ANDREA Fonseka carries herself with an uncommon grace and poise.

That’s why it’s hard to imagine the 25-year-old celebrity sprawled on a mattress-couch in a corner of her living room.

It’s where the former beauty queen says she unwinds. But not even her housemate will catch her in an unladylike position. She admits she will sit upright whenever he returns.

The New Paper finds out more about Andrea’s favourite spot, as well as the mysterious love of her life.

So what do you usually do in your favourite spot?

Well, everything. I have my dinner here, watch TV, listen to music or do work on my laptop here. When I’m here, though, I tend to be... what’s the word? Improper?

I’ll just lie here with my limbs sprawled all over the place.

That’s not very consistent with your public persona.

I was a tomboy as a kid, so that side of me still comes out occasionally. I credit my mother with teaching me to be a lady, though.

She used to always make sure I had good table manners as a kid. I’m very close to my mother. I admire her a lot for her financial acumen and her foresight.

Do you live here alone?

No, I share the place with a friend of mine from Malaysia. He was looking for a place to stay after moving here, and my mum suggested my spare room.

He? Doesn’t your fiance get jealous?

Not really. We trust each other a lot. You have to in a long-distance relationship.

He’s based in Perth, where he works as a lawyer, so we call each other about three to four times a day. I think the income from my long distance calls was what saved StarHub from the recession!

Tell us more about your fiance.

His name is Paul, and we met in a club in Perth last May. It was very odd, really. I had just gotten out of a long relationship and I was at the club for a good time, whereas Paul had been dragged there by a friend of a friend for a drink.

I was introduced to him as a law graduate, which was what we started talking about at first. There was an instant chemistry, I guess, because before we knew it, we had been talking for seven hours.

How did he propose to you, then?

The official proposal was at the Eiffel Tower this year.

I had already accepted an earlier one, but he knew it was my dream to be proposed to at the top of the Eiffel Tower. So he asked for the ring back, got down on one knee and proposed again.

We registered our marriage in October this year, in a small simple ceremony in Perth. We did it at a beautiful garden barefoot, with family and friends around.

There’ll be an official church wedding in July next year though. For me, I’m not married until I’m in a church.

This article was first published in The New Paper.