Robert Trathen, Titis Lutfitasari
When The Edge Arvos presenter Sean Hill dropped to one knee on a sun-drenched Bali afternoon to propose to his very surprised love Jeannie Grace, it was a moment six months in the making – but decided only seconds before it happened.
“I’d been working with a jeweller for months, secretly designing Jeannie’s dream ring,” says Sean.
“I got up at 2am to measure her rings for sizing while she was asleep. I hid the finished ring in a pair of blue socks in my checked-in luggage – Jeannie thought that was crazy when she found out later!”
Holidaying in Bali to celebrate Sean’s 30th birthday with both sides of the family – including Jeannie’s twin sister, her other twin siblings, Sean’s brother and both their parents – his plans were almost foiled when Jeannie’s brother Dom, who had arrived in Indonesia early, proposed to his partner.
“It was in my head that Bali would be the perfect place,” says Sean.
“When Dom proposed, I panicked. Was it weird to propose after him? I didn’t want to overshadow their special time. “Jeannie texted me the news while I was at work and for that entire show, I was in crisis talks off air with my co-hosts Steph [Monks] and Harrison [Keefe] about whether I should go ahead with it!”
But then the moment presented itself – a perfect afternoon by the villa pool, with a family photoshoot already underway, and Jeannie, 28, none the wiser. The family had spent days making a fuss about Dom’s engagement and things had moved on.
“Jeannie had organised the photographer as a surprise for her mum and everyone got really dressed up,” shares Sean.
“I looked around and decided it was the perfect moment. “I ran upstairs to grab the ring from inside my socks, hands shaking and me shit-scared, and discretely asked the second photographer if she could film us on her iPhone.”
In one of the photos, you can see the moment it’s about to happen –Sean’s hand in his pocket, face tense and Jeannie oblivious.
Recalls Sean, “I said, ‘Let’s get one more couple shot,’ and that’s when I dropped down. She turned around and everyone gasped.”
Jeannie smiles, “I was in complete shock. He’d always said that an engagement was ages away – at least a year. But then he told me he’d asked my mum’s permission and had been planning it for months.”
The ring is a stunning 1.79-carat round brilliant diamond set in pure yellow gold with delicate claws. It’s lab-grown, ethical and hand-designed by Sean.
“I hadn’t looked at rings,” Jeannie says.
“But this is exactly what I would have picked. It’s so personal. It feels like him saying, ‘I know you.’”
After the tears, Champagne and a quick end to the photoshoot, the family ordered 10 pizzas, before partying into the night.
“It was just the most special, fun and emotional day,” says advertising account manager Jeannie.
“The first people I called were my aunties on my dad’s side. Dad passed away 10 years ago and I knew telling them was the closest I’d get to telling him.”
The pair met during lockdown in 2020. For both, it was their first time on the Bumble dating app and their initial date was a walk in the park – literally.
“We were both so close to cancelling,” says Sean.
“But after weeks inside, I was sick of my flatmates, she seemed cool and I thought, ‘Let’s do this.’”
Shares Jeannie, “It was the first proper date I’ve ever gone on. I told my twin, ‘I’m giving it a go – it’ll either go great or be a funny story.’”
That park hangout turned into hours of talking.
Sean recalls, “We cancelled our other plans and just kept hanging out. We saw each other again the next day and every day after that. It was seamless.”
Three years on, they live in an apartment overlooking Victoria Park in Auckland.
Although he works noon to 7pm on the radio and Jeannie’s out the door by 8am, Sean says, “We make it work. We’ve got our own rhythm.”
Jeannie adds, “I’ve always been independent. So’s Sean. We’d both been happily single, but when we met, it just made sense. We never get sick of each other. We walk in the city, drink coffee, talk about Love Island… Sean’s just as into it as I am!”
Their friend groups over-lapped long before they met.
“We later discovered Jeannie knew my old co-host and I knew her flatmate,” Sean says.
“We would have met eventually. But thank God for lockdown – we got something great out of it!”
The couple found they had so much in common. Both are from families with four siblings (Jeannie’s has two sets of twins), both are the second born (Jeannie by mere minutes) and Sean’s parents live 500m down the road from Jeannie’s whānau at Mount Maunganui. They even had a combined Christmas together last year with both families.
But despite their close ties, there are no immediate wedding plans.
“We’re tossing up a destination wedding – maybe Bali or Fiji, somewhere warm and beautiful,” says Jeannie.
“But there’s no pressure on ourselves for 2026. We’re just enjoying the planning phase.”
For now, they’re loving being engaged, planning their future, and joking about whether Jeannie’s brother Dom and his new fiancée will beat them down the aisle.
“I ruined Jeannie’s family photoshoot, but I got the girl!” laughs Sean.
Regardless of when they choose to wed, it’s clear how in love they are and that they show up for each other. Jeannie has been to every single one of Sean’s stand-up comedy shows and Sean calls his fiancée his best friend.
“We build each other up and we’re each other’s biggest fans,” he says.
“There’s no tall-poppy stuff in our relationship.”
Jeannie smiles, “Our relationship is easy. It’s always been easy.”
Listen to Sean from 3pm weekdays on The Edge.
