Love has truly been in the air over the past few weeks, with a host of cute proposals appearing on our Instagram feeds.
Irish influencers Sophie Murray, Aideen Kate, Miriam Mullins and Holly Carpenter all announced their engagements within days of each other, showing off their sparkly diamond rings.
So before they start planning their nuptials, we’ve delved into the love stories behind these three couples, and how they all met their husbands-to-be.
Take a look:
Miriam Mullins and Tiaan Heyns
Miriam Mullins announced her engagement to her long-term beau Tiaan Heyns on April 17th.
The Cork native shared the exciting news on Instagram, posting a video of the moment Tiaan proposed in his native Cape Town in South Africa.
She captioned the post: “YES YES YES !!! We have a wedding to plan 💍💝 The biggest shock I thought I was filming a couples OOTD 🤣🤣.”
The couple have been together for over four years, after meeting while she was living in Florida, and went “Instagram official” in January 2020.
The Cork social media star shared a video back in 2020, explaining how they had been doing long distance for eight months.
She explained that after meeting in Florida, Covid-19 hit and they both had to return to their homes on opposite sides of the world.
For months, they had dates over Facetime and tried to see each other many times, but flights were cancelled due to different lockdowns.
@miriammullins_ We are reunited 😭 #longdistancerelationship #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral #irish #reunited #longdistance
Eventually, the pair reunited and are now living in Cork together with their adorable dog Lucy.
During a previous interview with Goss.ie, Miriam revealed she was the one who made the first move.
“When I moved over to Florida, he was training me. I had a massive crush on him, and asked him out. I’m the one who made the first move,” she told us.
“We keep saying we need to go back to Florida since that’s where we first met and we haven’t been back there since.”
Sophie Murray and Sam Donovan
Sophie Murray announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend Sam Donovan on April 20th.
The Dubliner announced the happy news by posting a video of the moment Sam proposed in Australia.
Sophie captioned the sweet post: “It’s a yes in every lifetime 🥹❤️🫶🏼.”
Sophie and Sam met at the popular music festival Electric Picnic – which takes place in Stradbally, Co. Laois – back in 2018.
Since then, the lovebirds have gone back to the festival every year to celebrate their anniversary.
Sophie previously opened up about meeting Sam in a ‘Get Ready With Me’ video posted on TikTok last year.
The Dubliner said at the time: “Myself and Sam bae met at Electric Picnic, well officially met, we knew each other for years [before]… Now we’re back for our four-year anniversary in the romantic fields of Stradbally.”
“So I’ll tell you about me and Sam meeting,” she continued, before explaining how her gal pals played a helping hand in their love story.
Sophie said: “Myself and Sam had known each other for years but we bumped into each other four years ago at Electric Picnic, so obviously this weekend’s four years ago which is our anniversary…”
“And I just thought he was so gorge, and I was like ‘girls, we need to find Sam, I want to find Sam’… and I found Sam, and the rest is history!”
The couple then joked that they were going to get married at the festival’s blow-up chapel, and said TikTok star Lauren Whelan wanted to be a bridesmaid for the ceremony.
Aideen Kate and Dave Kelly
Makeup artist Aideen Kate announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend Dave Kelly on April 21st.
The True Beauty founder took to Instagram to share the big news with her followers.
She captioned the sweet video: “20.04.24…we’re engaged!”
Dave proposed while they were walking on the beach, with a gorgeous sunrise behind them.
The couple have been together for over a decade, and last October they took a major step in their relationship when they moved into their own apartment together.
Aideen and Dave, who grew up in the same area in Dublin, started dating when she was 18 and he was 22, and have been together ever since.
The couple had plans to emigrate to Australia together before the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, after their plans were interrupted, Aideen launched her own beauty brand True Beauty, and the pair now plan to stay in Ireland for the foreseeable future.
At the time, the couple were living in Aideen’s family home.
Holly Carpenter and Jamie Hunt
Holly Carpenter announced her engagement to her long-term love Jamie Hunt on 12th May.
The former Miss Ireland started dating the salesman in 2020, and they now live together in Dublin’s Stoneybatter with her beloved rescue dog Max.
Sharing the happy news on Instagram, the 32-year-old wrote:10/05/24 💍 Here’s to forever 🥂💖”
Speaking to Goss.ie in a previous interview, Holly revealed how she first met Jamie, Holly said: “We have a lot of mutual friends, so we would’ve seen each other out and about. We also matched online years ago! My friend Rob was always saying to me, ‘You and Jamie would get along so well.’ But we never really bumped into each other properly.”
“And then when I saw him online, we matched and I respected that he was really quick to be like, ‘Right, are you around this weekend? Let’s just go for a drink.’ Because I don’t really like talking on the phone for too long, I don’t really see the point.”
“Then we went on our first date, and we just laughed the whole time. We got along so well, and because we knew similar people we had loads of stories and loads to talk about. We couldn’t believe how much we had in common.”
As for the secret to their happy relationship, Holly revealed: “I think it’s about being really honest about your feelings. Before Jamie, I would’ve always tried to act so laid back and would never say exactly what was on my mind. But from the get-go with Jamie, I would tell him exactly how I felt about things.”
“From the start, we were both just really really honest with each other and now even if I try pretend I’m ok and I’m not, he can see straight through it. I can’t lie to him!”
“We just have that respect for each other, and it’s a mutual thing. I think we both make an equal amount of sacrifices for each other, so it’s not like one person wears the trousers, we’re very much equal.”
“That really works out well because there’s not one person who feels like they’re standing on eggshells or anything. I never feel like, ‘Oh god how am I going to talk to Jamie about that?’”
She continued: “I also don’t have to keep up appearances with him. We still get dressed up and go on dates and stuff, but if I am not wearing makeup or feel rundown, it doesn’t change how we treat each other. I don’t feel like I have to be perfect around him. It’s nice.”
“For me growing up, my parents were always laughing and doing things together, and I always wanted that real friendship in a relationship. We genuinely still get excited to see each other.”
“It came out of nowhere. I think when you’re single, it’s easy to slip into a negative mindset and be like, ‘Oh Jesus I’m never going to meet someone.’ But sometimes, it does just come out of nowhere. So if you are someone in their late 20s or 30s and you’re panicking a bit, you never really know what’s around the corner.”
