WATCH: 25,000 see Chris pop the question at fireworks spectacular
She was meant to be going to the darts - instead Rachael Rothero received a proposal of marriage at a public fireworks display in front of 25,000 people.
Video courtesy of Heart West Midlands
Boyfriend Chris Laws popped the question on the Heart radio stage at Himley Park, Dudley, on Saturday night as delighted spectators held up mobile phone torches to create some mood magic.
Rachael, 34, was lured on to the stage with a story that the couple's children had won prizes. But the youngsters were held back as Chris, a 35-year-old sales account manager, got down on one knee. Happily the mother-of-two accepted.
Afterwards she said: "I had no idea until the last minute what was going on. I was in absolute shock, my legs turned to jelly. It was the perfect place for it to happen."
Chris was contacted by the radio station last week after he liked a Facebook page they had set up looking for a likely Romeo - or Juliet - to propose to their other half.
The couple, who have three children between them - Lauren, aged 11, eight-year-old Alexis, and Scarlett, three - have been going out for two years.
"At first I thought it was a hoax, then they asked me whether I was serious about asking Rachael to marry me," Chris said.
"We'd half-talked about it before but had left it at that. They gave me a bit of time to think about it, and I realised I'd be an idiot not to make the most of a legendary opportunity like this.
"I was so nervous and stressed over the next four days that Rach thought I was ill."
The couple had meant to be going to the Grand Slam of Darts at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall on Saturday but Chris managed to convince Rachael to change their plans after confiding his plan to her best friend.
"She played a blinder, telling Rach she'd won free backstage tickets for the fireworks for us and all the children.
"When we went on stage, the staff held the children back while I said my bit. I panicked a bit as I told her she was a brilliant mother and an amazing girlfriend but I could tell by her face that it was all good."
Afterwards the children, along with their 11-year-old cousin Summer, ran on to the stage to join them and pictures of the family with messages of congratulations - including a good luck note from Heart presenters Emma Willis and Stephen Mulhern - were displayed on a screen behind them.
The couple, of Jonah Drive, Great Bridge, celebrated with a McDonald's meal on the way home. Rachael said: "It was definitely better than being proposed to at the darts."
