HOW COULD I NOT SAY YES! Rio to marry new love after heartache
LOVE was certainly in the air as former England footballer Rio Ferdinand and reality TV star Kate Wright celebrated their engagement after almost two years of dating.
The ex-TOWIE star, 27, accepted the romantic rooftop proposal from the sports pundit, 39, in front of his three children during a family holiday to Abu Dhabi.
The couple shared their happy news on social media with a photograph of them cuddling.
Rio’s children Lorenz, 12, Tate, 10, and Tia, seven, looked on with delight as he popped the question on a helipad on top of the St Regis Hotel in the United Arab Emirates capital.
Taking to Instagram, Kate wrote: “The perfect end to our holiday... How could the answer not be yes”.
Rio also posted a picture of the moment with the caption: “She said yes. How these kids kept it a secret I’ll
never know.”
The pair met in early 2017 through mutual friends. The former Manchester United defender lost his wife Rebecca Ellison, 34, to breast cancer in 2015, and was bringing up their three children alone.
He opened up about his loss in the BBC documentary Rio Ferdinand – Being Mum And Dad, in which he explored the family’s grief.
On becoming a step-mother to three, Kate said: “I fell in love with Rio, then I met the kids and fell in love with them.
“I realised, ‘Wow, my life is going to change.’ I couldn’t be part of his life and not be part of theirs.
“I knew it would be a challenge, but if you love someone you go with it and deal with the difficult stuff.”