Riz Ahmed reveals he proposed to wife Fatima Farheen Mirza with SCRABBLE tiles

Riz Ahmed has shed light on the moment he proposed to wife Fatima Farheen Mirza while they enjoyed a romantic picnic in lockdown.

The actor, 38, who revealed in January he’d tied to the knot with the novellist, admitted he actually popped the question during a game of Scrabble, stealing all the right tiles to spell out the romantic phrase.

Riz, who met Fatima while he was preparing for his Oscar-nominated role in Sound of Metal, previously revealed that they exchanged vows in a ‘super intimate’ ceremony with only a few guests present.

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Riz revealed he first proposed to Fatima while they were enjoying a picnic during the coronavirus lockdown.

He said: ‘We went out to the park, one of the few things we could do at that point in lockdown, and we kind of had a little picnic and you know, I popped the question,’ 

‘And she looked up and was like, ”You’re joking.” 

‘Maybe the way I proposed didn’t help because she’s a novelist, she’s amazing with words.’ 

Riz then continued: ‘She loves a bit of Scrabble. So we were actually playing Scrabble and I did that corny thing where I stole all the correct letters up and spelled out ”Will you marry me?” 

The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor is set to join a slew of stars competing at the 2021 Academy Awards, after landing a Best Actor nomination for his performance as a deaf drummer in Sound of Metal.

Riz first revealed he’d married novelist Fatima while starring as a guest on Louis Theroux’s Grounded podcast, and later revealed they wed in a ‘super intimate’ ceremony with only a few guests present. 

Riz said he tied the knot ‘not very long ago’ after being quizzed by the host about his marital status when he mentioned his ‘wife’s family’ in January.

Riz, who was born in Wembley, was explaining he chose to stay in California after filming at the end of last year because his ‘wife’s family’ is from the Bay Area. 

Louis asked Riz if he was married as he stated he didn’t know the Venom star wasn’t single.

The actor replied: ‘I think it’s the first time I’ve mentioned it in an interview so congratulations on that incredibly exciting scoop.

‘I don’t really feel it’s generally that relevant [his private life], so I don’t delve into my personal life or dating history.’  

Riz said the ‘main reason’ he announced he is married is that he has been talking about his private life more recently. 

He said by speaking out more he hopes it will encourage others to take the pandemic seriously. 

He went onto reveal he and Fatima exchanged vows in a simple ceremony with only a few guests present due to COVID-19 restrictions.

He said: ‘Obviously, kept it super intimate, and socially distanced. There was just like, hardly anyone there really.

‘We did it in a backyard, which is nice in lots of ways. I think the nicest thing about it was you didn’t have 500 aunties hanging around you, pinching your cheeks.’

The Four Lions star joked: ‘No disrespect to the aunties, but Asian weddings are big.

‘You always got these people crawling out the woodworks, who I think are kind of probably impostors. They just smell the kebabs on the street and just wander in.’

Riz went onto reveal more about his wife while appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, explaining they met in 2019 while he was preparing to play a deaf drummer in Sound Of Metal.

He said: ‘She’s an amazing novelist. We met so randomly while I was preparing for this role, for Sound Of Metal when I was in New York.

‘We both sat down at the same table in the cafe where we both turned up to write. We were both jostling over the same laptop plug points, like a very modern way of meeting.

‘And we struck up a friendship and reconnected down the line. But it’s weirdly like one of the many things about preparing for this role that was so special, it just brought a lot of goodness into my life.

‘Obviously I met Fatima for the first time and met so many people in the deaf community that have become friends.

‘There’s just something about this whole period around this film that was kind of life changing.’ 

Last year, Riz sadly announced he had lost two close family members to coronavirus.  

He told Louis: ‘I felt like talking about it and saying, ‘Hey, look, this is a real thing. It’s affected me and my family’.’ 

Riz did add however he didn’t think it was ‘necessary’ to share with fans all aspects of his life as he continued: ‘If I was quite a private person, I wouldn’t be doing a podcast with you being like, ‘Hey, check out these films’, ‘I’m on Twitter.’ I guess it’s just about having boundaries.’ 

The Night Of star, who was born in London to a British Pakistani family, spoke about his heartache after losing two family members in an interview with GQ Hype last year.

He said:  ‘I have lost two family members to Covid. I just want to believe their deaths and all the others aren’t for nothing. We gotta step up to re-imagine a better future.’

He previously revealed that his uncle Shakeel had died on the weekend of April 4, describing him as a ‘legend in his community who will be missed by so many’. 

As an actor, Riz has won a Primetime Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards. 

In 2016, he appeared in the action film Jason Bourne, and played Bodhi Rook in the Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One.

He also starred as a young man accused of murder in the HBO miniseries The Night Of, earning critical acclaim. 

For his guest role in Girls; he won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the former, becoming the first Asian male to win an acting Emmy, and the first Muslim and first Asian to win a lead acting Emmy.