Another milestone for couple
Horsham couple Kirsty O’connell and Liam Niewand will share their first Valentine’s Day next week as an engaged couple.
Kirsty and Liam are planning to get married early next year after a surprise proposal from Liam on Christmas Day cemented a long-term relationship.
Valentine’s Day, on February 14, represents another milestone for the couple that Kirsty revealed already had ‘a house and a dog’.
“I don’t know about Liam but as far as a I know we haven’t made any plans yet for the day,” she said.
Kirsty, 24, who manages computer sales at Harvey Norman in Horsham, said the engagement proposal, despite her and Liam being ‘quite laid-back’, was romantic.
“We’ve been together for about seven years and now, one house and one dog later, we’re engaged,” she said.
“We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but we didn’t know when.
“I wasn’t expecting it until New Year’s Day, but it happened on Christmas Day in the first house we had bought together.
“We planned our Christmas and in the morning we were just hanging around the Christmas tree opening presents.
“Liam had wrapped up a jewellery bag and I was expecting a necklace or something.
“He had sticky-taped up what was a fake present so badly it took ages to unwrap.
“I was getting frustrated trying to open it and he was getting frustrated watching me struggling with it.
“Suddenly he was on one knee with a ring proposing. I just started crying.”
Kirsty said it was still only 9am and amid celebrations the couple rang parents and told friends next door.
“Ali Byrne, Bonnie Severin, Joel Mcclure and Georgie Mcintyre were there in the morning, and despite the time, we celebrated with a beer,” she said.
“We all celebrated and then our families came over. It was certainly an engagement we will remember and a really good Christmas Day.
“Liam and I are laid-back casual people, so it suited us perfectly.
“We’re very close with all our friends and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Kirsty said Liam, 26, who works on the family farm at Minyip, would be ‘100 percent’ embarrassed about sharing their engagement story.
“I tell him all the time he’s a good egg. He won’t enjoy it, but that’s his problem,” she said laughing.
“I’ve told him that in 30 years’ time I still want to laugh at him about it.”
And Kirsty’s assessment about her new engagement ring?
“It’s beautiful. It is a big and beautiful diamond.”
“He had sticky-taped up what was a fake present so badly it took ages to unwrap. I was getting frustrated trying to open it and he was getting frustrated watching me” – Kirsty O’connell