A BUNGLING groom-to-be spent 45 minutes searching through a rat-infested pond for an engagement ring after it slipped out of his hand while proposing.
Grant Stevens was popping the question to Milly Reece on a bridge in Lincoln Arboretum in Lincolnshire yesterday when the epic proposal fail happened.
The 28-year-old went down on one knee to ask Milly, 31, to be his wife but disaster struck when the aquamarine stone ring fell out and into the murky water below.
The gold-banded engagement ring was loose in the box and managed to slip through a gap in the slats of the bridge during the Worcestershire couple’s romantic moment.
Luckily, after 45 minutes wading through the dirty water, web developer Grant managed to find the ring stuck in the mud.
An image shows Grant searching through the brown water trying and locate the pricey ring.
Software tester Milly posted about the incident on Facebook yesterday with the caption: “My partner proposed to me on a bridge in Lincoln Arboretum.
“As he opened the box, the ring tumbled out and fell through the bridge slats into the pond.
“He took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his shorts and jumped in the pond to search for it.
“This lady and her daughter hung around for a while helping to look within the leaves in the slats before wishing us good luck and going on about their day.
“45 minutes later he fished it out!
“Here’s a picture of the offending bridge, my fiance in the drink searching and my beautiful ring and when he finally found it!”
The post now has over 7,100 likes, with over 500 people commenting on Milly and Grant’s dramatic engagement story.
One social media user said: “Congratulations. What a story to tell in years to come.
“So glad he found it. A lovely ring.”
Another wrote: “That’s a beautiful ring, it would have been such a shame if he couldn’t find it.
“Still, it’s a good story to tell the grandkids…”
One group member added: “That’s an engagement to remember for sure…
“What bad luck it fell through the slats, I bet you both couldn’t believe it.
“Congratulations to you both”.
And another wrote: “This is such an amazing and beautiful story. Bright tears of joy to my eyes.
“Well done future husband, what a man. (such a beautiful ring, too)”
Speaking today (MON), Milly said: “I was busy taking pictures of the view when he said ‘I have a question to ask you’.
“I turned to look at him and thought ‘what are you up to?’
“He got down on one knee and opened the box.
“The ring wasn’t secure in the box and it just tumbled out, rolled along the bridge and through one of the gaps.
“We were both in shock at what had just happened.
“I said yes before he even jumped into the lake to find it.
“I was just gobsmacked when he found it.
“I honestly didn’t think he would find it due to the amount of gunk at the bottom of the lake, the water was so murky and a rat swam by at one point.
“He was so pleased and just relieved that he hadn’t just wasted a ton of money.”
