Shona McGarty announced her engagement to partner David Bracken after he got down on one knee in London’s Holland Park.
The EastEnders actress, who played legend Whitney Dean on the soap for more than 16 years, admitted she had “no idea” David, who plays in an Irish band called Blessed, was going to pop the question.
The couple, who met last year, enjoyed a romantic picnic that was almost ruined when the police showed up.
Talking with OK!, David explained how the police came to ‘close the park’ and he had to ask them to give him ‘five minutes because he was going to propose’.
He said: “I went to see the police, who said, ‘Sorry, we’re closing the park. ’ I said, ‘Would you mind giving me five minutes, as I’m about to propose to my partner? ’ He looked at his watch and said, ‘Absolutely, and good luck,’” says David.
Shona McGarty has announced she is engaged to partner David Bracken after he got down on one knee in London’s Holland Park.
The EastEnders actress, who played Whitney Dean in the soap for more than 16 years, admitted she had “no idea” David, who plays in an Irish band called Blessed, was going to pop the question.
“I told Shona to go to the waterfall in the park. I put on our favourite song and danced to it before getting down on one knee.”
David had chosen a quiet corner of the park called Kyoto Garden, a place that means a lot to Shona.
She added: “I love Japanese culture and spirituality. He brought me a picnic which was really sweet. It was lovely, I felt right at home, but I didn’t think he was going to propose.”
The pair met a year ago after David, who had no idea Shona starred in EastEnders, messaged her on TikTok to see if she would like to duet on a song after watching one of her videos.
Shone gushed that she knew David was “the one” as the relationship felt “different” to previous ones.
The couple also revealed to the publication that they have already started “looking at color schemes” and locations for their weddings.
Shona said they plan to get married next year and are thinking of doing so at Christmas. She added that the nuptials will likely take place in Ireland as they both have a lot of family there.
Giving a sneak peek at the A-list guest list for their wedding, Shone revealed that the majority of the EastEnders cast will be invited as they are “a big part of the couple’s journey”.
The couple, who met last year, enjoyed a romantic picnic that was almost ruined when the police showed up.
Speaking to OK!, David explained how the police arrived to “close down the park” and he had to ask them to give him “five minutes because he was going to propose.”
The couple also revealed to the publication that they have already started “looking at color schemes” and locations for their weddings.
Shona ‘softly launched’ her relationship with the Irish musician in September when… She shared a black and white photo of their hands intertwined, with David showing off his distinctive tattoo.
The actress wrote: ‘I promise,’ along with a romantic John Lennon quote in the caption, which read: ‘Love is a promise, love is a memory, once given, never forgotten, never let go.’
Two days earlier, David had shared the same photo and wrote: “A promise is a promise. It will never be broken. #happy #happyplace.”
In October 2022, it was reported that Shona and her ex-boyfriend Max Bowden had split following a six-month romance, after he welcomed a baby with his ex Roisin Buckle.
Roisin discovered she was pregnant in early 2022, but the couple decided to split in March, although they agreed to co-parent once their child was born.
Max, who plays Ben Mitchell in EastEnders, and Shona’s former romance came to light in May 2022 after sources claimed the pair were “inseparable”.
They made their relationship official on Instagram in August 2022, but six months later a source told her Sun:There’s been a lot going on in Max’s life and things were getting too complicated with Shona involved.
‘Max will always have a lot of love and respect for Shona, but it just isn’t the right time.’
A close friend of the couple also added: “Max and Shona have never spoken about it publicly, but as their close circle would know, they were never in an official relationship and remain close friends who decided not to pursue anything romantic several months ago.”