As they sat in a scenic Nelson vineyard, sampling fine wine on a sunny spring getaway, former The Block NZ contestants Cat Glass and Jeremy Hill were both itching to get something important off their chests.
While Cat’s confession was simply that she’d done some overzealous spending on their joint bank account, Jeremy had something much bigger on his mind – he was about to pop the question!
“I was surprisingly nervous, but thankfully the wines were kicking in,” recalls Jeremy, speaking to Woman’s Day as he cosies up to his new fiancée at their Taranaki home.
“Just as I was building up the courage to ask her, Cat guiltily ’fessed up to buying a dress without telling me, but I couldn’t have cared less when the ring I’d been carting around all holiday was starting to burn a hole in my pocket.
“It did cross my mind to say, ‘Well, I’ve got something to tell you too,’ but I thought that was a bit of a weak proposal, so instead I convinced her to go for a walk. I didn’t know what was waiting around the bend, but as we turned the corner, it opened out to the most amazing vista of snow-capped mountains and I knew I’d found the spot.”
Under the guise of wanting to capture the perfect picture, Jeremy instructed Cat to walk ahead. And as his bride-to-be was disappearing off into the distance, he carefully retrieved the ring box he was stowing in his camera bag, took one last deep breath and got into position on bended knee.
Preschool teacher Cat, 28, recalls, “He was giving me a running commentary for this so-called photo, like, ‘Move a little to the left. Stay there. I’m just going to get a low angle.’ When he went silent, I turned around and there he was. I just started screaming and jumping up and down.
“We’ve been going out for so long, I’d sort of stopped waiting for it to happen, so I was in total shock. I didn’t even give him a straight answer. In the end, he actually had to ask me, ‘Does that mean it’s a yes?’”
Jeremy’s surprise proposal had been in the works for months, with only his New Plymouth-based parents, who stashed the sparkler at their place, and Cat’s father, who lives in Nelson, in on the secret.
“I had to keep the ring as far away from Cat as possible – she’s like a kid at Christmas,” smiles Jeremy, “and it was important to me I got Cat’s dad’s blessing too. I called him up a week before we were due to fly down. He was over the moon but gave me grief about why I hadn’t done it sooner.”
So what made Jeremy decide 2016 was the right time to pop the question? It’s a significant year for the TV3 reality show’s Yellow Team. This week marks six years since the young
lovers first met at a nightclub in Taranaki – and this is the year Jeremy celebrated his 30th birthday, which he says came with the “responsibility of making adult decisions”.
Jeremy quips, “Not that asking Cat was a difficult choice to make. There’s never been any doubt in my mind that one day I’d marry Cat. Our anniversary felt like the perfect time to do it.”
“Everything has felt easy and natural from the very beginning,” adds Cat, who recently launched her own home-styling business, Spaces By Cat. “We’d been dating just under a month when he said, ‘I love you.’ I didn’t run a mile. I just shyly replied, ‘I think I love you too.’”
Cat and Jeremy credit communication, friendship and the ability to make each other laugh for keeping their relationship rock-steady, and they can’t imagine wedding planning will challenge their romance. After all, the hardworking duo survived the fourth season of The Block without so much as an argument, earning themselves $160,000 in winnings and the coveted People’s Choice Award.
“We might be the only couple to say it, but we only have fond memories of our time on the show,” tells Cat. “The Block is renowned for putting so much pressure on a relationship, but it made us stronger. We aren’t perfect, but no matter what comes our way, we know we can’t be broken.”
In fact, the lovebirds miss gruelling renovations so much, they are diving headfirst into a similar DIY project of their own. “We are looking to buy or build our dream family home and really put all the skills we’ve learnt to good use,” smiles Cat.
“The future is so exciting for me and Jerry – we have our wedding day and one day starting a family to look forward to. But the house has to come first because I want to nest properly!”
The Block lovebirds Cat Glass and Jeremy Hill are tying the knot!
Jeremy popped the all-important question in a picturesque vineyard in Nelson, where the couple were enjoying a sunny spring getaway.
Since turning 30, Jeremy couldn’t wait to ask for her hand. “There’s never been any doubt I’d marry Cat.”
Jeremy’s surprise proposal had been in the works for months, with only his New Plymouth-based parents, who stashed the sparkler at their place, and Cat’s father, who lives in Nelson, in on the secret.
“I had to keep the ring as far away from Cat as possible – she’s like a kid at Christmas,” smiles Jeremy, “and it was important to me I got Cat’s dad’s blessing too. I called him up a week before we were due to fly down. He was over the moon but gave me grief about why I hadn’t done it sooner.”
“Everything has felt easy and natural from the very beginning,” adds Cat, who recently launched her own home-styling business, Spaces By Cat, of their relationship.
The couple put their relationship to the test when they competed on The Block NZ.
The Yellow Team came last in the final but won a car as fan favourites.
Jeremy hid the pretty sparkler at his folks’ house to keep it from snooping eyes!
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