Russell Watson is simply one of the nicest celebrities I've ever interviewed. And I was thrilled to interview him about his engagement to his now wife Louise at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons Hotel where the Hello shoot took place. I also covered his wedding in August the following year.
The ground was dusted with a crisp white frost, the skies clear with a sprinkling of stars and the nearby cottages bathed in moonlight.
There was just one problem. For the man who has sung in front of the Queen and the Pope, Russell Watson knew the setting had to be perfect when he proposed to his love of four years, Louise Harris.
Then, as the pair continued driving through winding country lanes on their way home for Christmas, Russell saw it: a giant ancient oak tree decorated in fairy lights on the village green in the picturesque Cheshire village of Astbury.
With their close friends Steve and Jackie in the back of the car, the 47-year-old “people’s tenor” suggested they stop for a photo. As he and Louise posed for the camera, Russell dropped down on one knee and asked: “Will you marry me?”
Louise gasped and shouted “Yes” as he slipped a vintage diamond and platinum ring onto her nger and their friends ran to congratulate them.
“I was getting nervous because I’d been carrying the ring around for two weeks, waiting for the right time to propose,” says Russell as he and Louise announce their engagement exclusively to .
“When I saw the tree, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I didn’t have a plan, just the idea it would make the perfect backdrop for a photo. I asked Steve to take a picture. After posing for one, I went down on one knee and he carried on taking them so we have the moment recorded for ever.”
A GEM OF A CHRISTMAS GIFT
The couple had been talking about getting engaged for some time, but Louise had no inkling that her Christmas present would be the beautiful ring she’d rst seen in a jeweller’s near their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
“I had no idea what he would do. Neither did he. He’s very spontaneous when it comes to romance. When it happened, I went all gooey and welled up with tears,” says Louise, 25, as
she cuddles up to her fiancé beside the fire at renowned hotel Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, where they have spent many romantic evenings.
“The tree looked so beautiful all lit up so when I said we ought to take a photo, Russ suggested we get out of the car and do it properly.
“Every time we’ve driven through the village, we’ve admired the tree. In spring it’s surrounded by daffodils and makes me think my grandad Harris is still near me. When he died, he was holding a daffodil, so it’s a special place for me.”
More than anything, Russell wanted the setting for the proposal to be somewhere special. “I didn’t want to do it in the living room one night after I’d finished on my PlayStation and Louise was watching Coronation Street,” he jokes.
WISE MEN SAY...
Russell had thought about proposing at one of his concerts, but that meant waiting until his UK tour in March. Then he planned a surprise at a friend’s wedding in London on 21 December.
“I thought I could sing one of Louise’s favourite songs, Can’t Help Falling in Love and propose then.”
Louise chips in: “I was with him on his 2011 UK tour and went to 23 shows. At every one he dedicated that song to me. It always made me cry.”
Although the ring was in his top pocket, Russell changed his mind. “It didn’t feel right taking the shine off my friend’s wedding.”
Before that, he had asked Louise’s father Ian for his daughter’s hand in marriage. “He said, ‘You’ve looked after her so well for the past four years, you might as well carry on. That would be lovely.’”
It was fitting, then, that a trip to visit Louise’s family – Ian, mum Julie and sister Beth – at her parents’ house on Christmas Eve provided a second opportunity to propose.
“There was a moment when we all stood in the hall about to leave and I was about to get down on one knee when Louise said, ‘Where are your keys?’ and walked off to the kitchen.
“As we drove off I thought, ‘Damn, I should have done it earlier.’”
Says Louise: “The way it happened couldn’t have been more perfect.”
To celebrate, they returned to the beautiful house they share with Russell’s 19-year-old daughter Rebecca, from his first marriage, their cat Looby and greyhound Blaze and opened a bottle of champagne, which they took to the hot tub, sitting outside under the stars with their friends until 3am.
Says Louise: “I was so incredibly excited. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I adore him so much, he is my life.”
The next morning, Russell called his parents Nola and Tim (who are separated) to break the good news.
Adds Louise: “My family came round at lunchtime and we drank a toast to our engagement.”
Also among the first to hear the news was Russell’s second daughter Hannah, 13, who stays with her dad and Louise two or three days a week.
“They were really happy for us,” says Russell of both his children. “Hannah in particular sees Louise as a mother figure.”
