Natasha Ryan, the teenager who famously hid in her boyfriend's cupboard, leading her family and police to believe she was murdered, is to marry the man who helped hide her.

The 24-year-old has told Woman's Day magazine she is desperate to put the incident behind her and hopes her marriage to Scott Black, 31, will allow her to start a new life, first of all by dropping the name Ryan.

"I'm sick of being known as Natasha Ryan - the girl in the cupboard," she told the magazine.

"I made mistakes and I'm sorry that I hurt my family, but now I want to start a new life."

Ryan first went into hiding in Mr Black's Rockhampton home in 1998, aged 14.

At the time, serial killer Leonard John Fraser had murdered a number of women in the region and police also charged him with Ryan's murder.

The teenager's family were so sure of her death, three years after she disappeared Mr Ryan's father Robert held a special memorial service in Bundaberg Crematorium Chapel to give the family "closure".

However, in 2003 a tip-off led to a police raid on Mr Black's home and Ms Ryan was found.

Mr Black was eventually jailed for a year on a perjury charge because during Mr Fraser's trial he gave evidence he had not seen Ms Ryan since she disappeared.

The couple now have a four-year-old son Corey and they told Woman's Day they hoped their wedding later this year would bring a sense of healing after years of heartache for them and their families.