When Monika Ruggerino accidentally broke a lamp at a Sydney restaurant in 2015, she could not have imagined it would lead to marriage and a family with the chef. The incident at Verde in Darlinghurst set off a chain of events that changed her life.
Monika was helping a friend organise a 30th birthday party at the restaurant. During a tasting, she met head chef and owner Antonio, whose Calabrian charisma and smile left her breathless. On the day of the party, she broke a lamp made from a sambuca bottle. Antonio stormed upstairs in a rage but softened upon seeing her, saying, 'Well I can’t be mad at you now can I?'
After a coffee the next day, Monika went through a breakup, quit her job at Bvlgari, and started her own jewellery brand. Months later, Antonio called and asked her out. At a dinner in Potts Point, she felt an overwhelming sense of being home and knew she was in love.
The couple married four years later and now have two children. The restaurant space where they met now houses Monika's jewellery studio, and she reflects on the broken lamp as a 'Sliding Doors moment' that changed her life.
