This was one of Lifestyle's top stories in 2018
A Kiwi man has dropped to one knee in what could be the most elaborate marriage proposal New Zealand has ever seen.
Reminiscent of Kanye West's proposal to Kim Kardashian, fitness mogul and social media sensation Joseph Rakich has set some seriously high standards for other Kiwi men.
Rakich boasts more than 740,000 Instagram followers and made his fortune in the online fitness arena. In 2014, after being discharged without conviction over the sale of class-C pills, the Auckland High Court heard his company, Josef Rakich Fitness, made over $800,000 in sales that year.
And it appears his financial success has continued. An Eden Park spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that on Sunday Rakich and his girlfriend Maryam Matti landed a helicopter on the sports ground where he had an elaborate surprise waiting.
Captured by a film crew and live-streamed on Snapchat, Rakich is seen lifting his lady out of the chopper and walking her blindfolded towards a giant pink box in the middle of the field.
Together the pair tug on a white ribbon to open the gargantuan gift. As the sides fall away and balloons bubble out, Matti appears thrilled to find a custom pink Range Rover inside.
But that's not all: "Will you marry me?" is stamped across the pricey car's windshield and footage shows Matti turning back to her partner, who has swiftly gone down on one knee to present her with a ring.
Quickly saying yes to her buff bae, the couple are filmed sharing their excitement with surrounding friends as fireworks explode in the background.
It didn't take long for the special moment to go viral either. Matti, who has over 64,000 followers on Instagram, posted the video and in just 24 hours it's had more than 3.5 million views.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on
Matti shared her joy with her followers, writing: "I said YES to the man of my dreams. I love you so much Josef. An unforgettable proposal of all time.
"Landed in Eden Park blindfolded in a Helicopter and then walked over to a huge pink box.
"Thank you for everything you do for me. You are my King. Here's to the future!"
It's not the first time Rakich has showered his wife-to-be with a lavish display of love. He bought her 1000 red roses for Valentine's Day and a gift from Louis Vuitton. She shared a video of the generous presents noting her partner puts "the 'Man' in romantic."
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on
Matti later shared that she took some of her Valentine's Day roses to a rest home for residents to enjoy. How they all fit in Rakich's Lamborghini remains unclear.
She also credits her fitness fanatic husband-to-be with helping her make a safe and healthy body transformation in which she lost 6kg in just 12 weeks on one of his plans.
Matti wrote: "Josef you are just amazing at what you do. The results speak for themselves. Thank you for guiding me and teaching me something new every day."
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on
Fire burned through Speight's beer lines and ended up dousing the flames.