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She was devastated to be eliminated from Celebrity Treasure Island last week, but that wasn’t the end of the heartbreak for Lana Searle, who has now had to postpone her dream wedding due to COVID restrictions.
The More FM radio host, 34, was set to marry her partner of four years, Katie Cochrane, 39, in Northland next month, but with so many guests, their photographer and the band based in Auckland, and travel tricky from the South Island, the Christchurch-based couple have made the difficult decision to push their big day back a year.
Lana and Katie on the beach in Kaiteriteri.
“It was really hard to come to terms with, but the logistics were becoming a nightmare and we deserved a better build-up to our wedding, so we made the call,” Lana tells Woman’s Day. “We’re really gutted and we lost a bit of money, but making the decision while on a sunny weekend away in Nelson softened the blow.
“Crying on the golden shores of Kaiteriteri really took the edge off. It’s still sad, but when you’re doing it in a beautiful spot, it takes the sting out of it.”
However, Lana laughs, Katie’s four-year-old son Jay hasn’t been able to hide his disappointment.
“Unbeknownst to us, he’d invited the majority of his preschool friends and told them he’d be bringing invitations. He’s gutted he has to wait another year, but at least he’ll remember it better because he’ll be older.”
With Treasure Island buddies Jess Tyson (left) and Anna Simcic.
Asked whether some of her new Treasure Island besties will be on the guest list, Lana grins, “Well, back when I was on the island, the invites were already out, but now they’re such good friends, it would be weird not to invite Chris [Parker], Brynley [Stent] and Angela [Bloomfield]. But I’ve got so many great friends, so we’ll have to see.”
Meanwhile, when it comes to any regrets from the show, Lana insists, “I don’t have any! Seeing it played back, I could’ve been more vicious, but then I could’ve been more polarising and that would’ve had a negative effect.
“I stayed genuine to myself as a person, rather than turning into a mongrel and then having to prove to everyone that I wasn’t one for the rest of my life… I don’t think I need to name any names when I say that!”
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