Vanessa Bauer shares all about her magical engagement to James Rowe after flying out to Canada for filming and getting back from the Rockies with a rock of her personal
When skilled skater and Dancing On Ice darling Vanessa Bauer jetted off to Canada for a six-week stint of filming and coaching, she was ready for the icy climate however not for the enchanting second that will see her return to the UK with a glowing diamond ring adorning her finger.
That is exactly what unfolded when Vanessa’s soccer agent beau James Rowe proposed amidst the breathtaking Canadian Rockies on 2 December. The overjoyed couple shared their pleasant information solely with OK! just earlier than the festive season, revealing how James romantically received down on one knee at Vermilion Lakes in Banff.
“It was such a dream,” gushes Vanessa, 29. “I’ve wished to skate on the frozen lakes my complete life, so it was simply the proper place to get engaged.”
The proposal was significantly heartwarming because the pair have been handled to a spectacular, vibrant orange sundown whereas on the ice. “It was loopy, as a result of we went by a snowstorm as we drove there,” Vanessa recounts.
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“There was no trace it will be a pleasant night, however the skies simply opened as much as give us the one sundown of the whole six-week journey.”
Having misplaced her expensive father Marco in 2021 after a seven-year struggle with most cancers, Vanessa felt his spirit throughout that particular second. “It was like a blessing from nature, and there should have been one thing behind it. It made it much more treasured.”
Regardless of immediately saying sure to James’s proposal, she shared with us, “I felt he was so distant when he was on his knees. I simply wished to hug him, so I used to be like, ‘Sure, in fact I will marry you. Now come up right here and provides me a hug!'”.
Ex-professional footballer James, 34, confessed that the second was equally transferring for him. “I undoubtedly had tears in my eyes,” he revealed.
“I would not say I used to be relieved when she mentioned sure, as a result of I did not suppose there’d be a unique reply. However I used to be extraordinarily pleased. I used to be so nervous beforehand and was most likely over-singing within the automobile on the best way there, which could have given it away barely.”
Certainly, James put in months of effort to maintain the proposal beneath wraps. “We went to Lapland a yr in the past and I knew then that I wished to marry Vanessa,” he disclosed.
“I began planning it on the flight dwelling. After that, I needed to preserve deleting issues in regards to the engagement from my cellphone. I needed to preserve my tracks clear for a very long time.”
The ring he chosen for his future spouse was an outdated mine diamond cushion reduce set in a gold band. “I do not know the way he knew that is what I might need, however I used to be so impressed,” Vanessa gushed. “I am actually proud of it, and it match completely as nicely.”
The couple spent their engagement night on the luxurious Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise – one more component of the shock. “I had no concept,” Vanessa reveals.
“However to have only one night time on the most stunning lake within the world was one other dream. We additionally did an evening skate there, which was simply unbelievable.”
Having just lately mastered skating so he may accompany her on the ice, James was lastly in a position to showcase his newfound talents. “She has been the very best trainer and now I find it irresistible too,” he admits.
As soon as the engagement had really settled in, the pair rang their nearest and dearest to interrupt the thrilling information. “All people was delighted,” reveals James. “However all of them know the way a lot I really like Vanessa, so nobody was that stunned.”
The duo initially crossed paths in September 2024 when James reached out through social media. “He DMed me on Instagram – the basic,” she laughs.
Following an on the spot connection throughout their inaugural London date, the pair turned totally devoted to at least one one other. “We actually by no means left one another’s facet,” explains Vanessa. “There was by no means any query about whether or not we might see one another once more. I simply liked the best way James was so emotionally accessible and clever, and the actual fact he made me snicker on a regular basis.”
At the moment sharing a house in Hertfordshire, the couple are planning to change vows inside roughly twelve months. “We do not need our engagement to be a really lengthy one,” explains Vanessa. “However at this level in our careers it is about looking for a stability with the planning, and seeing what’s attainable.”
Whereas one may envision them tying the knot in a skate-themed ceremony amidst chilly climate, Vanessa has different concepts. “I might favor us to marry in a tropical nation,” she shares.
“I might wish to put on a costume the place you possibly can see my pores and skin and the place we cannot really feel freezing. Bali can be superb and half my household is from Indonesia, however as a result of we need to have as many family members and associates there as attainable, I am unsure whether or not that will work. However I believe it would be stunning to honour these roots and get married in a rustic that each James and I really like.”
Vanessa has already began attempting to find wedding ceremony concepts on social media, stating, “I do know I need a classical, elegant costume, and fewer is certainly extra for me.”
As for the visitor checklist, Vanessa hopes to see a lot of her Dancing On Ice mates there, together with judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. “I am nonetheless in contact with a number of them, and each single day somebody’s writing within the group chat.”
The tragic passing of her father 4 years in the past will undoubtedly go away a big hole within the wedding ceremony proceedings, and Vanessa admits she hasn’t but thought of who may escort her down the aisle.
“Perhaps I will do it myself. Or perhaps it will be my little brother,” she suggests. Nonetheless, she’s sure that Marco would have been overjoyed to see her settling down.
“He would have been so pleased, and he would have gotten on so nicely with James,” she displays. “Within the years earlier than my dad handed, he filmed skating content material for me and he would have liked being on the lakes having these adventures with me.”
Together with his reminiscence persevering with to inspire her every day, she continues, “Since shedding him, I have been decided to maintain dwelling life to its fullest, and to get on the market and discover the outside and do loopy issues. As a result of clearly he cannot do this any extra.”
Again dwelling, Vanessa and James are dedicated to sustaining a nutritious diet and infrequently contact alcohol, while their excellent night collectively is slightly unconventional.
“It most likely sounds loopy, however we might hit the fitness center, come dwelling to prepare dinner and put a movie on,” says James. “And our plates can be 90% greens.”
They’re hoping to welcome little ones within the close to future, although as Vanessa explains, “We’re not placing any stress on ourselves for that. We undoubtedly do need youngsters collectively, nevertheless it’s only a matter of when shall be a smart time to do it.”
Earlier than that milestone, each are thrilled that this could be the yr they tie the knot. “It should imply a lot to me to marry the love of my life,” James says. “Vanessa is an unbelievable particular person and he or she makes me so proud. On daily basis I am together with her, she simply makes me a greater particular person.”
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