Rival reporters' romantic engagement: 'I'VE NEVER BEEN SO NERVOUS!'

Ollie Ritchie’s ‘plan C’ proposal to Kimberlee Downs turned out to be absolutely perfect

Newshub sports reporter Ollie Ritchie always had big plans when it came to proposing to his TVNZ journalist girlfriend Kimberlee Downs.

After three years together, he knew he’d found the person he wanted to spend his life with, so he secretly designed and commissioned a beautiful diamond ring, asked Kim’s delighted parents for their blessing, and was determined it would be an engagement to remember.

However, as is often the case with the rugby reporter’s hectic work schedule, dreams of an exotic destination proposal never quite came to fruition.

“First of all, I was hoping it might happen while we were on holiday in the South Island,” explains Ollie, 29. “But then I had to cancel that because of work – and there were a few other ideas that I couldn’t quite make happen either because I was away so much. I was beginning to wonder how I would ever pull it off.”

In the end, it was at a beach just minutes from their home on Auckland’s North Shore where Christchurch-born Ollie finally popped the question. And despite his earlier grand plans, bride-to-be Kim, 32, says Ollie’s proposal was perfect in every way.

“Ollie calls it his ‘plan C’ engagement, but I honestly couldn’t imagine it being any better,” she says, welling up. “He put so much thought and effort into it, and I still cry when I think about it.”