He got the 'yes' he needed the most when it came to last weekend's bootcamp auditions. Sam Black, former X Factor contestant, shocked the judges and his now fiancée when he got down on one knee and asked his girlfriend Emma Smith to marry him. The 27-year-old plasterer left Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne close to tears as Emma - the mother to Sam's 11-month-old son Mason - welled up in tears and said "Yes."
Emma told The Mail on Sunday: "It was one big shock, it was the last thing I was expecting. I was completely overwhelmed." She added: "He was nervous before the performance and I thought how he had to be nervous for this too. It was very brave of him." The happy couple, who have been together for five years, did not hold back their affection for one another. Although he did not get a 'yes' from Simon Cowell despite Louise Walsh wanting to send him through to the next stage, he quickly got over it after the most important 'yes' was still to come.
The proposal took place on the bootcamp stage in front of 4,000 people in the crowd as well as the viewers back home. People watching were in love with the fairy-tale moment as tributes poured out on Twitter, with one writing: "Omg how cute #xfactor." Another mentioned: "OMG HES GONNA PROPOSE TO HER #XFactor." A third post remarked: "#XFactor OH MY GOD THIS IS ADORABLE."
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Emma, 24, is already making plans for the big day. "My mum is on my case to sort it out," she said, adding: "We're thinking about going abroad and doing it, somewhere hot, I think. We will invite the X Factor judges, and Sam is thinking of asking Louis Walsh to be best man."
