Emeli Sande announces engagement to girlfriend Yoana Karemova

The singer confirmed she said ‘yes’

Kate Ng
Wednesday 21 September 2022 15:35 BST
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Emeli Sandé lip-syncs during Concert for Ukraine

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Emeli Sande has announced that she is engaged to her girlfriend Yoana Karemova, six months after she revealed she was in a same-sex relationship.

The “My Kind of Love” singer, 35, revealed the news on Instagram, where she posted a photograph of herself beaming as she showed off her ruby and diamond engagement ring.

In the caption, Sande added red heart emojis and wrote: “I said yes!”

She took to Instagram Stories to post two more photographs of the ring, as well as a snap of her and Karemova walking together, with the text: “Fiance, fiancé.”

Friends and fans flooded Sande’s comments with messages of love and congratulations on the happy news.

Presenter Zoe Ball, musician Nadia Rose and actor Claire Sweeney were among those congratulating the couple and sending red heart emojis.

Sande opened up about being in a same-sex relationship in April and said she “guessed” she identified as bisexual but wasn’t sure.

“I just feel like I should fall in love with whoever I fall in love with,” she told Metro at the time.

After the interview, she posted a selfie of her and Karemova on Instagram and wrote: “It’s taken me many years to find the strength to be myself. I’ve struggled for a long time to accept myself as I am.

“I’m so lucky to have found my soulmate Yoana, she’s such an extraordinary woman! Falling in love with her gave me the strength I needed! Feels so good to be in love and I feel happier than ever.”

Sande was previously married to marine biologist Adam Gouraguine, whom she dated for more than 10 years before they wed in 2012.

The couple announced their divorce two years later. Following the split, Sande told The Times that she felt as though she had been “pretending to be someone else” during her marriage.

She told the newspaper: “Everyone thought I’d gone mad… But there was just something inside me that said, ‘This isn’t the life. You’re pretending to be someone else’. I don’t want to call it a breakdown, but it felt like that.”

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