And how many times have we asked why things are almost never as romantic in reality?

On the rare occasion that these plots are based on a true story, we often struggle to think of anybody we know who has a story worthy of being told in a film or book.

However, these stories often pass by us without us even knowing or giving them much attention.

Often we don’t listen well enough or delve deeply enough into the past of people who appear to have lived an average life.

People like Vittoria Premier.

Looking at her, you see a calm, composed and elegant lady, with a kind heart and good nature.

Upon first impression, you’d never think that she has a troubled past full of dark moments, which was followed by a happy ending worthy of a fairytale.

Furthermore, you’d never think that IL GLOBO played a role in that happy ending.

That’s right, us.

Vittoria was born in Calabria, where she spent her formative years before moving to Germany with her family when she was 15 years old.

The life of a migrant is never easy, but over time the young Vittoria settled into her new home, making friends and meeting the man that she would later marry and with whom she’d have a daughter, Antonella.

As we all know, not all relationships last forever and the two eventually separated.

Vittoria soon found herself a single mother struggling with two or three jobs to provide for herself and her daughter.

A new opportunity presented itself when Vittoria decided to move to Melbourne with Antonella in tow.

Another move, a new life to build and another language to learn.

Shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Vittoria met an Italo-Australian man who seemed capable of helping her in this new adventure.

The two began a relationship which soon saw Vittoria plummet into a nightmare.

Due to schizophrenia, her new partner began to behave in a strange way, eventually becoming violent.

He became jealous of everything, including Vittoria’s daughter and their dog, and she became the victim of domestic violence for two years.

In this time, she says she “lost her strength and dignity” and wasn’t able to see any “way out”, losing all hope.

On top of all of this, Vittoria also hated her job, which failed to stimulate her in any way.

Her first helping hand came in the form of her then husband’s ex-wife, who decided to offer assistance after seeing her in an unrecognisable and disfigured state.

She introduced Vittoria to an expert who helped her wake up from the nightmare she was living and led her to government support services for women in her situation.

Thanks to this, Vittoria was able to build up the courage she needed to leave her ex-husband and her job.

The man’s mother, who was Italian, knew that Vittoria was looking for work and, in the hope of helping her, brought her copies of IL GLOBO every week and encouraged her to look at the employment section.

“To be honest, I cast them aside and didn’t look at them to begin with,” she laughs.

Then one day, she decided to give it a go and began flicking through the pages of a paper from a few weeks earlier.

An advertisement for a housekeeper for three days a week suddenly caught her attention.

She picked up her phone and called Sergio, the man who had submitted the ad.

Originally from Bolzano but having lived in Australia for two years, Sergio had recently become a widower and had to divide his time between work and his three children aged between three and 11: James, Giulia and Sienna.

“When I called he said he’d already found someone, but given that I spoke Italian, he decided to give me a chance,” Vittoria explains.

“His previous wife, Rosemary, had always wanted a nanny who spoke Italian to the children.”

On her trial day, Vittoria didn’t expect to find total chaos, but she managed to get the entire house in order.

Impressed by her work and knowing that she could also cook Italian and German dishes, Sergio immediately confirmed Vittoria’s role as housekeeper.

From then on, his youngest daughter Sienna took to Vittoria, who became an important and constant female figure in her life.

Vittoria began working in Sergio’s house every day of the week, given the important role she played in maintaining the house and the strong bond she developed with the children.

Over a year after she was hired, Sergio asked Vittoria to accompany the family to Walt Disney World in Florida, as he wanted to surprise the children but knew he wouldn’t be able to take them on his own.

Just like in a fairytale, romance blossomed between the two on that trip.

Fast-forward a few years and the couple was married, with a daughter, Stella.

Vittoria’s story is a great example of strength and character, with a touch of stubbornness.

While it would have been easy for many to return home after facing such hardship, she believes that going back to Frankfurt or Catanzaro would have meant “admitting defeat and failure”.

Though she and Sergio have built a life together, Vittoria wishes to keep Rosemary’s memory alive.

“There’s something that I don’t tell everyone, because not everybody understands,” she says.

“The night before I read through IL GLOBO [and found the ad], I dreamt of a woman holding a child in her arms, who asked me to go and take care of her house and family. I know that Rosemary brought me to them and that I have her to thank for the fortune of meeting them.”

On February 16, Vittoria and Sergio – a couple who have overcome the unsurmountable - celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.