‘A friend’s dinner turned out to be my own rooftop engagement’

A woman who was tricked into believing she was attending dinner for a friend says “it was best moment of my life” when her boyfriend proposed instead.

Malaika Dane thought she was attending the dinner at the Anaconda Cut in Salford on Wednesday, but instead she walked into a surprise set-up on the rooftop planned by her boyfriend Fred.

Videos shared widely across TikTok show the moment she said yes to the proposal, which was met with cheers from people watching on from surrounding flats.

Ms Dane told BBC Radio Manchester: “It was really, really wonderful walking into the surprise without knowing it was meant to be mine [proposal] – it was really mind-blowing.”

“I thought no one will ever surprise me as most of the time I am the person who does surprises,” she added.

But her family and friends had spent about a month setting up the proposal along with her partner.

When she left her family home for the event, she thought her parents and siblings were settling down for dinner so was taken aback to then see her dad “well-dressed” at the surprise.

“I was in tears – I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

She met her now fiance two years ago through a mutual friend but they decided to start dating a year ago.

She said: “He’s a really lovely man, a really lovely person so I wanted to give him a chance and see how things go.”

Speaking about the public reaction to her proposal, she said: “It was really overwhelming for me – people are being really lovely and kind to us. It was best moment of my life.”

The couple plan to marry in early 2026 to allow time for relatives in Africa to apply for visas and join their celebrations.

Ms Dane said: “We would like them to be here and celebrate our special moment with us.”