Stars delighted as Strictly’s Kristina Rihanoff announces engagement
Wedding bells are ringing!
Congratulations are in order for ex-Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff and former rugby union star Ben Cohen as they have announced they are engaged.
The lovebirds shared the wonderful news with Hello! And revealed how the proposal took place, leaving many of their celeb pals surprised. The pair revealed that Ben got down on one knee while they were in the Maldives.
“It was the biggest surprise of my life. Although we'd talked before about getting married one day, I hadn't the slightest idea that Ben was planning this. I was overcome with emotion and said, 'Yes, yes and yes' straight away”.
The rugby star explained, “I wanted us to go further forward together and taking a holiday in such a beautiful place felt like the perfect moment to do that”.
“Setting the scene had to be really special and with the help of members of staff at the resort, we achieved that. It was truly incredible and blew me away”.
Ben asked Kristina the big question at the half-way point of their 16-day holiday on the romantic island of Sovena Fushi after a boat trip. As they arrived at the neighbouring island, ‘Will you marry me?’ was written in the sand, along with a candle-lit heart.
Rihanoff shared that she was very surprised by the gorgeous proposal. “My first reaction was: 'Wow!'. It was absolutely surreal and I couldn't believe what was happening”.
“I'm usually very perceptive but I didn't have a clue Ben had been planning this. How he managed to keep it a secret was amazing”, the dancer added.
Many famous faces took to Instagram to congratulate the pair on their wonderful news. Radio presenter Zoe Ball wrote, “Congratulations darling, so happy for you all x”.
“Wow. Huge congratulations!!!”, penned TV personality Lizzie Cundy. Strictly professional Camilla Dallerup added, “Congratulations to you both”.
Kristina and Ben first met when they were paired up together on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013.
