Jock Zonfrillo’s widow Lauren Fried has marked the first wedding anniversary since her husband’s sudden death by sharing how they had envisioned growing old together.

On what would have been the MasterChef host’s seventh wedding anniversary, Fried took to Instagram to reveal in a heart-breaking post that their dream of a life in Europe was still vivid to her.

“Happy anniversary My Love,” wrote Fried, along with a montage of photos from the couple’s beach wedding in 2017.

“Our dream of growing old together in the middle of nowhere in Italy – kids and dogs under our feet, you laughing your enormous laugh, falling asleep on your chest – is so vivid.

“That’s where I imagine you now.”

Lauren Fried imagines her husband living out their dream in Italy. Photo: Instagram

Zonfrillo was found unresponsive in a Melbourne hotel in April 2023 by police performing a welfare check.

Fried and their two young children were in Italy at the time.

Zonfrillo had flown back to Australia for publicity duties before the 2023 season of MasterChef Australia.

The family of four had quietly moved to Rome in the weeks before Zonfrillo’s untimely death.

His body was discovered just hours before the premiere of MasterChef‘s 15th season.

Zonfrillo and Fried’s marriage was the third for each of them.

Zonfrillo had two children from a previous relationship, Ava and Sophia, and two children with Fried – Alfie and Isla.

Fried also recently posted about the family’s first festive season and “fake Christmas” without her celebrity husband.

She shared a photo of Alfie and Isla opening presents under a Christmas tree, a beautifully presented banquet and the kids jumping on a trampoline.

“It’s different this year. No less love or excitement, just my stubbornness to see the kids’ faces light up in spite of it all,” she wrote.

“As much as I willed yesterday to be over, I can’t skip this chapter. The long list of firsts, I hear they get easier, I believe that to be true.

“Watching our gorgeous children navigating their first Xmas, I can see now that tragedy will make them. It will make them fierce and fearless, they’ll have a strength no one can quite put their finger on.

“They will undoubtedly have a life bigger than the one Jock and I dreamt for them because of this. They’ll be stronger in the broken bits.

“As a family, we have been privileged to receive kindness beyond measure this past week, and across the whole year actually, during what has been a tough year for so many.”

Zonfrillo with with Lauren Fried and children Alfie and Isla.

In November, Fried and the children continued their family tradition — which started the year Fried and Zonfrillo met — of celebrating a “fake Christmas” in November, complete with a tree and huge feed.

“We put up the tree. We have a full British Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. We issue the matching family PJs for the year,” she said.

“This year we continued our tradition. I can’t work out how the f@*king tree lights work. I had to cook. We wore the same PJs as last year.

“Sometimes good is enough.”

Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo on the MasterChef set with fellow judge Melissa Leong.

In October, Channel Ten announced the new judging line-up for the 2024 season of MasterChef.

Andy Allen will “carry on Jock Zonfrillo’s legacy alongside three new judges”.

Melissa Leong was dumped from hosting duties.

The new crew includes MasterChef alumnus Poh Ling Yeow, food critic and journalist Sofia Levin, and award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.