Snezana Markoski became a familiar face to Australian television audiences when she appeared on The Bachelor Australia in 2015. At 34 years old, she entered the mansion as a single mother from Perth and the oldest woman in the cast. She did not arrive expecting to become the winner, let alone find a relationship that would eventually turn into marriage and a family.
More than a decade later, Snezana’s story looks very different.
She is now a mother of four daughters, an author, entrepreneur, social media personality and former scientist who has built a public life around family, wellbeing and her own personal experiences.
Her relationship with Sam Wood became one of the most memorable romances to come out of Australian reality television. Their journey also showed that finding love later in life, while already raising a child, does not mean the chances of starting again are over.
But Snezana’s story began long before television cameras arrived.
Snezana Markoski’s Early Life in Perth
Snezana Markoski was born on October 10, 1980, in Perth, Western Australia. She grew up in a Macedonian immigrant family and was the eldest of three children.
Her parents, Marko and Menka Markovski, worked hard to build a life for their family. Snezana and her sister Lidija helped their parents with contract cleaning work after school. The family sometimes cleaned large office buildings in the evenings, giving Snezana an early understanding of responsibility and hard work.
Her childhood also involved a connection to Macedonia. She spent time there when she was around four years old, growing up between different cultural influences.
That experience later became an important part of how she understood her identity.
Snezana has described her childhood as something of an identity struggle, as she tried to understand where she fitted between her Australian upbringing and her Macedonian family background.
She has also spoken about being bullied during her school years. Those experiences became part of the personal story she later explored in her memoir.
Her Family Background Shaped Her
Growing up in a working family had a lasting influence on Snezana.
She learned early that opportunities were not always simply handed to people. Her parents worked hard, and their children were expected to contribute.
Snezana also faced people who questioned what she could achieve.
At one point, she was told that becoming a police officer was not a suitable career for someone like her. Rather than allowing that kind of comment to completely define her future, she continued pursuing education and building her own career.
Her later success is partly why her early story is so interesting.
Before becoming known as a reality television personality, Snezana had already built an academic and professional background that was very different from the world of reality TV.
Snezana’s Education and Scientific Career
Snezana studied molecular genetics and biotechnology and developed a career in science.
She worked as a scientific sales representative and continued studying while raising her daughter Eve.
Balancing education, employment and motherhood was not an easy task.
She was a single mother while working toward her degree, and much of her education was completed while managing the responsibilities of raising a young child.
She completed her degree in 2016, one year after her Bachelor Australia appearance.
That detail is often overlooked when discussing Snezana because her television career eventually became so prominent. But science was a major part of her life before she became famous.
Her educational background also showed that she had ambitions beyond television and social media.
Becoming a Mother to Eve
Snezana became pregnant with her daughter Eve when she was 24.
She married Eve’s father, Jason Rapoff, during the pregnancy. The marriage, however, lasted only about a year and ended when Eve was still a baby.
Snezana was therefore faced with the reality of raising her daughter as a single mother at a relatively young age.
That experience became an important part of her identity.
When she later entered The Bachelor Australia, she did not hide the fact that she already had a child. Instead, she spoke openly about Eve and the responsibilities that came with being a mother.
Her relationship with Eve would eventually become one of the most important parts of her life.
Why Snezana Joined The Bachelor
Snezana’s decision to join The Bachelor was not exactly the typical reality television dream.
According to her account, she was encouraged by Eve to start dating again.
Her daughter wanted her mother to find someone and even tried helping her with online dating.
Eventually, Snezana agreed to take part in The Bachelor Australia.
At 34, she was older than many of the other contestants and arrived as a single mother. She also lived in Perth, while the show and much of the production were based around the eastern states.
She knew there were obvious reasons why the relationship might not work.
Still, she decided to give it a chance.
Snezana and Sam Wood’s First Meeting
Snezana was the first contestant to step out of the limousine when she arrived at the mansion during the 2015 season.
She quickly became one of the most talked-about contestants.
Her honesty about being a mother was particularly important.
Sam Wood admitted that he had not initially expected one of the contestants to have a child. But rather than seeing motherhood as a problem, he became increasingly interested in Snezana and her life.
Their relationship developed throughout the season.
Snezana was not simply competing for a television prize. She was looking for something that could work in real life.
That made her connection with Sam different from the start.
Sam Wood Chose Snezana
By the end of the season, Sam had developed strong feelings for Snezana.
He told her that he had fallen deeply in love with her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He also acknowledged Eve’s place in their relationship, presenting her with a silver heart-shaped necklace.
It was an important moment because Snezana was never simply entering a relationship as an individual.
She was a mother.
Anyone she chose to build a future with would also need to accept the role that Eve played in her life.
Sam appeared ready to do exactly that.
From Reality TV Romance to Marriage
The relationship did not disappear after the cameras stopped rolling.
Sam proposed to Snezana in December 2015, around six months after the Bachelor finale.
