They may have been eliminated from My Kitchen Rules this week, but Michael Edelsberg and Rielli Portegys still have plenty to smile about.
The controversial couple’s heartbreak over their untimely exit was short-lived, with Michael and Rielli announcing their engagement this week.
Michael popped the question over the weekend in a romantic proposal in Central Park in New York.
Speaking to New Idea, Michael revealed that his big moment was almost ruined by a miserable Big Apple day.
‘I planned an amazing day for Rielli,’ he said.
‘I took her out, got her a designer bag, we went and did a tour with one of my cousins of the UN headquarters, and I somehow got her convinced that it would be OK to go into Central Park while it was not the greatest weather, it was pretty windy and rainy.’
My Kitchen Rules stars Michael and Rielli have announced their engagement
While the proposal proved to be a success, Rielli revealed that Michael almost suffered an injury before getting down on one knee.
‘He was a bit suss all day, and when he got on one knee to propose, he basically slipped down the hill because it was so muddy,’ she said.
‘It was weird to see Michael in such a nervous state because Michael does not get nervous at anything.’
She added that the proposal came completely out of the blue, despite Michael believing Rielli knew it was coming.
‘I was completely surprised,’ she said.
‘But he had totally convinced himself that I knew all day, but I was too busy thinking, “What am I going to wear to this? What am I going to wear to that?”‘
Michael also revealed that New York was the perfect place for the proposal, as Rielli used to live in the Big Apple and Michael also had family who lived there.
He added that the original plan was to propose on MKR, saying he was glad of a change of plan as a TV proposal would have been ‘too predictable.’
Michael popped the question over the weekend in a romantic proposal in Central Park in New York
Speaking to New Idea, Michael revealed that his big moment was almost ruined by a miserable Big Apple day
The happy news comes after the couple were sent home on Monday night after losing by a single point.
Michael and Rielli drew level with rivals Danielle and Marko in the meat banquet challenge after the safe teams scored them seven each.
It was down to Judge Colin Fassnidge to deliver the final result.
Rielli shed tears after the food guru announced that Danielle and Marko’s eye fillet with chimichurri dish and banoffee pie dessert earned 22 points – giving the Perth couple the win.
The night did not start well for ‘meat master’ Michael and ‘dessert queen’ Rielli.
With five minutes to go on the main dish for the couple’s pork banquet, Michael managed to drop an entire dish of ribs.
Luckily, the lost food was ‘spares’ and they were able to serve a complete course.
The night ended in a group hug as the teams gave Michael and Rielli a warm send-off as Judge Manu Feildel had the last word.
The happy news comes after the couple were sent home on Monday night after losing by a single point
‘What a team, you will always be remembered, there’s no doubt about that!’
Reflecting on his time on MKR, Michael’s familiar confidence was on show.
‘I didn’t feel any pressure throughout the competition at all,’ he told Seven.
‘Everyone tried applying the pressure to me but I’m so confident in my skills that I didn’t feel any pressure.
‘I could’ve done it with a blindfold on… like everything went perfectly.’
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My Kitchen Rules stars Michael and Rielli announce engagement after being eliminated in nail-biting cook-off