She had fallen for a former US marine and moved halfway around the world to start her family.
It ended in horror when she was doused in petrol and burned alive by her estranged husband Brian Earl Johnston on April 20, 2021, at her Gold Coast home.
Her heartbroken family on Thursday wept openly as they gave an emotional victim impact statement to an inquest into the 27-year-old's death.
Ms Wilkinson's sister Danielle Carroll said her sister had so much life left to live - a bright future "surrounded by sunflowers".
"This was her only dream - she was a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother," Ms Carroll told the Southport Court.
"She was home for her three children, a safe space; she loved them unconditionally."
The children now live with Ms Carroll and her family, but it can never be the life they would have shared with their mother.
"All that Kelly wanted from life was to love and be loved - there are no words for the way she suffered in her last moments.
"There will never be any words to pass on to her children to make them feel OK."
The ripple effect of the tragedy has been "immeasurable" with the family surviving minute by minute, hour by hour, she said.
"Losing someone to such a horrific murder is a different beast, it is unforgiving.
"For every milestone and achievement of her children, I stand with them and celebrate, but it should be her."
Kelly Wilkinson met the former marine online when she was 18 and fell madly in love.
She moved to the United States, where the couple married four months later.
They returned to Australia in 2017 and for a time they were happy, before the relationship was over.
Just after 3am on April 20, 2021, Johnston went to a petrol station where he filled a 20-litre jerry can with fuel.Dressed in black clothes and a black face mask, Johnston then turned up at Kelly's home, breaching his temporary protection order.
He attacked his wife, stabbing her repeatedly before dousing her with petrol and burning her alive.
Johnson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life behind bars.
The inquest on the Gold Coast this week probed events leading up to the mother-of-three's death, hearing evidence that police had missed crucial opportunities to protect her.
Johnston had been incorrectly released on bail nine days before the murder after being charged with four counts of sexually assaulting his wife.
Police also failed by incorrectly filing Ms Wilkinson's complaint about Johnston allegedly breaching a protection order, which made it much harder for other officers to find details about her case.
Detective Inspector Paul Fletcher, the officer in charge of the Gold Coast Vulnerable Persons Group, earlier conceded that police had missed opportunities.
"Overall it appears they followed procedures that were outlined for them to do but there were areas they could improve on as well," he told Southport Coroners Court.
Officers were first made aware of Ms Wilkinson's complaints about domestic violence 23 days before her murder and later visited her home to organise for her to make a statement.
The inquest before Queensland Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher adjourned on Thursday, with her findings to be handed down at a later date.
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