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Ruby Bhogal in a mini dress with red lipstick near flowers© Dave Benett

Great British Bake Off star's 'cheeky' two engagement rings from New York proposal

Baker Ruby Bhogal discussed her "unromantic" engagement with the Heart Radio star

Nichola Murphy
Deputy Lifestyle Editor
January 22, 2024
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Ruby Bhogal announced the exciting news that she is engaged to TV presenter James Stewart by sharing photos of not one but two engagement rings.

During their trip to New York, James surprised the Great British Bake Off star by popping the question after spending days sharing sneaky snaps of the rings without Ruby's knowledge. Inside the vintage orange ring box sat one ring with an intricate gold band featuring a large green central stone, nestled next to a unique gold multi-band ring. Alongside the flurry of congratulatory messages, some of Ruby's followers questioned why she had multiple engagement rings.

Ruby Bhagol holding up her engagement ring with her fiance James
Ruby and James got engaged in New York

She replied: "This was me being cheeky and [wanting] stacking rings to go [with] the main ring so I have eternal choice on how to wear them. The fact he fell for it and actually did it? Keeper." We wonder how she's planning to stack her wedding ring!

Alongside photos of her asleep on the plane, taking photos of the city and brushing her teeth while unbeknownst to her, her rings were on full display, she shared details of the "unromantic" proposal.

James Stewart holding up two engagement rings as Ruby slept on the plane© Instagram
James presented his fiancee with two engagement rings

"POV: You’re prancing around New York unaware you’re about to be proposed to. Have deceptively been hiding my hand in the recent the vids because it’s taken me about 3 weeks to tell most of my family whilst it took James a whole 3 minutes.

"I wish we had a romantic story to go alongside it but food poisoning managed to kick in right about 5 mins before he was about propose and I was about to have a bridesmaid moment running across the street (iykyk) so yay for love and yay for uncooked chicken in NYC. ⁣

Ruby Bhogal brushing her teeth near her engagement rings
The Heart Radio star had taken several photos of Ruby's engagement rings without her noticing

"I love this life. (Time to start planning a big FAT Indian wedding but all I’m thinking about is the CAKE am I right?!)"

The final comment also saw many of her fans question if the baker would put her own skills to the test on her big day, or if she would give herself a break from creating delicious confections. "Immediate answer - dessert table so I’m gonna rally the troops!" she joked in the comments section, as well as hinting she would enlist the help of fellow GBBO stars such as Rahul Mandal.

WATCH: 10 more seriously dazzling celebrity engagement rings

Ruby previously joked that she used to use weddings as an excuse to hide the fact she was competing in the BBC baking competition in 2018. When asked by Vulture how she kept her participation a secret from colleagues and family, she said: "This is why I’m so glad I’m Indian. I have such a huge family, so I’d say someone was getting married every weekend. 

"Indian weddings last, like, a week, which is great, because if I needed to work on something baking-related during the week as well, I’d say it was wedding-related. Nobody questioned me at all! They did want to see photos, so I conjured up photos from weddings in the past."

Ruby and James have been dating for several years, and while they haven't released many details of their relationship, they regularly share photos together on social media. Heart Radio star James gave a rare insight into their love story in 2020, telling Square Mile: "I’m loving Kettner's in Soho, now it’s back and full refurbed - my girlfriend and I had our first date there together, so I guess it’s sentimental for me in that respect too!"

RELATED: Mary Berry is a vision in seriously surprising £5 wedding dress

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