A man is devastated after his 24-year-old fiancée died on their dream holiday just days after he proposed to her.
Craig McKinnon and Jess Prinsloo, from the UK, were on a trip in South Africa in December when Craig dropped to one knee.
The couple announced the exciting news on Facebook on December 28, with photos showing the couple with beaming smiles as Ms Prinsloo boasted a sparkling diamond ring on her finger.
“Came with a girlfriend, left with a fiancée. Here’s to the rest of our lives my love,” he captioned the photos.
Mr McKinnon told The Mirror they decided to visit South Africa so Ms Prinsloo could be reunited with family members she had not seen in six years.
“I knew there was no better place to propose,” he said.
“My voice cracked as I got down on one knee and asked, ‘Will you marry me?’ She said, ‘Oh my God’ and started crying before she said yes.”
However, just days later tragedy struck after she ended up in a critical condition in a South African hospital, with family members unsure whether she would wake up.
The Mirror reports Ms Prinsloo, who has an allergy to dairy, was rushed to hospital after going into anaphylaxis after she used the wrong spoon to stir a cup of tea. Despite the young woman carrying two EpiPens, they failed to help her and she died on New Year’s Eve.
Following the devastating news, Mr McKinnon shared his heartbreak with friends on Facebook.
“You were supposed to be drinking tea and playing bingo long after I was gone. My darling, my angel, my love, my fiancée. The sexiest lady in the room, the funniest potato on the farm, and the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” he wrote.
“Rest in peace.”
In another post, Mr McKinnon thanked his friends for their support, with a GoFundMe page set up to help pay funeral and hospital costs raising more than $4500.
“I am humbled,” he said following her death.
“It’s difficult to find clarity in today, the worst day of my life. But a point I have never been clearer on, the 3+ years I got with my Jess are irreplaceable, and I wouldn’t trade them for 60 years with any other person on earth. Make no mistake I am devastated, and feeling pain like I’ve never felt before, but anyone that spent time in her company knows what I mean when I say I have been blessed to call her my fiancée, the greatest three days of my life.”
Mr McKinnon told The Mirror the pair had met in 2019 and moved in together in 2021. He added she was diagnosed with a dairy allergy when she was nine years old and had been resuscitated after she consumed a dairy product in a curry when she was just 18.
The heartbroken fiancé told the publication he wanted people to be aware of just how fatal allergies could be.
“It is something people cannot control and it can kill them,” he said.
“I just want people to listen and understand how serious this is.”
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
