Supermodel Sophie Anderton lifted the lid on her new life in Ireland and her plans for an Irish wedding this summer with her fiancé, Count Kaz Balinski-Jundzill.
Her career as an international supermodel has seen her fly around the globe to some of the most lavish and exotic lands in the world.
But the UK’s 90s IT girl said she has never been happier than she is now, living in Co. Wicklow, where she spends her time exploring the 1,400 acres of mountainsides and woodland that are part of her home in the spectacular Glendalough House.
In her first interview in eight years, she told Hello! Magazine: “It was a big decision, as I had always been a city girl.
“But I absolutely adore it here. From day one I was welcomed with open arms by the most wonderful people.
“I find everyone so charming and there is no pretence.
“What you see here is what you get, which was a real eye-opener for me, coming from the big city and the fashion industry,” the 43-year-old said.
Sophie and Kaz plan to marry at Glendalough House if restrictions allow, holding a very small civil service in the nearby village of Laragh next month before celebrating with more friends and family at a wedding blessing on the house's front lawn this summer.
"We are going to do it on the front lawn of the house and it will be very relaxed," she says. "There will be a candlelit blessing at dusk, with all the trees lit up. Really simple and beautiful."
But plans could change, depending on restrictions, as she added: “I won’t get married without my mum being there.
“So she has to be able to travel here for it to take place.”
A long way away from her jet-setting career in the world of fashion, the supermodel’s new life in the Irish countryside is surrounded by water gardens, waterfalls, stables, hunting facilities and even a mountain.
And the model, who was propelled to stardom in 1996 as the face of Gossard Bras, said she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I have got mountains right around the corner and I go off hiking by myself for hours.
“It’s a very different lifestyle from living in the city but why would you want to stay indoors when you have such a beautiful place to go exploring.”
The bride-to-be revealed having a child could be next on her agenda, saying: “I have left it a little bit later in life but I am the healthiest and the fittest I have ever been.”
In the meantime, she is working on her modelling, and has even signed with Irish model management agency 1st Option MMP.
