Ancient Wreck Hides STUNNING Modern Surprise

Sunlight beams illuminating ocean coral reef underwater scene.

A New Zealand diver shattered every romantic cliché when he dropped to one knee 100 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean, turning an ancient shipwreck into the most unforgettable engagement venue imaginable.

Story Snapshot

William Paterson proposed to Kim Paterson at 100 feet depth near Fiji’s MV Salamanda shipwreck on April 10, 2023
The Auckland couple, both experienced divers, met in 2021 and bonded over their shared passion for underwater exploration
William coordinated with the dive team to capture the surprise on GoPro while Kim believed they were posing for a routine photo
The shock caused Kim’s air consumption to spike dramatically, and she married William in December 2024
The couple continues diving adventures worldwide, including whale shark encounters during their Maldives honeymoon

When Romance Meets the Deep Blue

William Paterson executed what might be the ocean’s most elaborate surprise when he convinced his girlfriend Kim to pose for what she thought was a simple commemorative photo during their Fiji dive trip. The 37-year-old had secretly coordinated with the entire dive team, turning their routine exploration into theater. As Kim positioned herself in front of the MV Salamanda shipwreck, William produced an engagement ring and knelt on the sandy seabed at roughly 100 feet below the surface. The moment captured on GoPro shows Kim’s genuine shock, her eyes widening behind her dive mask as she processed what was happening in the eerie silence of the deep.

The proposal violated every protocol Kim knew about responsible diving. As an experienced diver, she understood the cardinal rule about never touching the seabed to protect marine ecosystems and maintain buoyancy control. Watching William deliberately break this rule initially frustrated her until she realized why he was kneeling. The emotional whiplash from annoyance to overwhelming joy created a physiological response that threatened the dive itself. Kim’s air consumption spiked so dramatically from the adrenaline rush that she barely remembers the actual moment, her body burning through oxygen as her heart raced in the cold Pacific water.

The Perfect Stage for an Impossible Question

The MV Salamanda shipwreck sits perfectly upright on Fiji’s ocean floor, creating what diving experts describe as a vessel frozen mid-voyage. This rare positioning makes it one of Fiji’s most dramatic dive sites, where the ship appears to sail through an eternal underwater twilight. FijiDiving.com experts note that such perfectly preserved wrecks are uncommon, typically vessels settle at angles or collapse over time. The Salamanda’s theatrical stance provided William with a backdrop that no land-based proposal could match, a ghostly monument to maritime history serving as witness to a very human moment of commitment and hope.

The couple’s journey to that seafloor began in 2021 when they met and discovered their mutual obsession with diving. This shared passion became the foundation of their relationship, spending weekends exploring underwater worlds instead of restaurants or movie theaters. William understood that proposing in a traditional setting would feel hollow for someone like Kim, whose idea of adventure involved technical equipment, decompression tables, and creatures most people only see in documentaries. The Salamanda wreck represented everything they valued together: exploration, beauty in unexpected places, and the courage to venture where most never go.

Surfacing Into a New Life

The dive team knew what was coming, turning their routine excursion into a conspiracy of romance. When William and Kim surfaced after she accepted his proposal, the boat erupted in celebration. Champagne appeared at their resort shortly after, the group toasting a couple who had literally taken their relationship to new depths. The video footage, handed off to another diver during the proposal, would eventually circulate worldwide, capturing imaginations far beyond the diving community. The story’s recent resurgence in February 2026 through outlets like Fox News demonstrates how certain moments transcend their immediate context, inspiring others to match grand gestures to genuine passions.

Kim and William married in December 2024, their wedding presumably at sea level but no less meaningful for the conventional altitude. Their honeymoon took them to the Maldives, where they dove with whale sharks and manta rays, continuing the underwater adventures that define their partnership. Kim mentioned wanting to return to the Salamanda wreck, to experience it again with clear memories instead of the adrenaline-fogged recollection of that proposal dive. The shipwreck that served as their engagement venue remains there, unchanged, waiting in the silent deep while the couple it united explores oceans around the world.