Deeply in love! Aquarium manager proposes to his girlfriend 11m underwater with a ring tied to a clam shell during a romantic getaway to Christmas Island
- The Perth couple got engaged in the Indian Ocean just off Christmas Island
- Mattia Matarrese surprised his partner Fiona with a ring on the ocean floor
- He used a laminated piece of paper to ask ‘will you be my dive buddy forever?’
- The quirky proposal happened on the first day of their scuba diving holiday
An ocean-loving scuba diver went to great depths to propose to his girlfriend during a romantic island getaway.
Mattia Matarrese, 30, popped the question to Fiona Ngo, 27, while 33ft underwater on the first day of their Christmas Island holiday last month.
In video footage of the quirky proposal, Mr Matarrese handed her a laminated note asking if she wanted ‘to be his dive buddy forever’.
Mattia and Fiona (pictured) bonded over their love for adventure, exploration and scuba diving after they first met in 2017, making the sea floor a perfect engagement location
Fiona excitedly nods as Mattia pulls a ring out of a small black pouch and slides it onto her finger.
The couple managed to embrace despite their heavy scuba gear, with Fiona throwing her hands in the air with joy.
Self-confessed ‘hopeless romantic’ Mr Matarrese and his bride-to-be fell in love over a shared passion for the ocean.
Mr Matarrese, who manages a large aquarium in Perth, said he chose the underwater theme to pay homage to how the pair first met in 2017.
Mattia and Fiona bonded over their love for adventure, exploration and scuba diving, making the sea floor a perfect engagement location.
In video footage of the quirky engagement, Mattia is seen handing his loved one a laminated note asking if she wanted ‘to be his dive buddy forever’
Fiona is seen excitedly nodding as Mattia pulls a ring out of a small black pouch and slides it onto her finger
‘We both have a huge passion for diving, it’s one of the reasons we became interested in each other in the beginning’, he explained.
‘The first time we said ‘I love you’ to each other was underwater on a dive, we wrote it on a slate. So it felt prefect for the proposal too.’
Mattia said he tied the engagement ring to a clam shell to make sure it didn’t float away, and said his fiancée was shocked by the sweet proposal.
‘Fiona had no idea this was coming. We just decided to go to Christmas Island for a holiday and have some fun diving,’ he said.
‘She was so happy, she was screaming ‘woohoo’ and was just elated.’
The happy bride-to-be said she was touched by the time and effort Mr Matarrese put into popping the big question.
‘I was trying to focus on my breathing and trying to stay down on the sand, instead of floating up,’ she said.
Mattia said he tied the engagement ring to a special clam shell to make sure it didn’t float away, and said Fiona was shocked by the sweet proposal
‘It was hard to say ‘yes’ underwater, and giving the thumbs up means you want to go up to the surface. So my yes to the question was an OK symbol.’
Ms Ngo said the couple’s engagement story reflects on who they are as a couple – ‘unique, fun and crazy’.
‘I still can’t believe that he managed to hide this surprise from me and how much planning he had put into it to make it a memory of a lifetime,’ she said.
The couple plan to tie the knot next February and told Daily Mail Australia the wedding would pay tribute to their underwater engagement, with the reception and ceremony to be held on the beach.