“Below Deck Mediterranean” star Captain Sandy Yawn and her partner, Leah Shafer, are taking their relationship to the next level.
Yawn, 58, revealed to E! News Monday that she popped the question last weekend after five years of dating.
“I have been thinking about marrying Leah for years,” the Bravo star told the outlet. “I knew from the minute I met her, but the timing had to be right. I wanted to make sure we could truly do life together first.”
Yawn said she knew that Shafer, 49, wanted a “fairytale” proposal, so she made sure to pull out all the stops.
“To me, Leah represents elegance,” she explained. “I planned a boat ride to a beautiful cove. I had it decorated with flowers with a path to a small table accompanied by three violinists where we could sit and have a small date.”
When it finally came time to get down on one knee, Yawn said she couldn’t contain her excitement — and nerves.
“The look on her face was priceless and my heart exploded!” the super-yacht captain told the outlet. “It was filled beyond capacity of anything I could ever imagine.”
“Somehow I feel closer than I did before, and I can’t explain it. There is an energy that I have never experienced in my life. I love her beyond; as Leah says Yawn beyond.”
The pair started dating in 2018 after Shafer slid into the reality TV star’s Facebook messages.
“She sent me a nice message that said, ‘I came across your show, congratulations, many blessings,’” Yawn told Cheat Sheet in 2019.
Yawn and Shafer, who is a gospel singer, quickly bonded over their shared faith and love of music.
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“It was like a spiritual connection in the beginning,” Shafer told the outlet. “She has a passion for inspiring through music and the youth. And broken people and so do I coming from the gospel industry.”
She continued, “That’s what brought us together. And then, of course, the attraction and falling in love with a beautiful soul and knowing you want to be with someone forever. I’ve never felt that way before.”
Shafer, who has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship, agreed that their love story was “unexpected” but noted that “when you meet another soul that you connect with at such a deep level, it is unexplainable and so beautiful.”
Since first opening up about their romance, the pair have shared snippets of their life together on social media and even started their own podcast, titled “Captain Sandy and Leah Rae Show,” in October 2022.
Although the pair are in a long-distance relationship due to the yacht captain’s hectic filming schedule, they will have a place to call home soon.
Earlier this year, Yawn revealed that she and Shafer were building their dream “Spanish style” home near Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida which should be move-in ready in 2024.
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