Barry Hall and Lauren Brant met on I'm A Celebrity. Years later they had a 'shotgun' wedding.

Not many people can say their love story started deep in the African jungle over meals of pig’s testicles and maggot pizza, but for Barry Hall and Lauren Brant, that’s exactly how it went down.

It was on the 2015 season of I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, and the retired Sydney Swans hard-nut found himself in camp with the former children’s entertainer of High-5 fame. 

He was buried alive with rats, and she performed some serious back-breaking tasks to feed the campers and now almost nine years later, the pair are married with four beautiful boys. 

Watch: Barry Hall and Lauren Brant in an exclusive interview with A Current Affair. Post continues after video.

But before the babies and the marriage and the whirlwind romance, there was clear chemistry between the pair, said former I'm A Celeb host Julia Morris.

"There was one day in particular, when Lauren was shaving Barry's head... they were down in a little creek... He was asking her about her partner at the time and she didn't speak much about the partner but she was talking about the idea of love and what you expect from a relationship," Morris told Mamamia.

"There was just this really nice chemistry between them."

Lauren said it wasn't until after the show that they realised there was something there.

"We didn't connect romantically until a year later and after our first date, we were absolutely mad for each other," she said in an Instagram post.

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A post shared by 🌻Lauren Brant Hall🌻 (@laurenbrant)

In late 2016, the couple went public with their relationship at a Brisbane nightclub.

At the time, Lauren admitted to The Daily Telegraph, "We have been spending a lot of time together and we have been enjoying each other’s company.

"Who knows what the future holds?"

In fact, she was already pregnant with their first baby boy before the rest of Australia knew she was even dating the sporting hero.

Barry and Lauren Hall with their three sons; Miller, Houston and Samson. Image: Instagram @laurenbrant. 

By May 2017, they welcomed their first son, Miller. 

Two years later, their second boy, Houston, arrived, and in October 2021, little Sampson joined the family. But Sampson’s arrival was dramatic, even by these reality stars' standards.

"Lauren said, 'We just need to go, put the boys in the car, we’ve got to go'," Barry recalled to 7News of the day she went into labour.

They did reach the hospital but didn’t make it past reception, which was convenient for Barry, because he would have missed the birth due to COVID regulations if Lauren had been admitted to a birthing suite.

He was able to witness Sampson’s arrival from the other side of the hospital’s windows.

"I took her to the front door and said 'ok, this is handover, it’s not really fair but I can’t go in,' but there are rules so we did that."

"I just went in and grabbed the baby and gave him a cuddle for five minutes in reception and then I left.

"I’m not a big believer in the universe and all that sort of stuff, but that was certainly one that was just meant to be."

Despite the joy of their baby bubble, Lauren and Barry were also nursing deep heartache.

Seven months earlier, Lauren's sister-in-law Sandra lost her battle with bowel cancer. Sandra was married to Lauren's brother Tyron and Lauren spoke about their meeting on A Current Affair.

"When I was three, my oldest brother, Tyron, who was 12 years older than me, saw a girl at a rugby game, and decided there was something special about her. That was Sandra and she was 13, and then he made every effort to see her at the dance a couple of weeks later and from that night on they were completely in love," Lauren said through tears on A Current Affair.

Tyron and Sandra went on to marry – Lauren served as a flower girl – and have two children, Connor and Allegra.

"We never thought it would happen to our family, we never thought it would happen to Sandra, we never thought it would affect us to the stage of actually losing her," Barry added.

Brant and Lauren Hall with their three sons; Miller, Houston and Samson. Image: Instagram @laurenhall.

Two years on from Sandra’s passing, Barry and Lauren keep her legacy alive by rallying for bowel cancer awareness, and sharing the happy moments they shared with her via social media, like the couple’s secret wedding, which took place 10 days before Sandra passed.

Wearing a simple sundress and Barry in an old T-shirt, Lauren called it, "The most romantic elopement fuelled by LOVE & LIFE," and said, "Marrying Barry was so perfect, so much greater than any marriage I could image [sic] in my wildest dreams."

"We started the day like we had any other the past two weeks; dressing the family in whatever was 'clean', not bothering with make-up, simply tying up unwashed hair, forgetting to eat breakfast… just 'functioning' really," Laura recalled.

"Everyone arrived, we gathered, my parents had secretly brought their original wedding rings for us to use and just two hours after we got engaged, the elopement ceremony started."

In March 2024, Lauren shared a tribute to her "chosen sister". 

"I wish more than anything that you were still here...For you, for your children ... for your family ... for our family.

“To now be blessed with the most beautiful guardian angel, but to live in pain that we no longer share this physical life with you. 3 years of grief, feels like 3 days and 300 years all in the same. My beautiful Sandra, gone too soon."

Just two months before, Lauren and Barry announced they were pregnant with their fourth child, writing on Instagram, "Well, our year is about to get a whole lot more colourful... BABY HALL #4 arriving July."

On July 29, 2024, nine days after she gave birth at home, Lauren took to Instagram to share the exciting news: she and Barry had welcomed their fourth child, Clay Hall.

Lauren and Barry welcomed Clay Hall on July 20, 2024. Image: Instagram @laurenbrant.

"Our son was born 20.7.24 at 8.33pm into our loving arms at home," the couple wrote on Instagram.

"It was magic. We are all in the most beautiful bubble of love and are being held and supported by our incredible community."

The couple welcomed the child in a beautiful home water birth, shared with Lauren's 64k followers. 

Image: Instagram @laurenbrant.

Read more: 'It was magic.' Lauren Brant and Barry Hall have welcomed their fourth child in a loving home birth.

Feature Image: Instagram @laurenbrant.

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