A woman who sat down for a lekker quarter chicken and chips at Nando’s got more than she bargained for when her berk went down on one knee to pop the question.
Magdalene Martheze, 61, and Marlon Michaels, 40, went for lunch at Nando’s at the V&A Waterfront on Monday, where he surprised the delighted woman with a diamond ring.
The couple is from Milnerton and Magdalene says: “We were just taking a drive with the MyCiTi bus to the Waterfront. We wanted to go to Hout Bay, but the weather did not agree.
“Marlon just celebrated his birthday on Saturday but was working on the day.
“He also just finished at his job, which he rarely got off from, and he decided he was taking me out for the day,” she told IOL.
Wow! So this gentleman just proposed to his partner at our @NandosSA @VandAWaterfront store… and she said YES!!! 😍😍❤️❤️💍💍🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/v7tYEFSDWR
— Reaaz Ahmed* (@ReaazAhmed) September 6, 2021
Magdalene says she saw him chatting to Nando’s staff but didn’t think much of it.
“As I was seated, I wondered why people were approaching me with their phones. Marlon came up to me and said: ‘Baby, please stand’.
“I asked him why and he asked me to please just stand.
“I did and that’s when he went down on one knee and proposed.”
The loved-up couple said family and friends were sceptical about their romance because of their age difference, but they don’t care.
They were both single for seven years before meeting each other through a mutual friend and have been dating for seven months.
“I am extremely happy. He is a man in a million.”
“He has asked me about marriage before and I told him to be sure, as I have been married before and he has not,” she says.
Marlon says his fiancée is the woman he’s been praying for.
“I thought it was a dream and I would wake up from it. But I did not,” the man said happily.
The couple is planning a beach wedding ceremony.
One of the owners of the Nando’s branch Reaaz Ahmed said this was the store’s second proposal.
“The store is blessed to have such nice staff and patrons, and lots of love can be felt in our store,” he says.
“Covid-19 has made things tough, especially in our industry, and things like these really do lift our spirits.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za