The widower of Sydney siege victim Katrina Dawson has found love again with the ex-wife of celebrity chef Guillaume Brahimi.
Paul Smith has recently confided to friends and family that his long-standing friendship with Sanchia Brahimi has blossomed into romance.
The pair reportedly grew close in recent weeks and their relationship has the enthusiastic support of both of their families.
'It is very early stages but they are both such great people and they really deserve to find happiness, which is what appears to have happened... it is a happy story,' a friend of the couple told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The news comes just a month before the second anniversary of the tragedy that claimed the life of the leading barrister and mother-of-three.
Ms Brahimi separated from her husband of 16 years, with whom she shares four children, early this year and is the daughter of notable Sydney millionaires Charles and Eva Curran.
Ms Brahimi was also keen to get involved with the Katrina Dawson Foundation, a charity set up to provide scholarships to assist young women in furthering their education.She and Mr Smith have similarly aged daughters attending the same school in the eastern suburbs and move in each other's social circles.
She has her own philanthropic pursuits including using her ex-husband's cookbooks to raise money for cancer research.
Her split from Mr Brahimi was blamed on the pressure of building his restaurant empire, but the pair insisted their separation was amicable and he is said to be 'understanding' of his ex moving on.
Mr Brahimi last week closed his fine dining restaurant, Guillaume, in Sydney's Paddington after just three years.
Ms Dawson was killed when police stormed the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place where hostages were held by gunman Mon Haron Monis for 16 hours in December 2014.
She was struck by fragments of seven police bullets that ricocheted as they fired on Monis, striking a chair she was hiding behind.
