A superstar on the cricket field, AB de Villiers has tamed the best of bowling attacks. But when it is the question of the heart, even the mightiest crumble and de Villiers was different.
The 32-year old got stumped in the “match” of his life for his wife Danielle. AB first met Danielle at the foot of the Waterberg Mountains, accompanying his mother to a game lodge for lunch where he met Danielle. De Villiers admits he was smitten by her in the first encounter itself.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cZ7s4lQv2/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
“It was the eyes, the beautiful eyes. The long hair was striking, but it was the eyes that instantly caught my attention. I said hello, she said hello and, amid the family greeting, that was that,” describes De Villiers.
Then 23, and already an international player, De Villiers asked his mother on the drive back whether he could get the contact number of the girl. He then texted ‘the girl with the beautiful eyes’, inviting her for a gathering with his friends.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0PcOvdF9u_/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
De Villiers had made up his mind that he wanted to marry Danielle. Before leaving for a tour to New Zealand, he arranged to meet with her parents and asked for her hand. They turned out to be really supportive, even helping him find a ring for Danielle before the start of the IPL that year.
It was during the IPL that De Villiers elaborately planned a pleasant surprise for Danielle. He chose Taj Mahal as the venue for the all-important question, ‘the ideal place to get engaged’, as De Villiers wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0LL42PF-Gk/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
He arranged a trip to the marble mausoleum during one of the match breaks, asking Jim Rydell and Kalveer Biradar to travel with them. Both were part of the RCB setup and were accompanying the couple to record the series of events that De Villiers had so painstakingly planned, oblivious to his would-be wife.
After a 212-km drive from Delhi to Agra, the group reached the monument at the stroke of evening. De Villiers beautifully describes how ‘Danielle looked fantastic’ in a simple white dress. Jim and Kalveer were stationed behind trees, ready to capture the moment.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0GaRFGlIGh/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
It was then that AB decided to take the plunge. He sat down on one knee, ‘his heart pounding’.
He started reciting a prepared speech, explaining what she meant to him, ending it with a simple question: ‘You’re the one I want to live with forever. Danielle, will you marry me?’
She looked up and responded in the affirmative. They got married the very next year, at the same spot where they first met.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz62ELOlTj0/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz4XtUglnST/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzzF2LrlBsQ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
