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Steven Bartlett has shared snaps from his romantic proposal to his girlfriend Melanie Lopes, after Daily Mail revealed the pair got engaged on Christmas Day.
The Dragon’s Den star, 33, revealed he popped the question to his long-term partner after surprising her while she was on holiday with her family in Morocco.
Steven shared snaps on Instagram that showed the stunning outdoor set-up, which included a hut where the business mogul proposed, as he explained how he’d asked her parents for permission before surprising her on the trip in Marrakech.
In the caption, he admitted his ‘heart was racing’ as he got down on one knee, and confessed he ‘didn’t really understand the concept of marriage’ before he met Melanie.
The snaps showed the moment Melanie accepted Steven’s proposal, before emotionally reuniting with her family to show them her diamond ring.
The couple met on Instagram in 2016, but despite their careers being heavily focused on social media, they have chosen to keep their romance largely out of the public eye.
In his post, Steven wrote: ‘She said Yes! To say I was nervous is an understatement… I could feel my heart racing in my chest. She thought I was away in Europe – but I had snuck into Morocco on Christmas day where she was on holiday with her family – I asked her mother and father if I could marry her – then had to build this big hut outside because a thunderstorm was forecast last minute – and I walked out and surprised her when she thought she was meeting her fam for dinner.
’10 years ago, I didn’t really understand the concept of marriage as many of you know – but when you meet the right person, a lot of things start to make sense.’
Steven spoke about the engagement for the first time in Maggie Sellers Reum’s Hot Smart Rich podcast last week.
He said of his fiancée Melanie, who is a French-Portuguese yoga entrepreneur: ‘She knows me better than anybody, because she gets to see it all. When she says things, I listen very intently. She’s very special.
‘In many respects, she’s like everything that I’m not. She’s like an angel that fell from the sky. That’s kind of how I describe it to my friends.
‘We’ve been together for almost seven years now, and she’s very much what I’m aspiring to be. She’s what I’m aspiring to be more like.’
The couple met on Instagram in 2016, but despite their careers being heavily focused on social media, they have chosen to keep their romance largely out of the public eye.
Multimillionaire Steven, who is said to be worth £320million, dated Melanie for a year before the couple briefly split as he focused on building his business empire.
However, after realising he could not live without her, Steven flew 22 hours to Bali, where Melanie runs a breathwork and yoga retreat, to win her back, and their relationship has gone from strength to strength ever since.
During their festive getaway, Steven presented Melanie with a diamond engagement ring and popped the question, with the wellness influencer delighted to say ‘yes’.
Sources close to the couple say that after living together in both London and Los Angeles while navigating their demanding careers, they have never been happier and are excited to begin planning their wedding.
Revealing more about the proposal, Steven said he had been planning the ring for years. He said: ‘About four years ago, she was talking about engagement rings with a friend, and I was looking over her shoulder and looking at the ones she liked, and I was looking at her Pinterest, and saving the ones she said she really liked.
‘So, I’ve had this folder in my phone for like three or four years of the ones she said she liked. And we were in New York yesterday, and there’s a jeweller in New York that some of my friends that I really trust told me to go see, and they made the ring for us.’
Steven said he used to fear that while he was successful, he would be lonely in a big house.
He said: ‘Mel helps me anchor. And then I’ll have kids and a family and responsibilities and dependencies.
‘And that’s what I think it takes to be a good man, but also a good human being. I’m very excited about depending on other people and having other people depend on me.’
Steven is best known as the host of The Diary Of A CEO podcast, which regularly tops the UK charts and attracts millions of streams each month thanks to its engaging interviews and A-list guests.
Since launching in 2017, Steven has interviewed a wide range of high-profile figures, from Kamala Harris to Louis Tomlinson, Davina McCall, Lewis Capaldi, and Simon Cowell.
He is also the youngest Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, appearing alongside Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden, and is regularly seen investing in new and emerging business ventures.
Steven, who moved to the UK from Botswana at the age of two, dropped out of university at 18 to pursue his ambitions as a businessman.
He fell out with his parents, particularly his mother, who was ‘heartbroken’ after believing Steven had thrown away the education she never had growing up.
However, Steven found success with his social media marketing agency, The Social Chain, which was valued at £300million when it first entered the stock market.
He is set for a busy year; alongside wedding planning, Steven will return to the upcoming series of Dragons’ Den and continue recording his podcast, one of the most successful in the world.
In October last year, his company Steven.com, which houses his media ventures, including the firm Flight Story, was valued at £320million.
Steven has said this will help him ‘build the Disney of the creator economy,’ referring to the multi-billion-pound industry of influencers who make a living through streaming and posting on TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube.
