Australian Olympic Swimmer Stephanie Rice Engaged to Partner of 7 Months: ‘To Fresh Starts and Second Chances’

The retired competitor — who won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — announced news of her engagement on Instagram

Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice is taking her love story to new depths! The retired Olympian is officially engaged to pastor Mark Lassey.

Rice, 36, and her fiancé announced the news on Thursday, Sept. 5 with a joint Instagram post featuring scenes from the proposal at Dubai's Atlantis the Royal luxury beach resort. A carousel of six photos first showed Lassey, 46, with a ring box in hand and then followed with snaps of the couple embracing and sharing in the moment.

"Here’s to fresh starts and second chances … Yes to a lifetime with you 💍," the three-time 2008 Beijing gold medalist captioned the post, adding a bible verse quote, “Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire.”

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The champion athlete dressed up for the occasion in a tea-length floral dress with white petal embellishments around the collar and sleeves. Shortly after posting the photos, Lassey uploaded a selfie with Rice's new ring on full display to his Instagram Stories. He tagged Perth-based ring specialist brand Charles Edward Jewellers to credit the bling.

According to their social media posts from the summer, Rice and her fiancé — who is dad to three sons, per his Instagram bio — met this year. They celebrated about five months together this July, which Lassey commemorated with photos and a heartfelt caption listing some of Rice's special qualities.

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"She makes u feel like u r the most important person in the world. Not just me, anyone she meets. @itsstephrice gives u her undivided attention," Lassey wrote. "I’ve seen it when she meets a person for the first time, stopping her in the street or at church when she sees a friend."

He continued to tout her intelligence, faith, encouraging attitude and finally, her loyalty. "She is loyal. Loyal in the way that brings unity, create flow and trust. Loyal in a way that u know she has ur back, wants the best for u, loyal that create security and blessing," he wrote.

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A few weeks later, Rice also shared some meaningful words to honor their fast-paced love story with accompanying photos on Instagram. "When we met almost 5 months ago, we both knew this was different!" her caption began.

"From the start, there was a deep intentionally between us, and because of the complexities of our lives we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of falling in love," she continued.

Rice concluded by writing, "We’ve been so blessed that our work has taken us around the world, allowing us to spend a few days together either side of our commitments, hanging out in different cities, meeting each other’s friends and family, and discovering what a life together will look like."

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