Teenage sweethearts, James and Alicia Alexiou grew up spending their summer holidays in the same caravan park in Portarlington. Despite crossing paths, their love story didn’t begin until the end of 2009 when they met through mutual friends. James was 18 and Alicia 16. Both growing up in the west of Melbourne, Alicia and James had a lot in common, which provided a solid foundation for the beginning of their relationship.

With a shared passion for travel, Alicia and James were motivated to see the world before they settled down. They’ve made wonderful memories in Amsterdam, Croatia and Greece, as well as Bali, where James proposed on the beach.

As a nurse, Alicia truly felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was tasked with being nurse in charge of the COVID ward at a local public hospital, where she, along with other nurses and doctors, found themselves navigating a new disease as it was unfolding. Whilst working long shifts with no breaks proved exhausting, it was seeing patients pass without their loved ones around them that truly took a toll on Alicia.

“It was really hard being the last person that lots of people would say goodbye to. It was exhausting, I’d come home and be so tired. James is a great listener, I was able to vent and get a lot of the stresses I was feeling off of my chest,” Alicia reflected

It was during 2021 that Alicia faced her own health battle when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The diagnosis meant she was no longer able to work in the COVID ward and was moved to work as a Diabetes Nurse Educator.

“Type 1 diabetes has been hard to navigate even with my background knowledge of the disease. There are many factors that impact my blood sugar levels including my daily activities, diet and hormonal changes. I’m so grateful for the new technology which makes it a lot easier to manage my diabetes,” Alicia said.

Along with this major life shift, Alicia and James’ wedding was also put on hold when the pandemic hit. With plans to get married in October 2020, the couple pushed their wedding back to October 2021. Eager to get married and as things started to open back up towards the end of 2020, Alicia decided to bring the wedding forward to February 2021.

“I thought she was crazy. We ended up lining everything up and had about six weeks to get everything together. Our wedding in February was amazing, we were so happy to be able to squeeze it in,” said James.

Despite difficulties and their wedding being rescheduled, Alicia and James are grateful for the opportunity they were given to really settle into their home together throughout the pandemic. While not an easy time for many people, they were grateful for having each other and their families close by.

Now a family of three with their dog Foxy, Alicia and James are ready to expand their family and although this hasn’t been an easy road either, they remain optimistic about what the future holds.

Alicia and James’ story is part of Humans of Woodlea, an initiative by the fully-integrated, master-planned community as a means of highlighting the unique stories of its residents whilst showing its diversity and spirit.