This was supposed to be the happiest year of their lives for betrothed circus performers Kiarnna Weber and Ivan Souza – but
the wedding is now on hold!
The stars of Kiwi reality series The Circus revealed they got engaged atop Mt Cook in the pages of Woman’s Day early last year, but now they tell us plans to tie the knot are in the bin and there’s no time to even consider setting a date.
“We were hoping to get married in 2023, but those plans are off,” sighs Kiarnna, 24, an eighth-generation circus performer.
“When the borders opened, the circus moved to Australia and we’ll be here till the end of the year. I’m not sure what the plans are after that.
“It’s made it a logistical nightmare. We’re excited to get married, but it’s just really taken a back seat because we’ve been travelling so much. It’s so disappointing that we haven’t got married yet. It’s not that we don’t want to – it’s just the time hasn’t been right.”
As they say in the business, the show must go on – and the schedule has been relentless. After the Weber Bros Circus completed its tour of New Zealand, they headed to Australia for the first time in six years. In between, Kiarnna, Ivan, 31, and Kiarnna’s sister Kaleah, 20, travelled to the United States to be guest performers at Circus Vargas, one of the world’s biggest travelling circuses in San Diego.
They were away for a month, making the most of the trip by going to Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon and New York.
“But we got to the point where we just really wanted to go home,” tells Kiarnna.
“We just missed everyone so much. I’ve toured Australia seven times, but I wanted to experience all those same things that we did as kids with our little brothers and sisters.”
Kiarnna and Ivan are chatting to us from Townsville, Queensland, having travelled 2500km from Darwin in the Northern Territory by caravan and trailer.
Living and working 24/7 with her parents Harry and Marie, plus Kiarnna’s seven siblings, ranging in age from 23 to four, as well as the circus family of almost 50, one-on-one time is rare, so she and Ivan recently jetted off for a few days to Bali for a rare couple’s break.
The circus family hasn’t given up hope of putting on their wedding glad rags.
Their last holiday before that was at Christmas, when Kiarnna flew Ivan’s mum Jackie Oliviera from her home in Las Vegas to their big family festivities in Aotearoa.
“It was a surprise Christmas present,” grins Brazilian-born Ivan. “I had a month with her and took her everywhere to see a bit of the Kiwi culture.”
Kiarnna adds Jackie fell in love with the country – and her large and full-on whānau.
She explains, “Ivan hadn’t seen his mum in so long and she hadn’t met our family, so it was nice for everyone to get to know each other. She fitted in so well.”
Ivan got an early Christmas present with the arrival of his mum Jackie (left).
Ivan was 21, and had been working as a trapeze artist and motorcycle acrobat in Brazil when he moved with his father to New Zealand in 2012, soon joining the circus. Kiarnna was only 13 and it wasn’t until she was 16 that they started to have feelings for each other.
They “secretly” dated for six months, although everyone in the circus knew and gave them their support. Two years later, with her parents’ blessing, Kiarnna and Ivan moved in together – in a caravan designed and built by Harry.
Their nine-year age gap doesn’t concern Harry and Marie – he was 32 and she was 18 when they met. They’re still inseparable, says Kiarnna, who hopes to be as happy as her parents, although she’s not sure whether she wants babies and definitely doesn’t anticipate having a big family.
“My mum has little kids and we’ve seen how much hard work that is,” she says. “We’re just so in love with travelling and being together at the moment, but if it happens, we wouldn’t be mad about it.”
But not before they get hitched! The lovebirds hope their calendars allow for a 2024 wedding. Kiarnna shares, “We aren’t sure exactly where. We’re thinking somewhere in the Hawke’s Bay, but there are also some very nice places up in the Gold Coast.
“Kaleah has designated herself as our wedding planner. She’s done a scrapbook of wedding dress ideas. I’ll get one that’s already made because I don’t think I have that much time to get it designed. I love Vera Wang’s dresses – they’re incredible.”
The Circus screens Fridays on Bravo, with all three seasons streaming on ThreeNow.
