{"id":354679,"date":"2026-01-06T06:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/354679\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T06:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:01:11","slug":"dragons-den-star-delights-fans-with-surprise-engagement-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/354679\/","title":{"rendered":"Dragons’ Den star delights fans with surprise engagement announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dragons\u2019 Den investor and podcast phenomenon Steven Bartlett has become engaged to his long-term partner Melanie Lopes following a Christmas Day proposal during a romantic holiday in Morocco.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old entrepreneur presented the French-Portuguese yoga entrepreneur with a diamond ring while the couple were enjoying their festive break together.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the couple confirmed the news, saying: \u201cWe can confirm Steven and Melanie are engaged to be married. They are, naturally, both very, very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Diary of a CEO host, whose business empire is reportedly valued at \u00a3320million, and Ms Lopes, also 33, have largely kept their relationship out of the public eye, despite both having careers closely linked to social media platforms.<\/p>\n

\"Steven<\/p>\n

Steven Bartlett proposed on Christmas Day while they were on holiday together in Morocco<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The couple first began dating in 2016 after connecting on Instagram, though their journey to engagement was not without challenges.<\/p>\n

After a year together, they split when Mr Bartlett chose to focus on expanding his business ventures. The separation proved short-lived, however, after he realised he could not be without Ms Lopes and boarded a 22-hour flight to Bali to win her back.<\/p>\n

At the time, Ms Lopes was running a breathwork and yoga retreat on the Indonesian island, where the pair ultimately reconciled.<\/p>\n

Since reuniting, their relationship has gone from strength to strength, with those close to the couple saying their bond has deepened significantly.<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bMelanie<\/p>\n

Melanie Lopes is a yoga and breathwork coach<\/p>\n

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INSTAGRAM<\/p>\n

Despite Mr Bartlett\u2019s high public profile, the couple have made a conscious decision to keep their romance largely private, shielding it from public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

In recent years, they have split their time between homes in London and Los Angeles as they balance their respective professional commitments.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the couple say this period marked a turning point in their relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteven and Melanie have been together for a long time, but their relationship really went up a notch after they started living together in both London and Los Angeles a couple of years ago,\u201d an insider said.<\/p>\n

\"Steven<\/p>\n

Steven Bartlett and Melanie Lopes primarily keep their relationship private<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

INSTAGRAM<\/p>\n

Friends have described the pair as \u201csoulmates\u201d who are now excitedly planning their wedding celebrations.<\/p>\n

Mr Bartlett has previously spoken candidly about the strain his intense work ethic placed on their relationship in its early stages.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a live podcast recording in 2022, he said: \u201cThe way it is with me, between the hours of say seven in the morning and nine o\u2019clock at night, I am in the zone, I\u2019ve got total tunnel vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

He admitted that replying meaningfully to messages from family or his girlfriend during the working day was \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n

Evenings, he said, offered little respite. \u201cIn the evenings I\u2019m often consumed with the day and I find it hard to switch off and engage with other relationships and that also costs those relationships,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Since then, Mr Bartlett has said he has learned to strike a healthier balance between work and personal life, a shift that appears to have strengthened his relationship with Ms Lopes.<\/p>\n

Mr Bartlett\u2019s fortune stems largely from his early success with social media marketing agency The Social Chain, which reached a \u00a3300million valuation when it floated on the stock market.<\/p>\n

Born in Botswana, he moved to the UK at the age of two and left university at 18 to pursue entrepreneurship, a decision that initially caused tension with his parents.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Mr Bartlett is the host of The Diary Of A CEO podcast<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

The Diary Of A Ceo\/Youtube<\/p>\n

His mother was reportedly \u201cheartbroken\u201d at the time, believing her son had turned his back on educational opportunities she never had.<\/p>\n

Alongside his business interests, Mr Bartlett hosts one of the world\u2019s most popular podcasts, having interviewed figures including Kamala Harris and Simon Cowell since launching The Diary of a CEO in 2017.<\/p>\n

With wedding plans now underway, the year ahead is set to be a busy one, as Mr Bartlett prepares to return to Dragons\u2019 Den as the BBC show\u2019s youngest investor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dragons\u2019 Den investor and podcast phenomenon Steven Bartlett has become engaged to his long-term partner Melanie Lopes following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[243,6491,830,96,50,2331,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-354679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-celebrity","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-sgg","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}