Aussie Olympian Stephanie Rice and Mark Lassey are engaged
After becoming engaged to pastor and father-of-three Mark Lassey, the Olympian has reacted to fans and expressed her excitement and gratitude.
Relationships
Don't miss out on the headlines from Relationships. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Stephanie Rice is over the moon after becoming engaged to pastor and father-of-three Mark Lassey and she wants the world to know it.
The Aussie swimming legend, who announced the news on social media a few days ago, was giddy as posted a follow-up video to Instagram.
“Just on my first walk to the gym as a fiancé!” she exclaimed, laughing. “Oh my gosh. You guys, I am never going to stop saying it - until I’m married of course.
“I feel like I have waited 35 years to be a fiancé. I can’t even say it with a straight face. I’m like - fiancé.”
She thanked all her fans and followers for “all of the beautiful messages”, saying that she will respond to them on the trip back to Australia and that she has been spending her time with Mark in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“I’m flying to Australia tonight so I’ll have plenty of time to respond to everyone on the 14-hour flight but just wanted to say thank you so much,” she said, blowing a kiss.
Rice, who moved to Dubai last year, shared the news of her engagement with fans.
“Here’s to fresh starts and second chances … Yes to a lifetime with you,” she wrote.
Lassey proposed to the Aussie Olympic gold medallist at Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, the luxury hotel she tagged in the post.
In the photos, the pair are all smiles as they kiss and embrace at the luxury hotel.
The hotel famously launched by a performance by Beyonce and is literally a playground for the world’s rich and famous.
The likes of Sonia Kruger, Rebel Wilson, Jules Sebastian, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Scott Cam and Olympia Valance attended the hotel launch in January 2023.
Among the selection of images from the intimate moment, there were also photos of the diamond sparkler resting on Rice’s hand.
Rice’s ring was made by Perth jeweller Charles Edward Jewellers, with the three-time Olympic gold medallist also tagging the business on her Instagram story.
The pair debuted their relationship on social media in July, after five months of keeping their long-distance love secret.
“From the start, there was a deep intentionally between us, and because of the complexities of our lives we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of falling in love,” she wrote on Instagram.
Rice went on to say she was introduced to Lassey via a mutual friend.
“But as God would have it, that first phone conversation made us feel like this was exactly where we were both meant to end up,” she said.
“Living halfway across the world from each other in different time zones has had its challenges (thank god for Zoom) but God has been so good and so present in every step of our journey, which gives us an unwavering faith that our future will be even more extraordinary through Him.”
Rice is heavily involved in Kingdomcity in Dubai, and Lassey is a pastor with the organisation in Perth.
Amid the champion swimmer’s move to Dubai where she bought a one-way ticket to start a new life, she revealed how turning to God “helped her feel so supported in my new home.”
She shared a photo to Instagram of herself and other members of the Kingdom City church gathering for prayer.
“I honestly never thought I would be this person turning up on prayer nights, on my own, in a new country, connecting with a community through a church,” she wrote.
“But here I am and gosh it is so special and has helped me feel so supported in this new home in Dubai.”
Australia’s top singles suburbs revealed
Are you a single lady looking for love? Or a fellow ready to grow up from the bachelor life? Here’s where you need to go to be hit with Cupid’s arrow.
Aussies warned of Valentine’s Day scams
Aussies looking for love are being warned to stay vigilant this Valentine’s Day after one state lost $8.9m to “romance scams”.