Married at First Sight Australia 2022 bride Ella Ding has opened up about the tragic death of her father, who died when she was just several weeks old.
During Married at First Sight, fans got to know Ella’s mother Belinda and her step-father Russell, however, viewers were left wondering where her “real dad” was.
Now, the 28-year-old has candidly discussed her upbringing and the loss of her dad in the June 28 episode of Sit With Us, the podcast she co-hosts with co-star Domenica Calarco.
According to Ella, her father struggled with “substance abuse issues“.
“He did pass away when I was a few weeks old,” she said. “I guess he had… substance abuse issues.”
“He had his demons,” Domenica added, to which Ella agreed: “Yeah, he did.”
The Melburnian revealed that her father, who was Taiwanese, and her mother, met when they were “around 21 or 20”.
After the couple wed, they owned Melbourne nightclubs, including The Emerson. However, Ella noted that this was formerly known as Checkpoint Charlie “back in their day”.
According to the MAFS fan favourite, her father was also a suit tailor who custom-made suits for people in the likes of John Farnham.
“He was so creative and so intelligent and business-minded, which is where my brother [James] gets that as well.”
Despite having no memories of her father, Ella said she keeps in touch with his family as a way to be close to him.
Married at First Sight‘s Ella Ding Reveals How Her Family Has Evolved Since Her Father’s Death
Ella revealed that her mother was working “three other jobs” on top of being a hairdresser following her husband’s death.
“He passed away, he got really sick and then my mum was obviously raising two kids by herself — my brother was three,” she said.
Growing up, the beautician said her mum would teach her and James to “keep a routine”.
“She’s such a strong woman, and growing up I never saw her fall apart or break,” she added. “She never would do that in front of us as kids.”
It was when Ella was eight years old that Belinda met her current partner, Russell.
The Ding trio eventually moved in with Russell and his two sons.
“We all got along perfectly,” Ella said, recalling when the two families came together. “The way our parents merged us, it was just so seamless.”
The TV bride recently shared snippets of her upbringing to her Instagram Story, as a way to “fill in the gaps” for her fans.
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 179 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
Know something that we don’t? Spill the tea here!
Get the tea first! Follow So Dramatic! on Instagram and tune in on Mondays to get your reality tea fix with the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto.
