A pair of old friends got engaged in front of flat-pack furniture in a branch of Ikea.
Patti Schamp has been pals for over 22 years after initially meeting at work.
The pair would always joke about tying the knot due to both having bad luck with previous relationships.
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They finally did just that two months ago.
But their whirlwind romance led to Jerry, 57, popping the question to Patti in the Swedish furniture store.
She said: “Throughout our friendship, we had joked about getting married, because of our bad luck with relationships.
“I would say, “Okay” and then nothing would come from it.
“When we decided to actually be in a relationship, we said he would move in with me and we would get married.”
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Patti added: “When Jerry came to visit for Christmas, we went to look for rings, so I knew this time, we were making progress.
“He bought a ring for me, but said that due to my previous marriages and the fact I had never had a formal proposal, he wanted to “do it right”.
Jerry told her if he did it, it would be a proper proposal that she “deserved.”
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And, little did Patti know, her proposal would be just around the corner
She continued: “I had zero expectations he would propose so soon.
“Considering it took us 22 years to ‘wake up’ and realise what was right in front of us, I figured it would be at least another five before I would see that ring again.”
Patti, from Fort Worth, Texas, and Jerry, from Weston, on the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, visited Ikea in Grand Prairie, Texas.
And Patti came away with more than a few pieces of flatpack furniture.
She also told What’s The Jam: “We went to Ikea to pick up some organisational things for the house.
“We were in the furniture self-help section, just past the patio furniture display.
“We were standing in front of an aisle discussing where to find a particular thing when he stopped the cart, put his hand on my arm, and said: ‘F*ck it.’
“I laughed, “F*ck what?’.
“He then pulled out the ring and said ‘Most relationships end in Ikea, I’d like to break that curse.
“Will you marry me for real this time?’
“I just started laughing and giggling and of course said ‘Yes.’
“Then he said, ‘I’m tired of waiting. I’ve waited 22 years for you to get your s*it together, I want you to be my wife’
“I was so incredibly happy I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.
“We’ve always had the best experiences together when things were totally unplanned.
“He just acted on how he felt when he felt it and it was absolutely perfect and 100% ‘us’.
“I don’t think I took my eyes or hands off him or the ring for the entire rest of the day.
“I’ll have to take his word for it when he says that people were smiling and watching and that the lady behind us in the checkout was ‘annoyed’.
“When we got to the checkout, I told him to look up at the security monitor and I snapped a pic of us.”
And their friends were surprised by the event, too.
Patti said: “My friends are extremely happy for us, with some saying, “I always wondered why the two of you never dated… You seem perfect for each other.”
“Through every single event, good, bad, indifferent; he has been there for me, and I’ve been there for him.
“We were just both really bad at ‘reading the room’ apparently.”
She added: “It took us far too long to realise this, but we are here now, and we’re excited for the next 22 years, and more.”
