'Love Is Underwater': British Man's Unique Proposal To 'Shark-Loving' Girlfriend Goes Viral - WATCH

A British couple took their engagement to an unusual depth when James Walsh proposed to his girlfriend Paige Cook while the two were underwater inside a shark tank at Skegness Aquarium in Lincolnshire.

The couple had signed up for the aquarium’s diving-with-sharks experience on September 10, but Cook was unaware that Walsh had another surprise planned. Surrounded by sharks and wearing scuba gear, Walsh got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

Proposal planned around her love for sharks

Walsh, who is from Wendover in Buckinghamshire, had been planning the proposal and wanted to avoid a conventional romantic setting. Since sharks are Cook’s favourite animals, he decided that an underwater proposal would make the occasion particularly memorable.

“Sharks are her favourite animal. I knew that's where I wanted to do it,” Walsh told BBC Radio Lincolnshire. “I thought, surrounded by her favourite animal, it would be a unique experience.”

He contacted Skegness Aquarium before their scheduled diving experience and explained his plan to the staff. The aquarium agreed to help Walsh pull off the surprise and even arranged a special sign for the proposal.

Aquarium staff helped keep the surprise secret

The aquarium team carefully arranged the moment so that Walsh and Cook could have some privacy. The pair were separated from the rest of the diving group before Walsh made his move.

“They separated us from the rest of the group, and then a man snuck round with the sign,” Walsh said.

While underwater, both Walsh and Cook were dressed in wetsuits and equipped with scuba gear. Walsh then revealed a sign carrying the simple question: “Will you marry me?”

Cook appeared stunned by the unexpected gesture. She covered her scuba mask with her hand as she took in what was happening before eventually responding with an “OK” hand signal to indicate that she accepted.

The newly engaged couple then embraced underwater, turning their shark-diving experience into a proposal they are unlikely to forget.

‘I completely forgot I was in a tank’

For Cook, the proposal came as a complete surprise. She said she was already excited about fulfilling her dream of scuba diving and swimming with sharks when Walsh unexpectedly turned the experience into a marriage proposal.

“This [was] the best day of my life. I've always wanted to go scuba diving and swimming with sharks. Then [the proposal] happened and I completely forgot I was in a tank!” said Cook.

The aquarium later congratulated the couple on social media, sharing a photograph from their underwater engagement.

Jamie Elvidge of Skegness Aquarium described the proposal as a particularly memorable way to ask the big question.

“It's an adrenaline-fuelled experience anyway, and then when you add the extra excitement of this you feel like you're there and part of it,” Elvidge said, adding: “It is a really unique way of popping the big question.”