A man came up with a “crazy idea” while listening to the radio at work.
Sean Bates, a 41 year-old from Leasowe, has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Stacey Villiers for just under two years. He knew that Stacey and her friends had tickets for The Kiss Haunted House Party, at the M&S Bank Arena, which took place last Saturday, on October 28.
A number of artists including Becky Hill, Rudimental, Zara Larsson and Jax Jones were on the bill for the Halloween event. A few months ago, Sean heard a call on the radio while working as a lorry driver which was offering listeners the chance to win tickets for the event, and from there came up with a plan.
READ MORE: UK bank says it will give people £205 and you don't even need to switch
READ MORE: Win a Tassimo My Way Machine worth £140 and enjoy your coffee shop favourite drinks at home
Speaking to the ECHO, Sean said: “I had this crazy idea. Wouldn't it be amazing if I could get there and propose to her on the stage?”
Sean quickly contacted Leanne Campbell, a presenter on Radio City who was due to host the concert. He said: “I message into the show now and then.
“I messaged her saying, ‘I've got this crazy idea, can you help me?’ She said, ‘Leave it with me, it sounds amazing.’”
Sean was moved to ask Stacey to marry him following a tumultuous few years. He said: “We’ve been together for just under two years. I went through a bad time.
“I lost my parents and became unemployed. I wouldn't have been able to get through it without her, she was a rock.
“It made me realise not to waste any time of your life. I didn't want to waste any time.”
However, Sean carrying out a proposal this way was still risky. He said: “The thing is, with Stacey, she’s not great with big crowds.
“I think, in the week beforehand, a little wheel came up with clips of different proposals. I sent her some, and one of them was in a football stadium. She said, ‘I'd hate that, there’s too many people there.’”
Nevertheless, Sean continued to plan for the proposal and was very confident Stacey would say yes. Leanne and a representative from Kiss reassured him that they could get Stacey on stage by telling her she had won a competition prize and had to go up to collect it. Meanwhile, Sean would be waiting backstage ready to propose.
Stacey’s friends who were at the concert were kept in the dark too, with Sean only revealing his plan to a close friend and Stacey’s parents. He was not worried at all about the proposal until he took his place backstage.
He said: “Coming up to the proposal, I wasn't feeling too bad. As soon as they got me backstage and saw all the crowd, it kind of hit me. That’s when the nerves really sunk in.
“It was really nerve wracking. I've never done anything on that scale.
“When I was backstage, I said to Leanne, ‘She’s not great with big crowds’. Leanne said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll tell her she’ll only be on stage for a couple of seconds.’”
Hosts Leanne and Scott Hughes from Radio City then introduced the couple between performances before Sean began to ask the question and the audience cheered.
He said to Stacey: "You've changed my life, we've been through some of the best times ever and you've stuck with me through some of the toughest times of my life. That has taught me to appreciate it and not waste any moment in time.
"So in front of thousands of people, I want to know, would you make me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me?"
He then got down on one knee. When she said yes, pyrotechnics shot up from the front of the stage and the audience's cheers intensified.
Describing the moment, Sean said: “The crowd started to erupt. It was amazing.”
Despite Stacey’s apparent reluctance, Sean says she is delighted with how things turned out. He said: “Afterwards, she said, I can’t thank you enough, what you did was amazing. I wasn’t expecting it, but what you did was a lovely gesture.”
Another advantage is that Sean now has a permanent record of the special moment thanks to footage taken inside the arena. He said: “I put a post up on my Instagram. Every time I play it, it makes me smile.
“It makes me feel like I’m reliving that experience. For the first few days, it hadn’t sunk in. Even now, when I commenting on it, it’s just so exciting.”
Sean and Stacey are now planning to move in together next year, followed by a wedding abroad the year after.
Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here
Win a lavish 5-night winter sun escape to Turkey with Cook’s Club Alanya hotel –