Auckland man pops the question after partner aces Herald quiz

Gavin Male proposed to Sara Hartigan when she managed to get his goal of 6/10 in the Herald quiz. Photo / Supplied

An Auckland couple who started doing the Herald quiz out of boredom are now engaged - and they have the quiz to thank for it.

During the country's lockdown in March last year, Gavin Male would crack open a beer in the afternoon and sit down to read the Herald.

One day he then turned to his partner Sara Hartigan and asked if she wanted to do it.

As an incentive, he promised her an engagement ring if she aced it.

"I was like, 'oh this sounds fun'," Hartigan said.

So the engagement quiz began.

The quiz became their way of winding down after a busy day juggling homeschooling and work.

"Basically it just came out of boredom that we decided to do the engagement quiz and my general knowledge is so s*** Gavin thought he could get away with maybe two years - but no, I got it after a year," Hartigan said.

"The first time I got two out of 10. It was just me, no hints or anything like that, no multiple choice."

Male took pity on Hartigan who was struggling with the answers and kept reducing the goal from answering 10/10 correctly to eventually landing on 6/10.

The couple, who have been together for two years and been married before, continued the ritual about three to four times a week and were still doing the quiz when Auckland went back into lockdown in March 2021.

Hartigan said she had been shocked when they had been going through the quiz on March 3 and Male informed her she had got 5/10 and only had one question to go.

Illustration / Rod Emmerson

The next question was about a Pixar film, which being a mum she knew.

Her partner's reaction was priceless.

"All the blood drained from his face."

Hartigan said their two kids - who they have from previous relationships - were also in disbelief she had got that many right and double checked the answers.

The happy couple got engaged, but have continued the quiz now dubbed the venue quiz.

Hartigan is working towards getting another 6/10 so she can have her dream venue.

But she has a bit of time because they have no plans to get married until Male's UK-based parents can attend and that could be several years away.

In the meantime the blended family will continue doing the quiz and increasing their general knowledge.

Since Hartigan managed to score an engagement ring it has left their kids, aged 7 and 9, questioning what they will get for a perfect score.

"They were like, 'what do we get?'. I was like, nothing - you have a roof over your head be happy with that."