Ed Sheeran fan's surprise at concert proposal

Andy GiddingsWest Midlands
News imageGeorge Taylor A man with short hair and a chequed brown shirt putting a ring on the finger of a woman with blonde hair tied back behind her head and a black top in a crowded area with a large pink display screen in the backgroundGeorge Taylor
Melissa Gardner said her partner knew she was 'quite a fan' of Ed Sheeran

An Ed Sheeran fan has said getting engaged at one of his concerts was "quite surreal".

Melissa Gardner travelled from Scarborough in Yorkshire with her partner George Taylor to the CBS Arena in Coventry to watch the singer perform, but she had no idea what was planned.

She had seen Sheeran play six times previously and said of her boyfriend's proposal: "He knew that was the way to do it - if he was going to propose to me, it needed to be with Ed Sheeran."

When he went down on one knee during the concert on Friday, he passed his phone to a stranger to film the moment and she said: "At the time I didn't realise what was happening so I'm glad I've got the film."

Ms Gardner said they had tried unsuccessfully to get tickets in the summer and it came out of the blue when Mr Taylor announced he had been able to secure some just a week before the show.

During the performance, she said Sheeran had announced he would be playing one of his new songs and invited the crowd to film it.

"I sort of nudged my now-fiance and said 'film it then'," she said.

"Then all of a sudden I was listening to this song and he'd just passed his phone to a stranger and I was so confused. Then obviously he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him."

Ms Gardner said it had nevertheless been a risky move, explaining: "I always said I wanted to get engaged abroad so it was a massive shock, but it was honestly absolutely perfect."

After she said "yes" to the popped question, she remembered "all the people around us were so kind, so nice".

A number of people filmed the proposal and then offered to send her the video afterwards and she said friends and family had also been "over the moon".

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