It looks like a wedding in Italy for Cristalle Belo Henares and Justin Pitt, who got engaged last August in the Maldives.

Wedding bells will soon be ringing for Cristalle Belo Henares and her beau Justin P itt. The Australian hotelier (Justin is currently the general manager of Angkor Anantara Resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia) proposed to his lady love in the Maldives by way of an Amazing Race-esque treasure hunt. Each challenge came with a video message from family members imparting life lessons (Justin enlisted the help of Cristalle’s filmmaker brother Quark for the videos). The treasure hunt eventually led Cristalle to a moonlit island, where Justin proposed with a 3.1-carat solitaire diamond ring from jeweller Stephen Lloyd, who has a shop at The Peninsula Manila. We sat down with the happy couple to talk about their relationship and their plans for the future. 

PHILIPPINE TATLER: How did the two of you meet? 

CRISTALLE BELO HENARES: Justin and I were introduced by mutual friends. They thought that Justin and I would make a good match, and since I was going to pass by the Middle East going back to the Philippines from Paris (Justin was then managing a resort on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi), they thought it would be ideal to introduce us online so we could start chatting about travel plans. To make the long story short, I stopped by Qasr Al Sarab before flying back to Manila from Paris and he swept me off my feet. We realised we both enjoy going on outdoor adventures. He really flexed all his muscles and rounded up everyone to show me an amazing three-day experience. Two weeks later, he was visiting me in the Philippines!

PT: When did you guys know that there was something more…

JUSTIN PITT: I think it was the trip to Manila after we first met when we both realised this could be something special, and from that point we were both fully invested in the relationship.

CBH: I knew it was real when we developed a Skype call routine every evening. If it was a temporary dating relationship, a guy would not invest that much time to seek me out and talk to me every night.

PT: What were the qualities that attracted you to each other? 

JP: Cristalle is such a sweet, kind, and caring person I love her positivity and her passion for life.

CBH: Justin takes initiative and is wellorganised. He knows what he wants and gets things done. I admire his professionalism. On the other hand, he has that sweet, soft, and silly side, which only comes out when he’s with me. I enjoy that exclusivity!

PT: What are your future plans? Is Justin going to move here?

CBH: The ideal plan would be to work in the Philippines eventually—it depends on whether or not the right opportunity comes along. Meanwhile, somewhere close in Southeast Asia is also suitable. 

PT: What are your wedding plans?

JP: We want to marry sometime in September 2016 in Italymy favourite place in the world.