This Morning viewers were left in tears on Friday following a very sweet surprise proposal live on air. Niki Wyatt and Samantha Lochrie – who both have Down syndrome – appeared on the show alongside their mums to talk to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes about the fact they were banned from kissing at the local youth club. But the segment took a turn when 30-year-old Niki - cued by his mum – got down on one knee and asked Samatha to marry him. Samantha, 23, immediately accepted, and the couple then shared a kiss for the cameras as their proud mothers looked on.
Niki Wyatt proposed to girlfriend Samantha Lochrie live on This Morning
Twitter was soon abuzz with messages of congratulations for the happy pair. "Awww god, just welled up watching This Morning – best of luck to the lovely couple," one viewer wrote. Another added: "@thismorning Sam & Nicky, it's so hard to find love nowadays. U 2 are gorgeous & lucky to have each other. Sooooo cute! Beautiful." A third commented: "@thismorning I'm not normally an emotional person but this story even left a lump in my throat. Congrats to the happy couple." Another viewer wrote: "Just blubbed my eyes out. I have a gorgeous Down's syndrome nephew & I want him to live his life without prejudice."
The ITV show later shared a message of congratulations for the sweet couple on Instagram
Earlier on in the segment, Niki and Samantha had opened up about discrimination they had faced at their youth club. They revealed they had been told it was "inappropriate" for them to kiss, despite the fact they are both over the age of 18. Niki's mum Jackie said: "One night they were kissing and one of the staff members went over to Niki and told him it was inappropriate to kiss, and we thought, 'Well, what's the problem? They've been doing this for a long time. They're not the only couple that kiss.'"