Inside Anthony Albanese’s romantic night before he proposed to Jodie Haydon on Valentine’s Day

Anthony Albanese has opened up about his proposal to Jodie Haydon after a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner in Canberra.

Anthony Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon have thanked Australians for the “overwhelming but beautiful” messages of congratulations after the pair announced their engagement.

The Prime Minister proposed at The Lodge on Wednesday night after a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.

Speaking to media outside his Canberra residence on Thursday, he said the pair “couldn’t be more happy”.

“It’s such a joy to be able to share this news with people, and it’s wonderful that I’ve found a partner who I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Mr Albanese said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and fiancee Jodie Haydon thanks wellwishers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese helped design the ring. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese helped design the ring, and said there had been “a lot of planning” that had gone into the proposal.

“A lot of planning and thought went into everything from the date, obviously Valentine’s Day, and the ring that I helped to design, and where to do it. I asked on one of the balconies here at the Lodge,” he said.

“Thank you for all the warm and generous messages.”

Ms Haydon thanked everyone for their “warm congratulations”

“From our friends, from our families, from people that we don’t know. It’s just been overwhelming, but beautiful.”

Mr Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to get engaged while in office, and if he gets married while still in the job will be the first leader to do so.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon posing for a selfie photo after becoming engaged.

The pair headed to Canberra restaurant Italian & Sons at 7.30pm on Wednesday

The owner of the restaurant where Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon dined before their proposal earlier revealed the prime minister appeared nervous during their dinner.

The pair headed to the acclaimed Canberra restaurant Italian and Sons about 7.30pm, where they were seated in an area tucked away from other diners.

Co-owner Pasquale Trimboli told NCA NewsWire Mr Albanese appeared nervous when he spoke to him during the meal.

“You could you tell there was a bit on his mind, he wasn’t himself,” Mr Trimboli said.

“He raced off pretty quickly, he did have that little bit of nervousness about him, you could feel there was a bit of that pensive feeling.

“There was something in the air.”

The restaurant had a Valentine’s Day set menu for $135 on offer.

Mr Trimboli would not reveal exactly how much the couple paid, but said they enjoyed a preset menu with a few items tailored specifically for them.

“It was pretty much seafood-based. Pasta, some seafood main courses, nothing too exotic.”

They also enjoyed a few glasses on chardonnay from Italy throughout the night, he said.

During their dinner, which lasted about two and a half hours, a few people approached their table to speak to the prime minister, Mr Trimboli said.

Italian and Sons co-owner Pasquale Trimboli (pictured right) with Anthony Albanese on the night he proposed

“He handles crowds well. Everyone was pretty well behaved, no one booed him.”

While Mr Albanese appeared nervous, there was no hint Ms Haydon had been tipped off about the proposal.

“She was pretty normal, she seemed like she was just herself.”

Mr Albanese took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to announce the news on Thursday morning, with a photo of the happy couple grinning from ear to ear with the caption: “She said yes”.

Since the news broke, there have been a few calls asking to book Mr Albanese’s table.

Mr Trimboli said it was almost like a “lucky table” now.

“It’s nice to be part of the storyline, part of history. Obviously not every day this kind of thing happens.

“For the restaurant to be part of, it’s amazing storyline for us.

“We can’t really move the table now, people are already calling up asking for the table.”

The couple have been together for about four years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Among the wellwishers was Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who kicked off Question Time with his congratulations.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has kicked off question time to offer Anthony Albanese a heartfelt “congratulations” after the

“We look forward to our version of the royal wedding sometime in the future,” Mr Dutton said to laughter from the PM.

Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon have been dating for almost four years and have deflected questions about their potential nuptials since going public with the relationship just before he announced he would be running for prime minister.

Despite the announcement, no date – or location for the wedding – have been announced yet.

Albanese, 60, is the nation’s first prime minister to have been through a divorce, after a 30-year marriage to former NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt from 2000 until 2019.

The former couple share one child together, son Nathan.

Originally published as Inside Anthony Albanese’s romantic night before he proposed to Jodie Haydon on Valentine’s Day