Delivery driver proposes to girlfriend by getting ‘will you marry me?’ inked on his chest

A delivery driver has proposed to his girlfriend with a ‘will you marry me’ tattoo on his chest – and she clearly ticked the right box as she said ‘yes’.

Smitten Bruno Neves, 33, wanted to ask his partner Patricia Calado, 34, to marry him after a trip to his favourite tattoo parlour in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

The mother-of-two was ‘confused’ when he first showed her the new inking – after she had spent 45 minutes in the waiting room of Arron Adams’ A Sailor’s Grave tattoo studio.

Mr Adams, who is also a father to a four-year-old son, had written the words ‘will you marry me’ in permanent ink across Bruno’s chest. 

But the hotel cleaner quickly grabbed a pen and ticked the yes box.

She said: ‘It was a complete surprise. He has some tattoos that he wants to get covered up and sometimes I will go along with him and wait so I though it was all quite normal. 

‘I was quite confused when he came out and revealed that tattoo to me. It took a moment to realise what it was. 

‘Then I just laughed and told him “you’re crazy” but of course I ticked yes. I am very happy.’

Bruno, who boasts a collection of 20 tattoos, said: ‘It was a dream come true.’

Tattoo artist Arron said it is the first time he has ever helped someone propose through ink.  

Patricia added it was ‘very strange’ being proposed to in a public place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: ‘I didn’t know how to react. We both had our masks on, so we didn’t kiss each other, just out of respect for the other people there.’

She added Bruno is very romantic, and surprises her every month on the 11th – to mark the “anniversary” of each month they have been together.

‘Every month on the 11th he will take me travelling somewhere, or we will go out for a nice dinner,’ she said.

And Bruno said that Patricia accepting his proposal was ‘amazing’.

He said: ‘If it hadn’t been for Covid, I would have done it sooner. I had been planning the tattoo for around five or six months.

‘We have been together for a year and a half – but I am absolutely certain about Patricia.

‘We have spent every day together for the past two years, and we have seen how our families connect together, so I had no fear about proposing to her.

‘I would not have done it if I had not been absolutely sure – a tattoo is something you really have to think about.’

The couple are now hoping to tie the knot in August next year – and Bruno says he has already been emailing priests to try and get a date booked in.

Mr Adams, who did the tattoo for Bruno, said he has never done a tattoo proposal before – but is ‘always up for a challenge’.

He said: ‘It did feel a bit strange. I’ve never actually done anything like that one before.

‘I was a bit nervous myself – as tattoo artists, we advise people against having names tattooed on them or anything like that, because obviously it is permanent.

‘But Bruno told me he wanted to do something a bit crazy – and I thought, yeah, let’s go for it.

‘It’s lucky she said yes – because I said to Bruno that even if she had said no, I would have tattooed that on him, too.

‘He was really chuffed. I could see as he was walking out to reveal the tattoo that he was extremely nervous.

‘She was really shocked and surprised when she saw it. It was a lovely moment.

‘It was really nice for me to be a part of that special moment for someone. It made me feel really good – like a little Cupid.’