A proposal fit for a PM: Loved-up Rishi Sunak unveils how he asked his wife to marry him during luxury five-star trip to California – and admits he’s ‘100 per cent’ punching above his weight
- The Prime Minister met his wife while they were both studying in California
- Four years after meeting, they married in a lavish ceremony in Bengaluru in India
Rishi Sunak admitted he was ‘batting above his average’ with his wife and shared details about his romantic proposal at a five-star hotel.
In a personal and revealing interview, the Prime Minister also said that he ‘wouldn’t be able to get through the day’ without his other half.
Mr Sunak met Akshata Murthy, both 42, at Stanford University, where she was studying after being granted a Fulbright scholarship.
Rishi has previously admitted there was ‘clearly something’ there when he and Akshata first met – and added he is an enormous fan of rom-coms, prompting him to change some of his classes so that he could sit next to his wife.
Four years later, in 2009, they married in a lavish ceremony in Bengaluru in India, after a romantic proposal during a cliff-top walk in California.
Rishi Sunak admitted he was ‘batting above his average’ with his wife Akshata Murthy and shared details about his romantic proposal
Rishi Sunak proposed to his wife on a romantic proposal during a cliff-top walk in California (pictured: Ritz-Carlton hotel)
The PM got down on one knee during a stay at a gorgeous hotel in California, which is thought to be the five-star Ritz-Carlton retreat.
The Prime Minister told Piers Morgan in an exclusive sit-down with TalkTV in Downing Street.
He said: ‘Yes I definitely am batting above my average.
‘I wouldn’t have been able to do this job without her love and support.’
When pushed on what love means to him, Mr Sunak said: ‘There’s lots of different aspects to it.
‘The bit I’m probably most focused on at the moment and the bit that means most to me at the moment is the support that she gives me doing this job.’
He also revealed how he proposed to his now wife – who has an estimated net worth of around £500 million.
The PM got down on one knee during a stay at a gorgeous hotel in California, which is thought to be the five-star Ritz-Carlton retreat.
The £750-a-night hotel is set in the Californian clifftops and boasts two championship golf courses.
The Prime Minister told Piers Morgan: ‘Yes I definitely am batting above my average’
The couple have two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka (pictured with their parents at Rishi’s campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party in July)
Mr Sunak said: ‘We got engaged in a place called Half Moon Bay – it was a place that when we were students, we met when we were studying together in the States, and we used to walk in this area and look up at this nice fancy hotel that we never could stay in.
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‘Then I surprised her and we did go and stay there.
‘But before that we went for a walk along the cliffs and we were alone and that’s where I proposed.’
During their early years together, Akshata pursued a career in fashion and set up her own business in 2007, Akshata Designs, based on celebrating Indian culture, discovering artists in remote villages and working with them and their designs to create her own.
‘I’m about the story behind a particular garment, it’s authenticity, craftsmanship and protecting a rich heritage,’ she told Vogue . ‘I care about doing something in India, for India because it’s part of our family’s DNA.’
However, her business venture fell flat and collapsed after just three years.
Nonetheless, the mother of two has continued to hold stakes in businesses over the years – including the family empire, Infosys and a project she and Rishi set up together, Catamaran Ventures UK. She has also been linked to Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria and Etonian tailor, New & Lingwood.
Eventually Rishi and Akshata moved to the UK in 2013, where Rishi became MP for Richmond in Yorkshire two years later.
The couple now live in a £7 million townhouse in Kensington with their daughters, which is just one of several properties they own.
As well as the townhouse, they also enjoy a £1million flat in Kensington and a £2million mansion in Rishi’s Yorkshire constituency, where he is nicknamed the ‘Maharaja of the Dales’. They also have a £5.5million penthouse in California, overlooking Santa Monica pier, which they use in the holidays.
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