A COUPLE stole the spotlight at a Lionel Richie concert when they got engaged as the superstar performed.

Yoga teacher Alex Smallman, from Hove, received a delightful surprise when her fiancé John Whelan, 35, proposed to her in the middle of the concert in Hove on Saturday night.

The 36-year-old said it was a perfect day for her as the proposal was unexpected, and with her favourite song Stuck On You was being performed.

She said: “It was very exciting and it was completely unexpected.

“I was there with John, and our friends. It turned out John and our friends had planned it for three months.

“John had asked friends when it would be a good time to propose and they all said during the Lionel Richie concert.

“During one of his songs, John said to me ‘you do know how much I love you’. I said ‘I love you too’.”

“John said we should walk to the front and I didn’t know what he had planned. We were not allowed to, but John showed the security guard a ring and said he wanted to propose to me. So he let us through.”

Alex said while John was proposing, she did not realise that thousands of spectators, and even Lionel Richie, had turned their attention to them.

She said: “Everyone was looking at us, then Lionel Richie’s cameramen focused on us and we were featured on the big television screen.

“Lionel Richie stopped his show and spoke to us. He said ‘wow’ and congratulated us.

“He shouted at me ‘just say yes’ and said to John ‘just put the ring on her finger’.”

“It was really lovely of him to put his show on hold for a short moment, and to celebrate our happy occasion with us.

“It was a really gorgeous day, with perfect weather. I had never expected us to get that attention. The ring is gorgeous.

“Looking back, I think what happened on the weekend was a really positive and inspiring story. You don’t often hear something so extraordinary happening so close to you.”

Alex runs Hove-based gym, Uber Mummies. She met John three years ago when she moved to Brighton. Alex said: “John is the one for me. He, like me, is a really positive person. I believe if you are really positive, often something good will happen to you.”