A British man, James Walsh, proposed to his girlfriend, Paige Cook, underwater inside a shark tank at Skegness Aquarium in England. Knowing sharks are her favourite animal, Walsh wanted a unique and memorable setting. With the help of aquarium staff, he surprised her with a "Will you marry me?" sign while scuba diving.
A marriage proposal took an extraordinary turn when a British man asked his shark-loving girlfriend to marry him while they were underwater inside a shark tank at an aquarium in England.
James Walsh, from Wendover, Buckinghamshire, planned the surprise for his girlfriend Paige Cook during a diving-with-sharks experience at Skegness Aquarium in Lincolnshire. The couple got engaged on September 10, with Walsh choosing an underwater setting because sharks are Cook’s favourite animals.
Walsh had been thinking about how to make the proposal memorable and decided it had to happen somewhere “different, somewhere unique and somewhere memorable”. Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, he explained his reasoning: “Sharks are her favourite animal. I knew that's where I wanted to do it. I thought, surrounded by her favourite animal, it would be a unique experience.”
The proposal required careful planning. Walsh contacted the aquarium in advance and shared his idea with staff, who helped arrange the surprise. According to Walsh, the aquarium team separated the couple from the rest of their diving group, allowing him to make his move without Cook discovering what was coming.
“They separated us from the rest of the group, and then a man snuck round with the sign,” Walsh said.
While wearing wetsuits and scuba equipment, Walsh and Cook knelt underwater on the floor of the shark tank. Walsh then revealed a special sign that read, “Will you marry me?”
Cook was visibly stunned by the unexpected question. She covered her scuba mask with her hand before eventually responding with an “OK” hand signal, indicating that she accepted. The couple then embraced underwater.
Afterwards, Cook described herself as “completely in shock” and said the unusual proposal temporarily made her forget where she was.
“This [was] the best day of my life. I've always wanted to go scuba diving and swimming with sharks. Then [the proposal] happened and I completely forgot I was in a tank!” she said.
The experience was already filled with adrenaline, but the proposal added another emotional layer to the underwater adventure. Skegness Aquarium staff member Jamie Elvidge said, “It's an adrenaline-fuelled experience anyway, and then when you add the extra excitement of this you feel like you're there and part of it.”
He added, “It is a really unique way of popping the big question.”
Skegness Aquarium also celebrated the couple's engagement on social media, sharing a photograph from the underwater moment with the message: “Congratulations to Paige and James who got engaged in our tank today!”
The unusual proposal has since attracted attention because of its combination of romance, adventure and Cook's love for sharks. Rather than a traditional dinner or scenic proposal, Walsh chose a setting that reflected something his girlfriend already loved, turning an ordinary shark-diving experience into an unforgettable engagement.
