The news Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett was engaged after proposing to his girlfriend Melanie Lopes was confirmed earlier this week. Now we’ve been given a first look at her engagement ring.
“We can confirm Steven and Melanie are engaged to be married. They are, naturally, both very, very happy,” Steven’s rep said in a statement, after reports emerged that he’d popped the question on Christmas Day.
Now, Melanie has posted a picture of the couple holding hands to her Instagram Stories, showing off the dazzling diamond Steven got down on one knee with.
Steven Bartlett proposes to girlfriend Melanie
Steven and Melanie met on Instagram back in 2016. They split briefly, before he decided he couldn’t live without her and flew to Bali – where she was running a yoga retreat – to win her back.
The Dragons’ Den star has largely kept his romance with Melanie out of the spotlight. However, it’s now emerged that Steven and the French-Portuguese yoga entrepreneur, both 33, got engaged in Morocco on Christmas Day.
With Steven – who also hosts his Diary of a CEO podcast – said to be worth £320m, the rock was always going to be impressive. And, after Melanie posted a picture of herself wearing it today (January 7), it really did not disappoint.
Huge diamond ring pictured after Steven Bartlett proposes to girlfriend
Melanie posted a picture of her hand holding Steven’s, the diamond ring dazzling for all to see. She added a white heart emoji and said: “Mon amour.” Translated into English, it means “my love”.
The huge oval-cut diamond appears to sit on a diamond-encrusted band. And Steven has also revealed that his proposal was four years in the planning!
He spoke to Maggie Sellers Reum on her Hot Smart Rich podcast today. “She knows me better than anybody, because she gets to see it all. When she says things, I listen very intently. She’s very special.
“In many respects, she’s like everything that I’m not. She’s like an angel that fell from the sky. That’s kind of how I describe it to my friends. We’ve been together for almost seven years now, and she’s very much what I’m aspiring to be. She’s what I’m aspiring to be more like.”
Speaking more about the proposal, he added: “About four years ago, she was talking about engagement rings with a friend, and I was looking over her shoulder and looking at the ones she liked, and I was looking at her Pinterest, and saving the ones she said she really liked.
“So, I’ve had this folder in my phone for like three or four years of the ones she said she liked. And we were in New York yesterday, and there’s a jeweller in New York that some of my friends that I really trust told me to go see, and they made the ring for us.”
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‘They really are each other’s soulmates’
Earlier this week, a source told the Mail that, after living together in London and LA, they’re excited to start planning their wedding.
“Steven and Melanie have been together for a long time, but their relationship really went up a notch after they started living together in both London and Los Angeles a couple of years ago. The proposal happened on Christmas Day while they were on holiday together in Morocco.
“Steven asked Melanie to marry him and presented her with a beautiful diamond engagement ring. She was thrilled to say yes. They really are each other’s soulmates and couldn’t be happier.”
Who is Melanie Lopes?
Gorgeous Melanie is a lifestyle influencer who specialises in breathwork and bodywork. She hails from Bordeaux in France.
The couple did split briefly, a year after getting together, after Steven decided that he needed to focus on building his business.
Speaking about their reconciliation, he previously admitted: “She flew to the other side of the world and lived in Bali for a year. I think as time went on, I reflected on that. And I learnt more about things and life, sex and relationships.
“And because she was such a special person, I realised that she was the one,” he said. “So, I flew to Bali, and I went and said sorry to her.”
He also told The Sun that dating Melanie was his “greatest achievement”.
“Getting myself into a loving relationship with a wonderful woman has totally been my greatest achievement,” he said.
Congrats, guys!
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