Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has opened up about the moment she became engaged to her boyfriend Tom Crane, revealing the DJ proposed on a beach in the Maldives as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve (31Dec10).
The British singer has been dating Crane for five years and in January (11) they confirmed their plans to wed.
Harding has now spoken for the first time about the romantic proposal, admitting she had no idea her partner was planning to pop the question.
Crane reveals he bought a ring locally and asked for Harding's hand in marriage while they sat on the beach just before they rang in 2011 together.
He tells Britain's Hello! magazine, "We sat on the beach on our own... dipping our toes in the water as the ocean lapped the shore. The New Year's celebrations were gearing up and Sarah was chattering away, so much so that I had to say to her... 'Will you just be quiet and listen to me, there's something I really want to ask you.'... I pulled the ring out of my pocket... got down on one knee and asked her to marry me."
Harding adds, "I wasn't expecting it at all, and although Tom stumbled over his words a little, I loved that because it was really sweet and heartfelt. He hadn't rehearsed some big speech - he was saying how he really felt."
The star is already planning her big day, and although her Girls Aloud bandmates will be invited, Harding has decided not to ask them to be bridesmaids: "I don't think the girls would really want that now, and I already have six bridesmaids. Another four would be pushing it... I honestly don't think they'd thank me if I asked them to do it."