Closing out a cosy weekend spent in the NSW Southern Highlands, Sunrise presenter Samantha Armytage took to social media on June 21 to share an exciting news update.
She posted two smiling photos with her new fiancé Richard Lavender, showing off her round diamond engagement ring.
“What a year …” she captioned the loved-up snaps. “We’re very happy and very lucky to have found each other,” Armytage told WHO in an exclusive statement after being flooded with well-wishes from fans and colleagues.
“There’s some very, very exciting news from the Sunrise family … Sam’s engaged!” co-host David Koch told Sunrise viewers the following day. “I got all teary seeing that over the weekend, it was so nice,” added reporter Edwina Bartholomew, while newsreader Natalie Barr said she “can’t wait to hear all of the details”.
Back at work on June 22, Armytage was (reluctantly) ready to dish. She revealed that Lavender popped the question on his rural property in the Southern Highlands “a few weeks ago”.
“We’d been picking weeds in the paddock and he said, ‘Darling, do you want to marry me?’” she said. “It was very sweet, very romantic. He’s just a very charming, lovely fellow.”
Later she added, “we’re all thrilled, our families are the happiest, they’re so excited. Mum burst into tears!”
The couple were introduced in the country by a mutual friend around Easter 2019. Lavender lives on a 40-hectare property in Bowral, where Armytage owns a five-bedroom retreat.
“His eyes were the first thing I saw,” Armytage told WHO exclusively in November when the pair first went public with their love, adding “there was a connection” between them from the jump.
“We both enjoy horses, skiing, architecture, art. That’s really important to have a lot in common.”
Away from “the media circus”, former farmer and horse breeder Lavender, 60, “is really comfortable in his own skin,” says Armytage.
“He doesn’t care what people think of him, which I admire greatly. He’s very decent, very honest. I love that he’s so modest.”
From Lavender’s point of view, Armytage, 43, “had a sparkle in her eye”, he told WHO of his initial attraction.
“She has a quick wit, a terrific sense of humour.”
Lavender has two adult daughters, Sasha and Grace, from his previous marriage. In 2017, Armytage said she “has never made any secret” of wanting to be a mum.
“It would be nice but if it doesn’t happen, then c’est la vie,” she said. “And if it does, it would be lovely.”
For now, she’s loved up with Lavender and her labrador Banjo.
“We’re excited; he’s totally the opposite of the showbiz world and … he’s just a wonderful man,” Armytage told co-host Koch. “And no, we’re not getting married on television.”
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