In fact, Hannah had been keeping a secret from the pair, which they discovered on New Year’s Eve.
Says Louise: “We were celebrating with reworks when Hannah asked me, ‘Do you remember two years ago on New Year’s Eve when we wrote down wishes and sent them up into the sky on Chinese lanterns? I wrote that I wanted you and my dad to be married and my wish came true.’ I welled up and gave her a big hug.”
The pair first met in a restaurant in Alderley Edge. Russell was with pals and Louise with her cousin Gemma. “Loads of people were asking him for photos and my cousin said, ‘Ooh, let’s go over,’” Louise says. “So we did and I took a picture of her with Russell and went to sit back down. He got his assistant Gary to come over and ask if he could take me out to dinner. I said yes.”
Adds Russell: “On our first night out, it didn’t pass me by that there’s an age gap between us. I thought, ‘What will we talk about?’ But we didn’t stop talking from the minute we met and haven’t stopped since.”
“As far as we’re concerned, there isn’t an age gap,” says Louise. “Anyway, he’s like a big kid a lot of the time – five in his head...”
Another reason the world- renowned singer was wary of relationships was that he couldn’t be sure if women were attracted to him for the right reasons. “I soon realised that Louise was as daft as I was and it didn’t matter to her who I was,” he says, smiling.
MAGIC MOMENTS
They both say they’ve come a long way since Louise and Looby moved into Russell’s house. After she spent a month touring with him in Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia, their relationship grew ever stronger.
Says Louise: “I’ve never been so happy or felt so loved. Every day is magical. He makes me feel like I’m the only woman on the planet.”
Russell can’t believe how lucky he is to have found his perfect match. “Since we met, I’ve never seen myself with anyone else. I knew how much I loved Louise, how she brought sunshine into my life. I knew I’d spend the rest of my life with her. I guess proposing was solidifying the relationship we already had.
“As well as looking stunning, she has a strong personality, as I do. And it’s wonderful to be with someone I can talk to about the industry, who understands when I have to travel or be focused on making a record.”
Laughter is the key word in their relationship. “The pair of us never stop, do we?” asks Louise. “We both have the same sense of humour.”
As she disappears with sister Beth, a talented hairdresser, to prepare for our shoot, Russell concludes: “I can be me with Louise. I don’t have to hide under a façade. We’re soulmates.
“When I proposed, I felt so emotional. People view the music industry as this big glamorous ball of parties, glitz and fun and it’s not. In the four years I was on my own, I’d often go home to my empty house and was lonely and sad. To find someone with whom you have a real affinity and makes you laugh is a rare thing. We’re a big pair of kids. We get upset at the same things. She is mega-emotional and I’m probably worse.”
Today that house is full of love and laughter. Most days Louise drives to the stables to ride her horse and Russell plays tennis. Evenings are spent watching TV with a glass of wine in the hot tub.
“Recently, our friends were over and we were all in the cinema room watching a movie,” says Russell. “Rebecca sat with Jackie, Hannah was cuddled up to Steve, Louise was beside me. I looked round and thought, ‘Aaah, heaven.’”
HIGHS AND LOWS
Russell reflects on the extremes of his life. One minute he was working 12-hour shifts sorting nuts and bolts in a factory, the next he was on his way to becoming the best-selling classical artist known as The Voice. This was followed by years battling with not one but two life-threatening brain tumours until he finished his radiation treatment in early 2008.
“The reason I don’t like talking about the illness is it can define who you are,” he says. “‘Oh, he’s the bloke with the brain tumour.’ When you see me mucking around... that wasn’t me five or six years ago. I fought hard through that period. I’m fit as a fiddle now. I had emotional scars for a while, but I’ve overcome them. My appreciation of what I have now is so intense it makes me well up.”
The pair are making plans for their wedding, which will be next year at a secret location in the UK. In the meantime, Louise has asked Russell’s daughters, her sister Beth and cousin Gemma to be bridesmaids.
As for plans for parenthood, Louise says: “I’d be over the moon to have a baby. What about you?” Russell is still for a moment. “I pause because it’s a huge commitment having children, but I genuinely believe that I still have something to offer on that front as a father, so yes.”
Russell then kisses his wife-to-be and bursts into the Irving Berlin number Cheek to Cheek. As he sings “Heaven, I’m in heaven...” it’s easy to to believe that he really is.