A “relieved and extremely happy” man has shared his remarkable proposal at a Stereophonics gig to his girlfriend four months in the making which all of her family had been in on. At the Phonics’ gig in the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday evening, Rhys Davies got down on one knee for now fiancé Amberley Ruck in front of all of her family during their favourite song ‘I Wanna Get Lost With You’.
But Amberley was still so unsuspecting that she had thought Rhys had dropped something and asked him what the matter was before her confusion turned into “complete shock”. Elsewhere in the stadium, Rhys had organised for Amberley’s mother and her two brothers to hold a banner up congratulating them, while Amberley's dad and his partner waved torches in the air.
Rhys' plan had almost come together in perfect fashion - but there was one slight hiccup. “I wanted to film the whole thing but I was so nervous I dropped my phone and ended up turning the video off,” he laughed.
READ MORE: Stereophonics and Tom Jones in Cardiff live updates as thousands hit the capital for second gig
“It was an incredible experience and I really just wanted to thank everyone involved and Stereophonics for helping to make it happen. That’s our song really if you know what I mean. We love them and we love the song, and I thought it was the perfect moment for me to do it. It’s a hugely special memory which will stay with us forever and we’ll all have that as a family.”
The couple met four years ago when they joined the travel insurance team at Admiral in Cardiff, and things went so well they now live together in Caerphilly near Amberley's family. Recalling more of the night of the proposal Rhys, 41, continued: “We were at the back of the stadium by the scoreboard right in the middle. Amberley’s mum was sat in the corner with Amberley’s brothers and their dad was sitting in the middle section with his partner.
“They were actually all in on it and they agreed it was the perfect time. The song and the band mean so much to us, the venue means so much to us because Amberley is an international rugby league player for Wales and she scored a try and conversion for her club side there in a final just a couple of months ago.
“Her father is a massive rugby fan too. The stadium holds a lot of very happy memories for us.” You can look through the best pictures from the night here.
Amberley, 27, said: “I really had no idea. Honestly it was perfect - the boy did good. I was completely shocked, and yet apparently everyone else knew!
“When he got down on one knee I genuinely thought he’d dropped something and then I saw the ring in his hand and I couldn’t believe it. That was followed by an: ‘Oh my God what are you doing?' And then a definite yes.
“I grew up listening to the Stereophonics in my dad’s car all the time and pretty much know all the words to every song. It was really special that it happened there.”
Rhys said he was surprised at how nervous he was and that he "couldn’t stop shaking for 15 minutes" even after the proposal. “I was okay until Stereophonics started preparing to come on and I just got really nervous.
“I knew when I got down on one knee she hadn’t realised what I was doing. Then I saw the sudden realisation dawned on her and she started crying.
“The people behind us of course saw what happened and started congratulating us and shaking our hands, and they kindly took our photo. I was so nervous at that point my hands just couldn't stop shaking for 15 minutes.
“I was pretty confident she’d say yes, but you can never be sure can you? I feel so relieved because she said yes and because it’s been months in the planning and it went so well. I’m very happy.”
As yet there are no immediate plans for the wedding. The happy couple is spending time celebrating with family, friends and colleagues. "It’s been great. We got a taxi back to Caerphilly and had some of her family back to stay here the night and we had a bottle of Champagne,” Rhys said.
Amberley added: “We’re going to mum’s now to have some food and a little celebration. We’re then back in the office on Monday so I’m sure there’ll be some celebrations, and then we’ll have to remember to get some work done.”