Their relationship continued to develop away from television, and the couple eventually married in November 2018.
The wedding took place at the Fig Tree Restaurant in Byron Bay.
Eve was part of the wedding as a bridesmaid, making the occasion particularly meaningful for the family.
For Snezana, the relationship had moved far beyond a television romance.
The woman who had entered the Bachelor mansion wondering whether she could find love had built a long-term relationship with the man she met there.
Snezana and Sam’s Growing Family
Snezana and Sam went on to have three daughters together.
Their first daughter, Willow Wendy Wood, was born in October 2017.
Charlie Lane Wood followed in July 2019.
Their youngest daughter, Harper Jones Wood, was born in May 2022.
Together with Eve, Snezana became a mother of four daughters.
Family life has therefore become a major part of her public identity.
Her social media presence has often included family and motherhood, while she and Sam have also developed professional projects together.
Harper’s Birth Was a Difficult Experience
The birth of Harper was particularly challenging for Snezana.
Harper was born around a month prematurely and developed an infection that required her to receive special care.
Snezana’s own condition then became extremely serious.
Within about 30 minutes of giving birth, she became critically ill and was rushed to intensive care after developing sepsis.
Mother and daughter were separated for five days.
It was an incredibly difficult period for the family, but both eventually recovered.
The experience added another chapter to Snezana’s story of motherhood.
She had already experienced single motherhood, the challenges of balancing work and study, and the major transition of creating a blended family. Harper’s birth brought a completely different kind of fear and uncertainty.
Her Career After The Bachelor
Snezana did not allow reality television to become the only part of her professional life.
In 2016, she launched a fashion collection with Melbourne label Imonni. The collection, called La Dolce Vita, was inspired by European summer style.
She also developed a strong career as an influencer.
Her popularity continued to grow after the Bachelor season, giving her opportunities in fashion, lifestyle, family and wellness content.
Rather than disappearing after her reality television season ended, Snezana built a broader personal brand.
That has helped her remain relevant years after her first appearance on Australian television.
Snezana Markoski’s Memoir
In 2024, Snezana added another major achievement to her career when she released her memoir, Untold: A Story of Love, Motherhood, Heartbreak and Change.
The book gave readers a more personal look at the experiences that shaped her.
It explored her Macedonian family background, childhood experiences, early relationship, single motherhood and eventual journey to finding love with Sam.
Writing a memoir also allowed Snezana to tell her story in her own words.
Reality television can often reduce someone’s life to a handful of dramatic moments. A book gives much more space to explain the experiences behind those moments.
For Snezana, that included the parts of her life that existed long before she became a television personality.
Life With Sam Wood
Snezana and Sam have also built a business partnership.
Together, they are associated with the 28 by Sam Wood wellbeing program.
Their professional work has allowed them to combine their public profiles with their interest in health and lifestyle.
It also means their relationship has developed into more than a marriage.
They are raising children together, working together and maintaining a public profile together.
That combination can be difficult for any couple, especially when their relationship began on reality television.
Yet they have remained together years after their Bachelor season.
Snezana’s Life Today
Snezana’s journey from Perth single mother to nationally recognised television personality is not a simple overnight success story.
There were years of work before fame.
She grew up helping her parents, dealt with bullying, studied science, raised a daughter and built a career before stepping into the Bachelor mansion.
Reality television simply introduced her to a much larger audience.
Since then, she has experienced marriage, motherhood, business opportunities, health challenges and the demands of living publicly.
Her story has continued to evolve with her family.
Recent Attention Around Her Family
In October 2026, Sam Wood was charged with domestic violence offences following an alleged incident in Noosa, Queensland.
Snezana and Sam issued a shared statement describing the situation as difficult for the family and said they were cooperating with authorities.
Snezana has not made further public comments about the charges in the information provided.
Because the matter involves allegations and an ongoing legal process, it is important not to treat the allegations as established facts.
For Snezana, the situation represents another difficult period in a life that has already included several major personal challenges.
Why Snezana Markoski’s Story Continues to Connect With People
There is a reason Snezana’s story has stayed interesting more than a decade after The Bachelor Australia.
She was never the obvious reality television contestant.
She was an older single mother entering a dating show, coming from Perth and carrying a completely different life history from many of the younger contestants.
She had already experienced marriage and divorce. She was raising a daughter. She was studying science and building a professional career.
And yet she took a chance.
That chance changed the direction of her life.
Today, Snezana can be described in many ways: scientist, mother, author, entrepreneur, influencer and television personality.
But perhaps the biggest part of her story is that she did not fit neatly into one category.
Her journey from a working-class Macedonian Australian family to reality television, motherhood and a long-term marriage with Sam Wood has been filled with unexpected turns.
What began as a daughter encouraging her mother to find a partner eventually became one of Australia’s best-known reality television love stories.
Snezana entered The Bachelor mansion unsure of what would happen.
More than ten years later, her life shows just how far one unexpected decision can take you.