Photos: Roy Kilcullen. Hair & makeup: Beth Lacey.
When Football Fern and international soccer star CJ Bott first shared a classroom with Ryan Preston at Tawa Intermediate School in Wellington, she had no idea at the time that the kid she’d just met would become the love of her life. But 18 years later, when Ryan got down on one knee in January and asked the Leicester City Women’s football defender to marry him, she didn’t hesitate.
“It was the most beautiful proposal,” says CJ, 29. From the pair’s home in Leicester, England, where she plays for the football Super League club.
“He told me he loved coming home to me every day and wanted to come home to me for the rest of his life. Although at the time, I didn’t hear a word he said, or even see the ring properly. I was crying so much! I couldn’t believe it – I didn’t think he had it in him to do something like that.”
A keen footballer since she was a youngster. CJ played soccer for Wellington, New Zealand’s Under 17 and Under 20 national teams before the skilled defender and double Olympian won contracts to play in Germany and Sweden. She moved to Norway in 2020 to play for Norwegian club Vålerenga, just as the world went into Covid lockdown.
Although rugby-mad Ryan and soccer star CJ have known each other for ages. They’ve only been a couple for three years. “Ryan and I were each other’s first boyfriend and girlfriend when we were about 11 at school!” she shares.
“We dated really innocently, but we were so shy, we only talked every couple of weeks. And held hands about once a month! We stayed in touch as friends, but there was nothing else between us until then.”
At that point, with Ryan still in New Zealand and CJ in Norway, the pair started FaceTiming. They quickly realised they were enjoying each other’s company. The calls increased in regularity and length, and soon, the pair found themselves on video calls for hours.
“We’d have a five-hour call, then a seven-hour call that went on all night. You don’t do that with someone you don’t like,” smiles CJ. “Eventually, I said, ‘Are we ever going to do something about this?’
He replied that actually yes, he did like me, so maybe we could try dating. It was as blunt as that!” So the pair went official.
“It’s quite hard to explain how it happened. But through those calls, we got to know each other in a different way,” tells Ryan. “In hindsight, it was an incredible way to find out the real her.”
However, while the relationship was evolving, living a world apart wasn’t sustainable. So when CJ was offered a position in Leicester in 2022, Ryan suggested he move to England.
“When things got serious. I made up my mind that for our relationship to continue, I was going to have to move,” explains Ryan, 29, a joiner.
“I work in a trade that I can do anywhere and I wasn’t about to ask CJ to give up her career for me. So it was an easy decision to move overseas to be with her. She moved here in March and we moved in together in July.”
From there, things happened quickly and it wasn’t long before the pair were talking marriage. “It was a bit of a joke between us,” admits CJ. “I’d send him pictures of rings and social media videos of proposals. To the point I was too excited about it by the time it actually happened!”
Ryan continues, “She’d sent me lots of photos and ideas of the ring she wanted. Which was good as I wanted to make sure I got something she really liked. I was pretty certain she was going to say yes and I wanted to find her the ring she deserved.” He opted for an oval diamond with two trapezoid diamonds on the side.
However, finding the right moment to propose was crucial as Ryan was determined to create the perfect setting.
“I knew how I wanted it to happen,” he shares. “I’d been thinking about the details around how I was going to do it for quite a while. A few months before I proposed, I arranged to secretly meet up and do some research on rings with some of CJ’s teammates. CJ thought we were buying a birthday present!”
In fact, while the hints were coming thick and fast from CJ. Ryan managed to keep her in the dark about exactly when he’d pop the question.
“It was funny. I was convinced he was going to propose to me when we were back in Wellington for Christmas last year,” she recalls. “But when I got a Kindle and some pyjamas and not a ring under the tree. I was a bit gutted.
“The way he reacted when I told him that, though, I figured it was coming soon. I thought I’d keep my mouth shut and wait!” Laughs Ryan.
“It wasn’t easy to keep it a secret from her! I had a plan, though. And I’d enlisted the help of a couple of CJ’s footie girls that we’re close to, to help make it happen.”
In fact, Ryan had secretly been buying accessories, including a “Marry Me” sign and candles. Along with photos of the couple from over the years, he hid them in their friends’ apartments in preparation for the big day.
Knowing CJ didn’t want a big public display or for it to happen in front of people, Ryan arranged the evening meticulously.
“I went for a haircut after work, bought some roses and came home. I always buy her roses every time I get a haircut. And we got changed and went out for dinner,” he says. “As soon as we left, I texted the girls, and they broke into our apartment and set it up.”
By the time CJ and Ryan returned from their date, their apartment had been transformed into a romantic wonderland. With rose petals strewn across the floor, and a candlelit and photo-lined pathway that led to the spot where their friends had placed the ring box and a single rose.
“It was definitely worth waiting for,” enthuses CJ. “Although the girls cut it very fine – they left their phones so they could film the moment. You can actually see one of them sprinting out the door 10 seconds before we came in and scampering out onto the driveway!”
With their mates literally around the corner, they were invited back for Champagne. While the newly-engaged couple rang family and friends in New Zealand.
“Everyone is delighted,” smiles Ryan. “My mum adores CJ – our mums played netball together. She couldn’t wait for us to get together. When I was trying to get my visa to move to the UK to be with CJ, she was practically shoving me out the door!”
While the pair hasn’t worked out a date for the wedding yet. CJ and Ryan want to get married in their hometown of Wellington.
“Timing is the difficult bit. It’ll have to fit in with my Leicester City contract and with my Football Fern commitments. As well as Ryan’s schedule,” says CJ.
“I don’t know how we’ll get my Leicester City friends over there – we’ll have to charter a plane or something! But I can’t wait to marry Ryan. He is quite simply my best friend. There’s nobody I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
