MANILA, Philippines — British tech entrepreneur Jonathan Sterling bought a diamond in Manila and revealed plans to propose to Celeste Cortesi in the Maldives in Episode 7 of “Celeste Unscripted,” which premiered on Goat Creative Studios’ YouTube channel on Sept. 22.
Sterling shared his proposal plans after Cortesi’s birthday dinner at L’Opera, where her friends described her with words including “beautiful,” “passionate,” “savior,” “kind” and “lovable.”
When Sterling’s turn came, he chose the word “forever.”
“I think when people have to give a word, they feel pressured to say something positive. I think I know you better than most people here. And I’ve seen not just the good, I’ve seen the bad and the ugly,” Sterling said. “So one thing we’ve talked about is that no matter what, we always find a way forward together.”
“So my word for you is forever.”
Cortesi became emotional over Sterling’s description.
“I think Jonny has seen a lot of the good but also a lot of the bad. And for him to say something like that, of course it means a lot,” Cortesi said.
She then joked about crying despite having Botox.
Sterling buys diamond in Manila
Sterling said he found the diamond Cortesi wanted after comparing prices between Dubai and Manila.
“In Dubai, we went to a jeweler and they gave us a quote on a marquise diamond that is just exactly the size and cut that Celeste wants,” he said.
After a friend complimented a bracelet, Sterling visited a Manila jeweler and received a quote for the same diamond at about half the price he received in Dubai.
“I’m going to pull the trigger, I’m gonna buy the diamond,” Sterling said. “Now the ring is in Manila.”
Cortesi later browsed rings at the same counter without knowing Sterling had already bought the diamond.
“I know when I fall in love, that [ring is] the one,” she said.
Sterling then revealed his proposal plans.
“I have a plan to propose in the Maldives. I think it’s a perfect time and place to do it, especially with who’s going to be there,” he said. “She’s going to be around very close friends and family and it’s going to be a very intimate setting.”
Cortesi also discussed her vision for a wedding during an earlier visit to Tiffany’s with her friends.
“Even before I met Jonny, I knew already how I want my wedding to be,” she said, describing a silk dress, an old villa in Italy with a vineyard and a long table surrounded by close friends and family.
IVF transfer postponed
The episode also followed Cortesi and Sterling’s fertility journey, which the series introduced in “Meet the Sterlings.”
Doctors postponed Cortesi’s embryo transfer after a scan on the scheduled procedure day showed that her uterine lining had thinned from eight millimeters to five.
Dr. Mark McKelvie of Fertility Philippines told the couple that doctors needed to optimize Cortesi’s condition before proceeding because they did not want to waste an embryo.
“I kind of felt like my body failed me,” Cortesi said. “If I knew the reason now, I could fix it for the next cycle, but because it was so sudden and with no explanation, it kinda makes you feel so sad.”
Sterling said the couple would focus on preparing for the next IVF cycle rather than speculating about the cause of the setback.
“There’s a lot of speculation we could get into here,” Sterling said. “But I think there’s a set of questions that we shouldn’t ask. I think we all just know that we need the right people in place so that when we’re doing the next IVF cycle, it’s more likely to succeed.”
Asul launches Cherry Red
The episode also featured the launch of Asul’s Cherry Red collection at an event in Makati.
The team described the launch as its biggest production yet. Sterling dedicated his toast at the event to Cortesi.
“If there’s a toast to anything for me, it’s a toast to Celeste,” he said.
Days later, Erica, Asul’s chief executive, resigned from her position, while Cortesi took over direct management of the team.
Erica described her decision as an acceptance rather than a defeat.
“This is not a defeat, but this is what I call acceptance,” Erica said, adding that the world she saw from the brand’s new BGC office “was too big for me.”
“Celeste Unscripted” airs new episodes every Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on free television in the Philippines. Goat Creative Studios also streams full episodes on its YouTube channel.
The season finale will air Saturday, Sept. 26, on free television.