Kellie Finlayson has revealed how her husband’s Port Adelaide teammates quietly stepped in to cover the cost of her dream $10,000 wedding ring as she faced mounting medical bills from life-saving cancer treatment.
The act of generosity, led by veteran midfielder Travis Boak, made her dream wedding possible when the couple’s finances were stretched thin by chemotherapy and hospital stays.
Kellie and husband Jeremy Finlayson had planned to marry in October 2023. But everything changed when Kellie’s oncologist gave her the devastating news – her bowel cancer had returned and spread to her lungs. It was terminal.
Doctors warned she could lose her hair in the coming weeks, prompting the couple to move the ceremony forward.
With just over three weeks to organise it, their wedding took place at Tennyson Beach in South Australia, surrounded by close friends and family.
Kellie never thought her dream ring would be part of the day.
Travis Boak and teammates helped buy Kellie’s ring, easing financial stress during her ongoing cancer treatment
Boak, pictured with Finlayson during a Port Adelaide match, rallied their teammates when the wedding was brought forward
The couple were engaged to be married but had to rush the proceedings after Kellie received the life-changing news she had cancer
‘When we knew we had to act quickly, I didn’t even think about things like the ring anymore,’ she said.
‘It just wasn’t something we could afford.’
That’s when Jeremy’s teammates stepped in. They pooled together to buy the exact ring Kellie had once hoped for.
‘It meant the world to me,’ she said. ‘They didn’t just show up for Jeremy, they showed up for me, too.’
The day was full of emotion. Sophia, their 19-month-old daughter, walked down the aisle holding a bouquet of daisies.
Kellie followed arm in arm with her father and maid of honour.
‘There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,’ she said.
Jeremy watched on, overwhelmed. ‘Watching Kell walk down the aisle with her dad was just breathtaking,’ he said. ‘One of the most precious moments of my life.’
Kellie Finlayson is pictured with her bridesmaids at the beachside ceremony
The couple were married in a small, intimate ceremony in front of just 21 friends and family members
Kellie continues to fight the deadly disease and is a mentor, source of inspiration and ambassador for all others battling cancer
He made a quiet promise to their daughter: ‘I made a vow to Sophia to take care of her while her mummy can’t, and I’ll continue to do so for the rest of my life.’
Kellie was first diagnosed with stage-four bowel cancer in 2021 at just 25.
At the time, she was three months postpartum and mistook her symptoms for normal recovery.
It wasn’t until she noticed blood in her stool that she sought medical help.
Scans uncovered a large bowel blockage. Surgery and chemotherapy followed.
For a brief moment, there was hope the cancer had gone.
But by Christmas 2022, the disease had metastasised to her lungs.
The diagnosis crushed plans for more children. Chemotherapy left her infertile.
Kellie and Jeremy tried to grow their family through surrogacy. Seven attempts failed.
She details the grief, pain and resilience in her memoir There Must Be More.
In it, she describes the physical side effects of treatment, including terrifying anaphylactic reactions.
She recounts the emotional toll of missing moments with Sophia and spending anniversaries in hospital.
Kellie is now an ambassador for the Jodi Lee Foundation, urging Australians to take bowel symptoms seriously.
