriage is legal in Finland today!!! would you marry me @MeriSopanen” (sic).
The law was originally passed in 2014, however, it stalled following a citizens’ petition to reverse the result.
Saara rigorously campaigned for gay marriage for years and was delighted with the recent ruling.
The Finnish powerhouse shot to fame on the thirteenth series of the The X Factor in 2016.
Saara came second place in the ITV singing show after being pipped to the post by Matt Terry.
The TV personality returned to our screens in 2019 as a contestant on Dancing On Ice, where she finished in third place.
Saara is now eyeing up a roll on Strictly Come Dancing and says she’d love to be part of the first same-sex couple on the BBC One dancing show.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
