A local TV reporter rushed to the scene of a breaking news report earlier this month only to discover that she was the subject of the story. Valerie Bell, an investigative reporter at ABC affiliate WBMA in Birmingham, Alabama, believed she was meeting with authorities to investigate an alleged report of a domestic violence incident, but was actually lured to the scene for a romantic proposal staged by her now-fiancé, Blake Bjornson.
A clip Bell posted to both Instagram and Twitter showed the news reporter arriving to the scene of an alleged domestic violence incident near a lake. As she is seen speaking with a police officer and taking notes, the officer can be heard telling her, “before you take notes, I think you’d like to see one thing right behind you.” Dropped to one knee behind Bell was Bjornson, who had a ring in hand ready to pop the question.
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“Oh my God, I’m trying to process what just happened. I thought there were kids in the water. That’s so bad,” Bell said in the video, in which she said “yes.” Sharing the video to Instagram, Bell wrote, “Here I was, thinking I was going to breaking news, but little did I know, it was all part of a massive collaborative plan to pull off one heck of a surprise. Can’t wait to spend forever with you, Blake. I’m the most lucky girl.”
“Ever since I first met you, I knew you were the one. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side. You mean the absolute world to me and I love you more and more each and every day,” Bell wrote in a later post, adding in another that she was “Still floating on cloud 9.”
According to WBMA, Bjornson recruited the help of quite a few people to pull off the surprise engagement. On Facebook, the news station revealed that Bjornson, “who works as a firefighter, pulled together some of his friends (including) the Pell City Police Department to help pull off the proposal story of a lifetime.” Following the engagement, the Pell City Police Department sent their congratulations to the newly engaged couple, writing, “Congratulations Valerie Bell and Blake! Thank you for letting us be a small part of your special day.”
