Taonga

Why are you trying to drag me away from the party?

In 2014 Red Bull sponsored a documentary on me, Brent Park (Parks) and our son Philli going back to Africa where I’d lived as a teenager for a couple of years. Unbeknown to me, before we left, Parks went to my parents and told them of his plan to ask me to marry him on the trip.

We stayed at the beautiful Tembo House Hotel in Zanzibar, which is where I stayed as a kid. It’s where Freddie Mercury grew up and lived with his family.

On the last night, we were at the night markets that go along the coast, drinking beers and hanging out with my cousin Oscar Kightley, who was filming the documentary, and his crew. Parks kept trying to get me alone so he could propose but I was having such a good time that I didn’t want to leave. I kept thinking, “Why are you trying to drag me away from the party?”

Eventually, he said, “Please can we go?” We started walking down the beach but there were no lights so I kept tripping over all these anchor ropes that

I couldn’t see. I was getting madder and madder and more frustrated.

We finally get to the beach in front of the Tembo Hotel but now I’m furious. I’m like, “Why are we here? Everybody’s hanging out.” He got really upset and goes, “Oh, don’t worry about it” and took off to bed. I stayed up the whole night with the guys and had a great time.

I creep into our room about 4 or 5 in the morning, trying to be very quiet and Parks turns over and goes, “Babe, can you promise me that before we leave tomorrow, you and I will have one last swim on the beach out the front?” Because of the argument, I say, “Yeah, of course,” and go to sleep.

Well, he wakes up super early and is like “Get up! Get up!” I’m hungover and like, “Oh my God ... this f***ing guy’s doing my head in.”

I feel like s*** but he’s really excited and we go to the beach. The water makes me feel better and I look back at the Tembo Hotel and it’s so picturesque I go, “If we ever get married we should do it here.” He looks at me and says, “That’s what I wanted to say last night.” I was like, “What do you mean?” and he goes, “Will you marry me?”

We’re so excited but we don’t tell the crew. Parks didn’t have a ring, which I thought was a rip-off, but he goes, “I wanted us to get the ring together’.” I go, “Great! Let’s get a tanzanite stone.” I’ve loved the stone ever since I lived in Africa. At the airport we start shopping and find one that’s really beautiful. The trip ends and we go home.

One night we’re having a party and I get really drunk and start showing off about having a tanzanite stone. I go to get it and realise I don’t know where the f*** I put it! I’d lost the f***ing stone. It was gone.

I tried to buy one like it so I could say to Parks, “This happened, what a bummer, but we can get one again.” I talk to my friend who’s a jeweller and he tells me that to import a tanzanite it’s gonna cost $10,000 for a $2000 stone.

I’m devastated and have to tell Parks straight. He was bummed-out, but cool. He didn’t blame me or say mean things to me.

Weirdly, our friend Jasmine happened to be going to Egypt shortly after and she randomly messaged me saying she’s at Zanzibar airport.

I was like, ‘No f***ing way! Can you please buy me a tanzanite stone?’. She goes, “F*** yeah, I can!” So while she’s waiting for her flight she gets me a stone. Eventually she comes home to New Zealand but I’ve forgotten all about it. She literally had it for half a year. She’d remind me every now and then but life would get in the way and I’d forget again. I finally get the rock but by this point we’re married.

The weirdest part is that when we got married in Samoa, Jasmine happened to be living there. Her boyfriend’s family owned the place where we had the wedding and because we eloped she was our only witness.

It’s so strange how Jasmine kept being involved in our f***ing marriage! We’re not even that close. Anyway, on my 40th birthday last year we finally got the tanzanite stone set in the ring. It’s my most treasured item but I’m so pedantic about it I don’t even wear it that often.

Ladi6

Ladi6 is a panellist on The Masked Singer NZ, which kicks off on May 9 at 7pm on Three and Threenow.