Bachelor couple announce their engagement

EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston from The Bachelor Australia have announced they are engaged to be married after surprise proposal in Italy.

They fell in love on reality TV, but Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston took their romance to the next level in private. And now, the one-time Bachelor Australia stars can reveal – exclusively in the pages of Stellar – that during a recent holiday in Italy, they became engaged. Along with a special photo shoot, the couple talk about how they came to realise their onscreen connection “could actually work in the real world”, the disguise Nicholson wore when he picked up the ring, and the sweet nod to the show on which they met that was part of the proposal... Yep, there were date cards

“To prove to you that I’m not entirely useless, I’m taking the reins today and have planned us

a day of activities.”

The best day of Holly Kingston’s life started with this note from her beau, The Bachelor Australia’s Jimmy Nicholson, and a full day of romantic gestures followed before tears flowed as he proposed.

Four clues, handwritten with a black Texta marker on Bachelor-style date cards, led Kingston to the balcony at Hotel Lorelei Londres in Sorrento, Italy.

Their favourite song, ‘Butterflies’ by Max and Ali Gatie, was playing through the hotel speakers.

Nicholson pointed to the sun with the final card: “Icarus flew too close to me. We have been fortunate enough to see many of these together, all over the world. Here’s to a lifetime more.”

As Kingston, 28, looked at the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, Nicholson got down on one knee behind her.

When she turned around, he was holding a diamond ring, one he had carefully and securely brought with him from Australia.

“He slept cradling his backpack on his lap [on the flight over], holding it like a pillow,” Kingston says with a laugh, calling Stellar via video from Sorrento two days after the proposal.

“I wouldn’t have been able to rip that backpack out of his arms if I’d tried.”

For his part, Nicholson, 32, adds that “I usually don’t care about luggage when we travel; I just trust that people are kind and don’t steal things so I don’t tend to put padlocks on bags.

“This trip, I had to reverse that, trust no-one, [and] keep it in my line of sight every second.

“I wanted to get it early in the trip, not only so Holly could relax and enjoy the trip but also so it’s on her now. If she loses it, I’m not to blame... but it is insured.”

The best day of Holly Kingston’s life involved a surprise proposal from beau Jimmy Nicholson. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar.

Earlier in the day, other clues leading towards a big proposal included hiring a motorbike (an Italian Vespa, of course) and ocean swimming.

To wit: Nicholson didn’t think he could love anyone or anything more than his motorbike before he met Kingston, and the couple’s first kiss was in the water on a Bachelor date.

The proposal was actually several months in the making. About six months earlier, Nicholson had told his parents during a trip to Darwin of his intention to ask Kingston to be his wife.

Before heading to Europe on this trip, he met with her parents, Lisa and Wayne, to seek their approval.

“It was important to ask both her mum and dad for permission,” he adds.

Nicholson picked up the ring from Sydney’s Cerrone jewellers five days before the flight, after his sister Tahnee helped him choose the perfect design some time earlier.

“I went in with my sister, I had a mask, sunnies and a hat on,” he recalls of his stealth operation. “They opened the store up early for us. I just didn’t want to risk anyone leaking [the proposal plans] or anything.”

On their first episode of The Bachelor Australia in 2021, they both spoke of their love of pasta; hence Nicholson’s decision to propose while they were in Italy.

Kingston and Nicholson have been living together since shortly after their season wrapped, and when she is asked to pinpoint the moment they knew they were in love, Kingston explains, “We never had a single conversation where we weren’t mic’d or surrounded by people.

“I think the first rendezvous date we had [after filming was when] we realised this could actually work in the real world. And as soon as we moved in together, we were done.”

Being alone together and without cameras following their every move allowed their relationship to develop.

Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston met on The Bachelor Australia. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar.

Jimmy Nicholson proposed to Holly Kingston during a romantic trip to Sorrento, Italy. Picture: Daniel Nadel.

Nicholson says: “You would be taking a massive gamble to do a proposal at the end of [filming] because there are so many things where it might not work.”

Both are keen to start planning their big day, and Nicholson has already factored in his job as an airline pilot, booking a month of annual leave for next August.

“I have to plan things around my [flight] roster,” he explains. “In an ideal scenario, we’d get married in the first week of August next year and have three weeks’ honeymoon.

“We don’t know where we’re going to go, if it’s going to be big or small. Initially, we just wanted to elope, but we’ve got elderly family members who want to be there.”

The newly engaged couple are at least well versed on honeymoon planning, having filmed 16 episodes of their travel series 100 Honeymoons.

Whatever they decide for their wedding day, they promise it won’t be over-the-top.

“The idea of a barbecue or something like that,” he suggests, as Kingston continues the thought: “Something low-key. I want a really simple dress. I actually said to Jimmy on the show that I’m not fussed if I get married or I don’t.

“I think this engagement is probably more for Jimmy than it is for me!” she adds with a laugh.

“I’d prefer to put the money towards our kids than have this massive, ridiculous, extravagant wedding.”

Holly Kingston and Jimmy Nicholson feature in this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Damian Bennett.

“It’s not us spending thousands of dollars on flowers and stuff,” Nicholson agrees, jokingly adding he really wants to tick off the wedding because he’s getting old.

“I’m 33 in a couple of months. I’d say we will certainly start trying [to start a family] after the honeymoon.” Or, he adds slyly, “on the honeymoon”.

Originally published as Bachelor couple announce their engagement