Newly engaged Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright have given their first ever interview together in the new edition of HELLO! magazine. In the exclusive interview and photoshoot they reveal the full story of the proposal which took place on the beach at sunset in Dubai last month.
"It didn't take me long to realise that Michelle is everything I wanted," says 26-year-old TV presenter and former The Only Way Is Essex star Mark, who admits he was nervous about proposing and hid her dazzling diamond engagement ring in the hotel safe before presenting it to her.
Michelle reveals she had no idea what he was planning, and when she saw him on bended knee she thought he was joking at first.
"I thought he was joking at first and then he said come here. I started crying, and said yes, and then he started welling up as well. Then as we walked further down the beach I saw a table set up with lanterns and petals, and with two glasses of champagne.
"Mark, who says "Michelle is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen", asked her father's permission, and also turned to his own dad for advice.
"I rang my dad and said, 'What knee do I drop on?' He said, 'You can choose but I think it’s right.’ But left is my favourite side so I said I'm going to drop on my left. I'm superstitious, everything has to be done on the left."
They also tell HELLO! they have started house-hunting: "We've started looking into it now. We've been looking at land, too. We are trying to make the decision whether to build or just move in to a house," says 26-year-old Michelle.
And Michelle reveals that she is already making plans for her dream wedding that is likely to take place in 2015. "I've started looking at dresses in magazines," she says. "I am quite traditional, so I'll take Mark's surname and we'd like to get married in a church. We definitely want a family, too, but we want to do everything in order. We want to get married first. "
See the full exclusive article in HELLO! magazine, out now.