Wollongong couple David and Glenda Hunter have been together since they were 15 and happily married for 16 years.
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But one thing Mr Hunter, 37, has always regretted is the decidedly unromantic way in which he proposed when they were both 18, in the lounge room of their one-bedroom apartment in Smith St as they were watching TV.
"I was one of those guys who couldn't leave a surprise. We were watching TV and I just brought out the ring and said 'will you marry me?' I wasn't on one knee. We were just sitting together on the couch."
Mr Hunter also regrets what happened the day after their wedding when he lost his ring while surfing on a Wollongong beach.
After 19 years of thinking about how he should have done it, Mr Hunter surprised his wife on Sunday with an engagement proposal do-over at Wollongong's Breakout Bar and Escape Room.
"I didn't do a very good job the first time. I wanted to make up for it by surprising her with something far more romantic," he said.
However, Mr Hunter's initial plans - in which he'd organised for comedian Ross Noble to surprise her with a ring at his October 7 show in Thirroul - were derailed by COVID.
The gig was postponed until December and Mr Hunter decided he couldn't wait that long.
Instead, he turned to their favourite haunt - Wollongong's Breakout Escape Room.
"We love Breakout so much I decided to organise an escape room experience in which she finds her ring at the end of all the clues in their new post-COVID room called Into The Machine," Mr Hunter said.
"She was really shocked and confused when I popped the question. She had no idea. It was very nerve-wracking.
"My mind turned blank when I got down on one knee and said 'will you be with me for the next 30 years or more?' She just looked at me and started losing it a bit. It worked out very nicely."
As the door opened at the end of their first adventure in the new escape room, staff were waiting alongside the couple's sons, Logan and Aiden.
Mr Hunter then got down on one knee and delivered the proposal he always felt she deserved.
Mrs Hunter said she was very confused when they opened the final door.
"I thought 'what's going on?' I had no idea at all. He snuck this behind birthday celebrations - I just thought we were here for that. I am very surprised. I feel like I am in a whirlwind at the moment."
The couple were planning a re-enactment of their wedding ceremony in about six months' time.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
