Married At First Sight’s Alana Lister reveals her ethnic background – and says it’s the most commonly asked question she gets from fans
Married At First Sight’s Alana Lister has answered one of the most commonly asked questions about her life: what exactly is her ethnicity?
The Gold Coast school teacher, 30, revealed during an Instagram Q&A on Thursday that she is Sino-Mauritian, or a Mauritian of Chinese descent.
She explained her father is Chinese and her mother is South African, and that she was born in Mauritius before moving to Australia as a child.
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‘This one gets asked all the time’: Married At First Sight ‘s Alana Lister has answered one of the most commonly asked questions about her life: what exactly is her ethnicity?
Mauritius is an island nation about 2,000km east of Africa in the Indian Ocean.
‘This one gets asked all the time. My mum is South African and my dad is Chinese but my family is from Mauritius,’ Alana told fans.
‘So we grew up in Mauritius. That’s where my mum and dad met because South Africa is really close to Mauritius.
‘My older sister, she started primary school there, then we all moved over to Australia. So we are Sino Mauritian.’
Background: The Gold Coast school teacher, 30, revealed during an Instagram Q&A on Thursday that she is Sino-Mauritian, or a Mauritian of Chinese descent
Family: Alana (seen on her second birthday) explained her father is Chinese and her mother is South African, and that she was born in Mauritius before moving to Australia as a child
Alana was born Sinead Chong and went by this name throughout primary and high school, Daily Mail Australia revealed in February.
She changed her name to Alana Lister after graduating in 2009, and began to overhaul her appearance with cosmetic enhancements around this time.
Alana’s name change was supposedly inspired by Brisbane street artist Anthony Lister, whose work she admired.
Some friends noticed her name could be shortened to ‘A. Lister’ and joked that she may have been planning to become famous.
She was paired with 35-year-old construction estimator Jason Engler on Married At First Sight.
They agreed to stay together at their final vows, which were filmed in December, but split shortly thereafter.