In an exclusive interview and photoshoot in HELLO!, Jake Quickenden reveals how he proposed to his girlfriend Danielle Fogarty on his 29th birthday - and was so overcome with emotion he was lost for words.
"I had a whole speech prepared, but as soon as I opened the ring box I was blubbing and I couldn't speak," the X Factor contestant, who was also a finalist on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here!, tells HELLO! of the moment he dropped to one knee, clutching a stunning oval diamond ring to propose to his girlfriend of two years marketing executive Danielle, 26, the eldest daughter of motorcycling champion Carl Fogarty.
"I didn't even ask Danielle to marry me, but luckily she said 'Yes' when she saw the ring – and then she started crying too."
Of her reaction, Danielle says, "Even though you didn't say anything, I knew that this was the moment I'd been dreaming of. It could not have been a more perfect moment."
Jake reveals he chose his birthday on 3 September to propose at his favourite wine bar in Ribchester, near Preston, with their families in on the secret, so that Danielle didn't guess what he had planned.
"From the moment we met, I knew I'd propose one day and I chose to do it on my birthday because I knew I could get away with being a bit sneaky," he said.
Jake and Danielle, who plan to wed in 2019, first met when they were introduced to each other at the I'm a Celebrity… afterparty, a result of the friendship forged between Jake and Carl in the Australian jungle. Keeping to tradition, Jake asked Carl's permission to marry his eldest daughter, eight days before the proposal.
"I said, 'I know I eat all your food but I'll always be there for Dan and I'd love to marry her,'" says Jake.
To see more of Jake and Danielle's romantic engagement, pick up the latest copy of HELLO! magazine.