Stacey Norman’s fairytale proposal that left us in tears

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January usually arrives with empty bank accounts, long emails and the emotional hangover of December. Romance? Not so much. For Stacey Norman, this year’s first month flipped the script completely, delivering a moment so magical it left colleagues, friends and listeners misty-eyed.
Even J Sbu couldn’t believe the timing. “Who has the audacity in January to go down on one knee?” he joked. Yet, while most of us are still recovering financially and emotionally, Stacey’s now fiancé, Dylan MacDonald, decided this was exactly the right moment to change their lives forever.
A date night with suspicious hints
It all started with what sounded like a simple plan: a fancy dinner to mark the end of the holidays before work kicked off again. However, there were hints. Nails. Hair. Dressing up properly. For someone who proudly calls herself the “Nancy Drew of KZN”, Stacey noticed everything.
“Men can lie, but they can’t keep a secret,” she laughed, explaining how Dylan and her best friend Filipe were both unusually invested in her grooming. Still, after years of heartbreak and what she openly calls “questionable choices”, Stacey chose not to overthink it.
The moment everything changed
Dinner was at the Oyster Box, the same place where their love story began on their very first date. Already emotional, Stacey returned from a quick break to find a singer performing “Endless Love”.
Her internal alarm bells went wild. Dylan’s calm response to her panic? “Do you trust me?”
Instead of heading to a familiar bar, they were guided through a hidden garden, past a pool Stacey didn’t even know existed. Then she saw it: a candlelit gazebo, rose petals underfoot and a moment that felt completely unreal.
Tears, nerves and the easiest yes
Both of them were crying when Dylan dropped to one knee, steady and certain. Whatever speech he had planned melted away, replaced by words that landed straight in Stacey’s heart. He asked her to marry him.
Her first response, perfectly Stacey? “What did you say?” She wanted to hear it again. And then she said yes.
Close friends were quietly watching, capturing a moment Stacey never thought would come. After years of waiting, doubting and healing, she finally got her forever.
12 Jan English South Africa Society & Culture · Personal Journals

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