Bravolebrity, Captain Sandy Yawn, is engaged!
Last weekend, the “Below Deck Mediterranean” star popped the question to her longtime girlfriend of over five years, Leah Shafer.
“I have been thinking about marrying Leah for years,” Yawn told E! News, confirming the couple’s engagement. “I knew from the minute I met her, but the timing had to be right. I wanted to make sure we could truly do life together first.”
Yawn, who really began thinking about proposing back in April, then shared how the milestone moment came to be.
“Leah wanted the fairytale, and to me, Leah represents elegance. I planned a boat ride to a beautiful cove. I had it decorated with flowers with a path to a small table accompanied by three violinists where we could sit and have a small date,” the super-yacht captain recalled. Photos of the proposal can be seen in E! News’ story.
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Yawn admitted she was so nervous that she “truly could not wait” and had to get down on one knee immediately after arriving to the cove.
“I shared my vision list of love I had written and wanted, then got on one knee. Then, she said ‘yes!’ The look on her face was priceless, and my heart exploded!” she shared. “It was filled beyond capacity of anything I could ever imagine. Somehow I feel closer than I did before, and I can’t explain it. There is an energy that I have never experienced in my life. I love her beyond; as Leah says Yawn beyond.”
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Yawn and Shafer — a gospel singer and skin aesthetician — met in Los Angeles back in 2018, months after Shafer had sent Yawn a private Facebook message.
In 2019, Yawn recounted the message to Cheat Sheet: “She sent me a nice message that said, ‘I came across your show, congratulations, many blessings.'” The reality star then admitted she researched Shafer and truly thought she’d be “perfect” to bring along on her “I Believe” tour “because her music has a message.”
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Shafer described the beginning of their relationship as “a spiritual connection.”
“She has a passion for inspiring through music and the youth. And broken people and so do I coming from the gospel industry,” the singer told the outlet of Yawn. “That’s what brought us together. And then, of course, the attraction and falling in love with a beautiful soul and knowing you want to be with someone forever. I’ve never felt that way before.”
Marrying Yawn will mark Shafer’s second marriage. She is also a mom to a teenage daughter named Lauren from her previous marriage.
