Scott McLaughlin and Karly Paone. Photo / Instagram
Scott McLaughlin and Karly Paone. Photo / Instagram
Motorsport star Scott McLaughlin last weekend ticked off an item on his bucket list, winning his maiden Bathurst.
Now he is just weeks away from ticking off another, marrying his American sweetheart Karly Paone in December.
The Kiwi Supercars' star proposed to Paone at Christmas in 2017 in her homestate of New York, weeks after the lowest moment of his racing career when he suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final event of the 2017 Supercars Championship in Newcastle.
Within a year, the couple were celebrating again when last November McLaughlin had his victorious moment, securing his maiden Supercars Championship title. Paone beamed beside him on the red carpet at the black-tie Gala awards' dinner in Sydney.
On Sunday night after the 26-year-old's Bathurst win, the pair partied hard on the town with his team from DJR Team Penske, with Paone filming her fiance celebrating on stage.
The pair returned to their home base in Australia on Tuesday, McLaughlin proudly showing his social media followers the Peter Brock Trophy on their coffee table.
Last summer, in The Hamptons the pair attended their first wedding as an engaged couple.
"Something so small like our first wedding together is so special to me! I love having you by my side every step of the way and can't wait for our forever," Paone wrote on Instagram at the time.
Over the past year, McLaughlin has been counting down to the day he will marry his beautiful bride.
Scott McLaughlin and Karly Paone Sourced from instagram
Last December he noted there was exactly one year to go; he then began this year by posting a glammed-up picture of the pair at a wedding in Queensland, telling his followers on Instagram: "Bring on 2019 and becoming Mr and Mrs McLaughlin".
And last month he said they had 100 days until they walked down the aisle.
There have been no tell-tale signs of a bachelor party, but two months ago in Las Vegas, Paone posted a picture of herself dressed in white, looking perfect for a hen's do and fit for a racing car wife with Miss-2-Mrs on a mock licence plate handbag.
The couple stayed mum when Spy asked where they would marry. Perhaps it could be in his hometown of Christchurch, or a winter wedding in New York?
In 2018, following their engagement, McLaughlin told the Herald of his decision to propose in New York: "Her being American, being home for Christmas with family, it made sense to do it."
"It was a pretty cool thing – me and Karly have been together a year and bit now, It was one of those deals where I wanted to lock her down – lock the good one down."
