Cheers to Ashton Pienaar! The former Below Deck star just announced a major milestone in his life. He’s getting married to his longtime girlfriend, Sarah McAlpine Cooper. Us Weekly covered the exciting news, and the former bosun took to his Instagram to share the announcement.
“Over the last 5 years, my life’s journey has been really all over the place. I’ve shaken things up, put myself out there, done hard work on myself, and peeled back my layers,” Ashton wrote. “I followed my personal mantra of having security in the unknown, and kept faith that if I remained true to myself and put in the work, good things would come my way.”
He added that his self-improvement journey wasn’t just for himself but to make for a better future with Sarah. He continued, “I did this all for the sake of establishing a better, more fulfilling life for myself… And for you @sarahmcalpine. For us.”
When it came time to pop the question, Ashton planned it out for months, but he chose to propose in a pretty unusual spot—an airport. In a video on Instagram, he captured the special moment and explained why he decided to propose in such a seemingly unromantic place. It turns out it’s not just any old airport. It’s actually the airport where they first met!
Ashton wrote about the big moment, saying, “Sarah fully believed that I was going away on a planned trip to Portugal/ South Africa for 6 months. When she was dropping me off, she thought she was saying goodbye for the better half of a year. Needless to say, she was pretty sad.”
He continued, “The truth is, I really had planned to go away this year… But the last year was a big wake up call. I realised that being with this person made me more happy that any trip overseas could. The next step became increasingly obvious.”
To make the moment even more special, Ashton decided to pop the question in the exact same spot in the airport where they met—so romantic!
He wrote, “So, as we walked through the airport, I suggested that we take a parting selfie in the very spot where we met. When we got to the exact right spot, I told her that I would stay with her in America if she answered one question correctly: ‘Will you marry me?'”
She said yes!
TELL US – WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO THE NEWS OF ASHTON’S ENGAGEMENT? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ROMANTIC AIRPORT PROPOSAL? DO YOU HAVE ANY CONGRATULATORY WORDS FOR THE NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLE?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]
