When Shelley Godbolt and Zehavit Dehan-Alkobi walked down the aisle on January 9, 2018 it was a very public affair.
Just a month earlier, Australia had legalised gay marriage and the pair's special day was captured on national TV while being billed as one of the country's first gay weddings.
For Zehavit, 45 and Shelley, 44, their wedding in front of family and friends was the fulfilment of a 10-year dream to officially tie the knot.
'We needed to pinch ourselves, it was so unbelievable,' Zehavit told Daily Mail Australia.
'It was amazing, everyone held rainbow flags and a friend we called Dad walked Shelley down the aisle,' Zehavit said.
'My son was the ring boy and gave an amazing speech congratulating Australia for catching up with world.
'Shelley was ecstatic and so proud.'
But the euphoria of the big day quickly turned to tragedy.
Shelley Godbolt, left, and Zehavit Dehan-Alkobi at their wedding, one month after the Australian Government legalised gay marriage
The couple's special day was on national TV and billed as one of Australia's first gay weddings
However just five months later Shelley committed suicide. Pictured: Mourners at her funeral
Just five months after their dream wedding, Shelley took her own life.
Three years on, Zehavit is still trying to work out why her beloved partner committed suicide.
Shelley left no note, and the messages between them in the hours before she died gave no indication about the tragedy that was about to unfold.
'The day she took her life she told me she had a job interview, so she wasn't going to work,' Zehavit said.
'That morning she gave me a big hug and I thought she was going to break my ribs, I now know it was her giving me her last hug.
'She didn't leave any note. I went to work in the morning and in the evening, she was gone.'
Zehavit’s fourteen-year-old son, Leo, came home in the afternoon and found Shelley.
'The house was dark and strange music was playing. He walked upstairs and saw her,' Zehavit said.
'I rushed home and the whole street was blocked off and there were police and ambulance everywhere.
'They told me she was dead, and I was just shaking like a leaf.'
Zehavit and Shelley's life continued happily after the wedding, and they were even considering having a child together
For Shelley, the wedding was a chance for her to be truly proud of who she was.
'Shelley had grown up in a small country town and was bullied for being gay, so it was a lifelong dream to stand up and be recognised and be able to marry like everyone else,' Zehavit said.
During an interview with media at the wedding, Zehavit said Shelley spoke about the importance of her wife being recognised as her next of kin because 'if god forbid something would happen to me, my mother would be the first person to get the call'.
