Casey Batchelor: “Being engaged is surreal – we won’t rush to marry!”
Casey Batchelor tells us about the romantic proposal that didn’t go smoothly… plus her plans for more children
Just three years ago, Casey Batchelor was single and admitted that she’d given up on finding love. Yet when we sit down to catch up with the CBB star – who gave birth to daughter Florence last May – she’s flashing a beautiful diamond ring, having just got engaged to Dane Goodson while on holiday in Dubai.
“It’s such a lovely feeling and still feels surreal,” she says, beaming. “We’d talked about it and spoken about what kind of ring I’d like, but I didn’t think it would happen any time soon – I thought he’d keep me waiting at least another year or two!”
A HUGE SURPRISE
Casey, 34, has spoken previously about worrying she wouldn’t find a partner and, before meeting Dane in 2016, even revealed she was considering freezing her eggs if she hadn’t met someone by the time she was 35.
“I did think it would never happen to me,” she says. “I’d kind of accepted I’d always be single. I felt like it was always my friends getting engaged and having babies, so it feels so special to be a mum and now a fiancée.”
Businessman Dane, 32, proposed to Casey while on their first family holiday last month, getting down on one knee at a poolside restaurant and ordering her favourite champagne, Dom Perignon Rosé, to celebrate.
“They don’t sell it in Dubai, so Dane told me to enjoy every sip, as it cost him a fortune to ship over,” she laughs. “But it was such a lovely proposal, it still hasn’t sunk in, and I was so glad Flo was there with us.”
But like any great engagement story, the proposal didn’t go off entirely without a hitch.
“When we arrived at the restaurant, we were taken to a private table covered in rose petals,” Casey says. “I thought they must be looking after us because we stayed last year. Then we sat down and Flo was really grumpy, so I spent ages getting her to sleep. When she dropped off, Dane said, ‘Flo has just ruined something for me!’ and he got out a little bib, which said, ‘Will you marry my daddy?’ I just burst into tears, and he said some lovely things. I was so shocked.”
The former glamour model – who dropped 4st last year after having Florence, going from a size 18 to an 8 – says that, before the proposal, Dane spoke to both of her parents to get their approval.
“I’m quite traditional, so I loved that Dane asked both my mum and dad,” she says. “He drove for an hour to see my dad the day before we went on holiday, and he’d been meeting up with my best friend to choose the ring. It meant a lot that he went to so much effort.”
While some brides dive headfirst into wedding planning, Casey says they won’t be tying the knot any time soon. Instead, they want to complete their family first.
“We aren’t getting any younger, so it makes sense to have more children first,” she says. “We’ll have one or two more, I think, and I’d love another baby this year. But it won’t stop me from being obsessed with weddings. I’ll constantly be looking for inspiration.”
But when it comes to the big decisions, the couple want time to decide.
“We want to get married abroad, we know that,” Casey says. “But in terms of everything else, we’ll wait a while. It seems too soon to be thinking about those decisions. For now, it’s lovely to enjoy being engaged.”
FAMOUS FRIENDS
Casey had been due to be a bridesmaid this year for her friend Vicky Pattison, but the wedding was called off in November after her fiancé, John Noble, was pictured cosying up to another woman on holiday. Vicky, who is now dating former TOWIE star Ercan Ramadan, documented the split on her show The Break Up. And Casey says she couldn’t be prouder of her pal.
“She’s been through a horrible time, but she’s such a strong woman,” she says. “She’ll always have men queuing up for her – she’s such a successful and beautiful lady. Vicky was thrilled for me when I told her about my engagement, too. She’s a great friend.”