Ferne McCann has announced her engagement to boyfriend Lorri Hanes, just seven months after going public with the property developer.
The former TOWIE star, 31, shared the news with Instagram followers on Saturday afternoon, alongside a first look at her sparkling engagement ring.
Captioning a photo of herself and her new fiance locked in an embraced, she wrote: ‘So happily ever afters do exist. I cannot wait to do forever with you baby.’
Sharing a similar picture with his own followers, a delighted Lorri, also 31, added: ‘She said yesssss.’
Happily ever after: Ferne McCann has announced her engagement to boyfriend Lorri Hanes, just seven months after going public with the property developer
The TV personality confirmed her romance with the businessman in January, shortly after the collapse of her six-month relationship with DJ and marketing manager Jack Padgett.
Speaking to the Sam & Billie podcast in May, Ferne admitted he had already changed the family dynamic of her ITVBe show, First Time Mum, and looked forward to viewers seeing her happy.
But she admitted that it was difficult introducing her daughter, Sunday, four, to Lorri as they also navigated having the cameras around.
Over the moon: A delighted a similar picture with his own followers after asking for her hand in marriage
She said yes: Lorri broke the news with his own followers at the same time as Ferne
She said: ‘Filming this series was a completely new experience for me. It was the first time I filmed with a partner in a relationship and that was a completely different dynamic.
‘Going from being a single parent and Sunday having to manage that, I think people are going to love that about this series, seeing the dynamic between our family.
‘It is hard, it’s not straight forward introducing your child to your new partner and you want it to go right, then obviously there’s cameras following you around.’
Whirlwind romance: The TV personality confirmed her romance with businessman Lorri in January
Cute! Ferne, admitted that it was difficult introducing her daughter, Sunday, four, to Lorri (pictured in April) as they also navigated having the cameras around while she filmed her reality show, First Time Mum
Ferne revealed that Lorri was a natural when it came to filming her reality TV show and has been a ‘great addition.’
She continued: ‘It’s daunting and it’s alien and it can be quite awkward because when you first start filming with someone, you almost filter yourself and edit yourself to say what you think they want.
‘But for some people it comes to them quite naturally and Lorri has really taken it in his stride.’
She added: ‘He’s been such a great addition, I’m really excited for this new series because I can’t wait for the viewers to see me happy.’
Well done: Celebrity pals lined up to congratulate the couple after they announced their engagement on Saturday afternoon
She also hinted at marriage after admitting he was the first boyfriend she saw as a long term commitment.
She told OK! ‘[Marriage and kids] is definitely something we talk about all the time. Lorri’s the first person I can see having a future with, so those things often come up.
‘And with one of my best friends Danielle [Armstrong] getting married this year – it’s happening all around us. It’s not just a dream – I feel like it is going to happen.’
Upset: Ferne was left blindsided when a video of her boyfriend, 31, allegedly taking drugs was shared online whilst they were filming her ITVBe programme
Family getaway: Ferne was holidaying in the Maldives with Lorri and her daughter Sunday, four, when the video of him allegedly taking drugs when the video surfaced
However the former TOWIE star was left blindsided when a video of her boyfriend allegedly taking drugs was shared online whilst they were filming the ITVBe programme in the Maldives with her daughter Sunday
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, she has now confessed using her series as a platform to document the incident was ‘tough’ yet essential to her healing process.
Viewers watched in shock as the businessman expressed his guilt and said he felt like a ‘burden’ through tears.
Romantic: In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, she has now confessed using the series as a platform to document the incident was ‘tough’ yet essential to her healing process
Having put the episode behind them, she said: ‘I’m a very open book and I’m an honest person. I wear my heart on my sleeve with everything from relationships to what happens in my life to parenting.
‘I just feel that when something happens in my life and it’s out there in the press, just to be open about it and talk about it and use the show as a platform to do that was… sometimes it’s not easy but sometimes it felt therapeutic.
‘But it was really tough when Lorri’s past ended up in the press and managing and dealing with that whilst filming a TV show.’
Exes: Ferne has famously had a rocky love life, most recently splitting from Jake Padgett (pictured together) last year after they spent the second lockdown together
Tough times: Before Jack, she was in a relationship with jailed acid attacker Arthur Collins, with whom she shares her daughter Sunday, four
Speaking candidly, she vowed not to judge her man on his ‘colourful’ past, adding that she will only take people ‘at face value in the present moment’.
Ferne continued: ‘Lorri has done so much work and I know the man that he is today, moving forward, and I know the kind of person he is.
‘I just can’t judge the past videos and the person in those videos, I can only judge the person I know today.’
Doting: Last year, the star confessed she previously ‘struggled to come to terms’ with being a single parent (pictured with Sunday)
The former I’m A Celeb campmate, who has made it no secret that she wants to marry Lorri, declared him ‘The One’ and said she ‘wants a ring on the finger soon’.
She said: ‘It’s not subtle at all, I would love to get engaged before my 32nd birthday but I’ve got to give him the chance. We’ve only been together for… we’re nearly coming up to the five month mark.
‘Hopefully there will be a ring on the finger soon.’
Ferne has famously had a rocky love life, most recently splitting from DJ Jake Padgett last year after they spent the second lockdown together.
After the split the TV personality revealed she still wanted to find her happily ever after bur falls for men too easily.
Ferne told The Sun: ‘I am such a sucker for love – I love love so much, and of course I want to find my happy ever after.’
The blonde bombshell only had positive things to say about Jack, 27, describing the breakup as ‘mature’.
‘I’ve learned so much from this relationship and from Jack, and we had some beautiful times,’ she said.
Ferne and Jack moved in together amid the winter lockdown shortly after they began dating, and admitted that taking the next step in their relationship was its downfall.
‘But in the end, it also accelerated our breakup, because coming out of lockdown and the world opening back up meant suddenly our lives were very different and we were like passing ships,’ she explained.
Before that she was in a relationship with jailed acid attacker Arthur Collins, whom she shares her daughter Sunday, four, with.
Arthur is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, after carrying out an acid attack at a London nightclub in 2017 which saw sixteen people suffer chemical burn injuries and three people left temporarily blinded.
Last year, the former TOWIE star confessed she previously ‘struggled to come to terms’ with being a single parent as she reflected on the challenges she has faced raising a child on her own.
Ferne said: ‘I guess I was one of those people that might have had a misconception about single parenting, because I didn’t want to be called a single parent when I was pregnant.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk