Childhood sweethearts engaged after 'the perfect proposal'

A man who spent months planning the perfect wedding proposal for his childhood sweetheart described the moment as "just magical".

Emmanuel Dosumu, 27, and Elizabeth Alabi, 26, reunited three years ago after moving to England separately for university and jobs from Nigeria, where they had met as children.

After five months of careful planning, Emmanuel got down on one knee inside Manchester Art Gallery all while accompanied by a string performance of the theme tune of their favourite television show Bridgerton.

He said: "I knew she would say yes but I'm so pleased about her reaction to the surprise and the event itself. I wanted to make it the perfect proposal for her."

The couple initially met in Nigeria where they were attending the same church, and were together for a period during high school.

"We were high school sweethearts, and we were together in high school and then we got together again in 2023," Emmanuel told BBC Radio Manchester.

"She has always been my first love, my one and only."

Emmanuel, an aerospace lecturer, hired a section of the gallery on Mosely Street in the city centre last Wednesday.

The proposal comes just a few weeks ahead of the couple's move from Slough to Manchester.

"It was easy for me to choose Manchester," he said. "To get her to travel and get dressed up for the occasion.

"I was always looking for something meaningful and reflective and then when I was researching the gallery, I saw the painting of the raising of Lazarus.

"It is very iconic and it really resonated with our story about us missing each other and coming together.

"It reflects how we came back together and it was just magical from there."

Elizabeth, who is an accountant for the NHS, said she was "really surprised" by Emmanuel's proposal.

"He's always known that I'd like something original and something that is timeless and meaningful," she said. "It was so beautiful."

Elizabeth said Emmanuel surprised her by saying they were going to a nearby date spot before he stopped at the gallery to use the toilet.

"I was sitting there waiting for him and someone asked me to come upstairs and that's when I saw the proposal," she said.

"He was there waiting. I really, really loved it. I was just smiling all through."

"I knew I was gonna marry him," Elizabeth said. "Marriage just scared me a bit before I met him.

"But when I met him, I didn't have any of those fears anymore because he just made me feel safe.

"He is my safe space and my home."

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