Winning in love and career: The Apprentice’s Harpreet and Akshay just got engaged! Season 16 winner Harpreet Kaur’s engagement ring officially took her off the market when she accepted Akshay Thakrar’s proposal on May 29, 2023. Congrats on this double win!
We got on an EXCLUSIVE phone call with Benjamin Khordipour, G.D., the author, lecturer, and GIA-certified gemologist of NYC’s Estate Diamond Jewelry for a professional look at this lovely ring. Click here to see his expert appraisal.
Harpreet Kaur’s Engagement Ring and Akshay Thakrar’s Proposal
Akshay knew that Harpreet was The One after falling in love with her and reconnecting with her after Season 16 wrapped up on British TV.
A little over a year after dating, he planned his proposal by inviting her to attend a friend’s birthday party. She led her to a London rooftop bedecked with rose petals, carpets, and candles and a huge “Will you marry me?” sign. Fireworks sparked the ultra-romantic venue as he got down on one knee and proposed. The Proposal Planners, a London-based company, helped him set up the lovely proposal.
Harpreet Kaur’s engagement ring is breathtaking. It features an approximately 3-carat elongated cushion-cut diamond with a halo of small round diamonds set in a pavé platinum band.
How Much Is Her Engagement Ring Worth?
Our phone conversation with Benjamin Khordipour, G.D., the jewelry specialist of NYC’s Estate Diamond Jewelry, who holds advanced degrees from Gübelin and the Gemological Institute of America, gave us his insights on the lovely ring. He placed its value at $45,000 or £35,000.
The high-quality elements of this ring include the 3-carat elongated cushion cut diamond, with supporting small round diamonds on its halo and platinum band. The craftsmanship of the jewelry designer company, London Diamond Dealer, also factors into the total price of this beautiful ring.
Harpreet and Akshay’s Love Story
There are rare instances when competing colleagues or even work rivals end up falling for each other. Such is the beginning of Harpreet and Akshay’s love story when they first met in The Apprentice in Season 16.
Harpreet beat everyone in the show and came out on top with the high-stress business tasks and projects heaped on her. Akshay, meanwhile, was fired after his 9th task.
They started dating in May 2022 after the series wrapped up on British TV in March 2022. In a way, he too won in life by finding the woman he will spend the rest of his life with.
After winning Season 16 of the show, Harpreet and Akshay reconnected. They hard-launched their relationship in August 2022 when she reintroduced Akshay on her Instagram, now as her beau.
Harpreet won twice, first as Season 16’s champion, kickstarting her career with her £250,000 investment winnings from Lord Alan Sugar for her dessert chain business Oh So Yum!, then finding the love of her life when he reconnected with Akshay. Her win also helped her open her third store in Bradford. Harpreet said it would be her flagship outlet.
Speaking with Luxurist Magazine, she said that her first impression of Akshay was that he looked arrogant. “I was mistaken,” she later revealed after getting to know the real him.
“Good things take time,” she explained. “The Apprentice is a very stressful environment. So if you can see someone at their most stressed point and still have that respect for them, then there’s something there for sure,” she added.
Akshay confirmed later during their interview together on the spin-off show, The Apprentice: You’re Fired, explaining to host Tom Allen, “Me and Harpreet barely spoke on the show because we never worked on the same team. And even while the show aired, we hardly spoke. It was only after I was like, ‘Let’s grab dinner'”
Harpreet added, “There was literally absolutely nothing going on at the house. And I think just going through the process, coming out of it, we built a friendship and it kind of went from there.”
