Ali Condon
A groom-to-be was left mortified when he dropped the £1,000 engagement ring he had bought for his partner into a lake during a marriage proposal gone wrong.
Ross Bamber, 26, had taken his girlfriend Geri Ashforth, 23, to a romantic trip to a lake retreat in Watton, Norfolk and was just getting down on one knee in front her when the ring in his hand fell through the decking and into the water below them.
Watch the moment here:
Advert
In a video of the awkward moment, recording with the intent to document the uber-romantic lakeside, candlelit proposal, Ross can be seen clasping his hands over his mouth as he realises what he's done.
Geri, standing before him with her hands over her eyes, can be heard asking him: "That wasn't what I thought it was, was it?"
Now able to see the funny side of it all, Ross and Geri decided to upload the video of the incident on TikTok where they've since gone viral, earning themselves over three million views.
Ross, from Costessey, Norfolk, said: "I literally couldn't believe it. I didn't even manage to get down on one knee. I took the ring out of my pocket and as I opened the box the ring fell out.
"The ring bounced a couple of times and then fell between the gaps of the decking."
Ross tried to rescue the situation by taking the promise ring that was already on Geri's engagement finger and using that to propose instead.
Later, the couple bought another ring together and returned to the lake the next night to do the proposal properly.
However, Ross is still hoping to retrieve the original engagement ring, which he bought for a whopping £999.
He said: "I've spoken to the owner of the lake and he's happy to help us find the ring. Geri was quite upset about the whole thing.
"She said to me when I dropped it 'Tell me that wasn't what I thought it was.'
"I was like 'Yes it was, I'm so sorry', and she said she didn't want to look or even open her eyes."
Ross and Geri, who are both mental health professionals, first met five years ago while working at the same care home.
The couple got together last February and a proposal has been on the cards ever since Ross gave Geri a promise ring ten months ago.
We're glad it all worked out in the end for the happy couple!