LOVE was the real winner at this year’s Comrades Marathon over the weekend.
And nobody expected that Joseph Ndlovu would finish so strong.
The 57-year-old from Pretoria had the biggest victory of the race when he proposed to his girlfriend, Prudence DICK, and she said yes!
He surprised everyone when he held up a banner that read: “Prudence, will you marry me? Run 90k for you” and had Mzansi wondering what Prudence’s answer was.
Talking to Daily Sun, Joseph said Prudence agreed and they planned to get married in April 2023.
Asked why he proposed during the marathon, he shared that Sunday, 28 August marked 10 years since his wife died and he chose the day to rewrite that moment.
He said it was an emotional day for him, but he was happy his Prudence said yes.
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“I’m happy to start a new chapter with the love of my life. We are from the same church and started dating in April. We were in the 40 days of fasting, which was the best time to ask her to be my girlfriend.
“I asked her out and told her I needed an answer after the fasting period. Afterwards, I invited her to my home and cooked dinner for her. That’s when she said yes to being my girlfriend and partner,” said Joseph.
Joseph told the People’s Paper that he knew when he laid eyes on her that she was the one for him.
“She’s so beautiful, respectful, sweet and down to earth. I just knew that this is the person I’ll be spending the rest of my life with,” he said.
He also revealed that he had been planning to propose for months, but none of his friends or family members knew about his plan to propose at the marathon.
He said he left Prudence at the hotel on Sunday and took that proposal banner with him.
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He then asked his manager to give it to him during the marathon, but even his manager didn’t know about his plan.
“When I pulled it out, everyone was surprised and joyful, but my favourite moment was when Prudence said ‘yes’,” said Joseph.
Prudence said she definitely didn’t see this coming.
She said she was just as surprised as the rest of Mzansi when Joseph proposed, but she didn’t think twice about her answer.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man and I was ecstatic when he proposed, especially in this manner,” she said.
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She told Daily Sun that Joseph’s kindness, respect and patience were what attracted her to him.
“His handsomeness was just a bonus,” she giggled. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.”
