Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans has revealed he is engaged, months after a controversy on the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.
The 53-year-old opera singer shared the news on Instagram alongside a photo of himself proposing to his partner, Liz Brookes, during a holiday in Morocco.
“Big news… I got engaged!” he wrote. “This weekend in Morocco, somewhere between the couscous, the camels, and me limping around the souks like a man with no spatial awareness, I proposed to Liz — and she said yes! (No take-backs, I’ve checked.)
“She’s clever, she’s kind, she’s got excellent taste in men.
“Absolutely no idea how I pulled that off, but here we are! Feeling very lucky, very happy, and just a tiny bit smug.”
Brookes, a Cardiff-based events company director, is understood to have met Evans at one of her functions.
Despite reports that Brookes had ended their relationship at the time, she later publicly supported him.
A source close to the couple told The Sun: “It has been a tumultuous six months for Wynne, but Liz has been his absolute rock throughout.
“Finally, some wonderful news for Wynne and his inner circle to celibate and everyone is chuffed for them both. He secretly bought an engagement ring and squirrelled it away for their holiday and then popped the question over champagne.
“Liz has been incredible over the past few months, supporting him through thick and thin, and had his back throughout, but obviously Wynne is telling everyone she’s a lucky girl!”
The pair are believed to have begun dating last year following Evans' divorce from violinist Tanwen Evans, with whom he shares two children; daughter Ismay and son Taliesin.
Evans has previously spoken about the impact of his divorce, telling BBC Radio Wales: “It was almost like grief, but you can’t grieve for somebody that’s still there.
“So, it really affected my mental health, my confidence and my ego – it totally changed me as a person. It made me very aware of being alone. And, even though I was only 46, I had this irrational fear of dying on my own.”
His engagement comes after Evans issued a public apology earlier this year after being dropped from the Strictly tour for making an “unacceptable” joke involving host Janette Manrara.
At the time, he announced he would take a break from the spotlight to “prioritise my wellbeing”.
The proposal also follows another professional blow, with the BBC confirming in May that it would not be renewing Evans’ contract for his mid-morning show on BBC Radio Wales.
He announced the news in an emotional post on Instagram: “It breaks my heart to say the BBC has decided not to renew my contract, so I won’t be returning to my radio show. I’m gutted.
“That show wasn’t just work — it was home. It was us. We laughed, we cried, we sang like nobody was listening. And somehow, through the airwaves, we became a family.’”
A spokesperson for the BBC told the Standard: “Wynne Evans is not under contract with the BBC. He is not returning to the mid-morning show on BBC Radio Wales and there are currently no plans to work with him.”
