Melinda Messenger announces engagement to TV expedition leader Dr Raj Joshi

TV presenter Melinda Messenger has announced her engagement to survival expert Dr Raj Joshi.

The 52-year-old former glamour model revealed on Instagram on Monday that the couple got engaged in New Zealand, and also announced that they plan to marry next year.

Messenger shared a series of images of the couple with a glass of wine and in front of a picturesque mountain backdrop, as well as a number of the New Zealand scenery which provided the stage for the proposal.

She said: “We’ve got some very happy news to share. @raj.joshi.expedition and I got engaged in beautiful New Zealand at Matariki, the Maori New year, and we are getting married next year!”

The Maori New Year was officially celebrated on July 14 this year.

Messenger’s post was accompanied by a yellow love heart and heart face, with the hashtags “wedding”, “wedding planning” and “happy”.

Cowboy Builder host Melinda was previously married to Wayne Roberts, the father of her three children – sons Morgan and Flynn and daughter Evie – but they split in 2012.

She later met ski instructor Warren Smith on Channel 4 winter sports show The Jump in early 2014 but they parted three years later due to incompatible lifestyles and differing ideas about family, she previously said.

Meanwhile, expedition leader Dr Raj led the Celebrity BBC Comic Relief climb on Mount Kilimanjaro including Cheryl, Gary Barlow and Chris Moyles, and helped raise £3.3 million from the expedition to fight malaria in East Africa.

He was also an expedition leader for David Beckham and three of his friends through the Amazon jungle.

SAS: Who Dares Wins star Jason “Foxy” Fox commented on their engagement news: “Huge congratulations both of you”, as did singer Siva Kaneswaran from The Wanted, TV personality Gail Porter and Irish actress Victoria Smurfit.