A young Australian woman who was set up by her ‘ultimate wingman’ dad at a pub is now engaged to that very man.
Alice James, a publicist from Melbourne, was sipping on a pint of ale when her dad, Darren, diverted her attention to the ‘total hottie’ sitting at the bar.
‘I had obviously noticed this stunning gentleman with his mate at the bar as soon as we walked in. Dad said “leave it with me” then jumped off his seat,’ Alice, 32, previously told FEMAIL.
Now, almost two years on, her partner Michael has popped the question – leaving thousands of their followers on social media envious of their real-life love story.
Alice met Michael after the opening night of Six The Musical in 2022.
The then 30-year-old said she and her dad were ‘talking garbage’ after their night out before he noticed Michael sitting up at the bar with a friend.
Darren struck up a conversation with the young men asking if they ‘went for Collingwood’, then turned to the eligible bachelor asking how old he was and if he was single.
‘Dad then pointed to me saying, “Well, this is my daughter and she is very single.” As the night went on, we all kept chatting until the two boys at the bar got up to leave and dad stopped them, saying: “Wait! You can’t leave! You haven’t exchanged numbers!”‘ Alice recalled.
Alice James, from Melbourne, met her now-fiancé Michael while drinking at the pub with her dad Darren. Last week, almost two years on, Michael popped the question
Darren rushed to the bar, grabbed the order pad and made the two write down each other’s digits.
‘The boy was so nervous that he actually handed his number to my dad instead of me – hilarious!’ Alice said.
The following morning Alice sent Michael a text saying, ‘Sorry about my dad,’ with a laughing emoji – and the rest was history.
Alice shared the cute way Michael proposed while walking their dog along the Yarra.
Alice’s ‘ultimate wingman’ dad was ‘very proud’ and shed a tear when he heard the news (pictured: Alice and her dad Darren on the fateful night at the pub)
Michael asked Alice’s parents if he could marry her a couple months ago and they have been keeping the secret ever since
‘He caught me very off guard – it is something we do regularly so it was really beautiful and very us,’ she recalled.
‘We stopped at a little secluded spot by the river and then he gave me a cuddle and told me how much he loved me – which he does quite a lot so I still had no idea!
‘It wasn’t until he dropped to one knee that I clicked what was happening. I burst into tears of happiness and dropped to my knees and gave him the biggest hug ever!’
Michael had asked Alice’s parents a few months ago if he could marry her, and they had been keeping the secret ever since.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Alice shared the cute way Michael proposed to her one evening while walking their dog along the Yarra
‘He caught me very off guard – it is something we do regularly so it was really beautiful and very us,’ she recalled
‘We had a big family lunch on at the footy afterwards so we waited until we were there and I walked in and surprised them all with my ring,’ she said.
The family rejoiced, tears were shed and Alice’s dad was ‘very proud’.
‘All our friends and family came and celebrated with us all night – we had a very fun (big) night!’ Alice said.
The two lovebirds are yet to make any wedding plans, but are using ‘every excuse to celebrate’. ‘We are on cloud nine but we are both so excited to start planning!’ Alice said
Hundreds of people on TikTok also congratulated the pair after she shared the news
After their engagement, the couple went for a celebratory drink at the pub where they met
‘The next night we went and had a celebratory drink at The Retreat in Abbotsford where we met. It was so lovely – imagine if dad never went up to him!’
The two lovebirds are yet to make any wedding plans, but are using ‘every excuse to celebrate’.
‘We are on cloud nine but we are both so excited to start planning!’ Alice said.
Alice announced their engagement by sharing an update with her 54,000 TikTok followers.
She recorded a video at the same pub the pair met and reenacted the scene that started their love story.