Bear Grylls’ unusual proposal to wife Shara and the ‘shared family crisis’s’ that made them

From rings in champagne flutes to fancy dinner parties, many people cling to proposal clichés, but not Bear Grylls.

The 48-year-old adventurer married his wife Shara Cannings Knight in 2000 and their relationship has been anything but ordinary since they first met in 1998.

After losing his trousers to a wave, Bear ran into Shara on a freezing New Year’s Eve in Scotland.

He then suggested that she keep the engagement ring safely between his buttocks during a skinny dipping session.

Tragically, both their fathers died when they briefly tied the knot, but Bear later said he felt the “shared crisis” made them stronger.

Bear recalled their first meeting in a 2014 interview with Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, saying, “It was freezing on the north coast and a wave came and took my clothes.

“I ran around naked, looking for my pants. It was the worst timing in the world to fall in love because I was in Scotland.

At the time, the then 23-year-old bear was just months away from becoming the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest.

He added, “It was the new year, I was training, staying with a friend and climbing every day.”

Bear mirrored their original encounter with his proposal, when he “pulled the ring out of my bum,” after skinny-dipping.

Tragically, both their fathers died shortly after they tied the knot, but Bear later said he felt that “shared crisis” made them stronger.

“I didn’t really have a job — and that was a concern — and then her father died. Twelve weeks later my father died,” he said The times.

‘I had just become a husband. I had to take care of my family and my mother. I had to convert the skills I had into a job.’

Flashback: After losing his trousers to a wave, Bear ran into Shara on a freezing New Year’s Eve in Scotland (pictured together in 2001)

Husband and wife: Tragically, both their fathers died, briefly tied the knot, but Bear later said he felt that “shared crisis” made them stronger (pictured in 2012)

Bear continued, “We lived on this rusty barge on the Thames and the boiler was broken. I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t talk to Shara because I felt I had to be strong for her.’

He explained why they sought professional guidance, he wrote in his column GQ magazine: ‘We thought that if [marriage] was the most important thing we were ever going to do, we should do everything we can to keep it from breaking in the first place.”

The father-of-three said one of the best tips he took out of the support sessions was to plan a date night once a week.

He explains that activities don’t have to be “expensive or fancy,” it’s more about spending time together and focusing on what attracted you to each other in the first place.

“Togetherness is what it’s all about,” he added.

Bear and Shara, who divide their time between a holiday home in North Wales and London, have three young sons together: Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry.

The first, Jesse, was born in 2003, Marmaduke in 2006, and Huckleberry in 2009.

Recently, Bear admitted that he was “knocked sideways” when he revealed the truth about his great-uncle’s death and discovered a surprising royal connection on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Speaking to MailOnline and other press, the adventurer revealed that there was “sadness behind his grandfather’s eyes” that he never understood until now.

In the episode that aired June 15, Bear explores where his “love of wildlife comes from,” as he explores his family’s military past, their defining traits, and “a link to Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland’.

Recalling his experience on the show, the TV presenter described the “emotional and moving” discovery as he followed his grandfather Neville’s “journey of loss” following the passing of his brother Richard.

He also learns about his paternal grandfather, Grandpa Ted, who was part of a “clandestine special forces unit.”

Speaking of his experience, Bear explained, “I never understood what that family was going through, but when I stood in that room where my grandfather and all his siblings would have gathered after their brother’s death, it really hit me.” .’

Adding his great-grandfather Rev Lionel Ford, he said how his “strength became his greatest weakness” when he lost his 16-year-old son.

“My great-grandfather, as a huge family man, I realized that his greatest strength was now his greatest weakness. Holding his son’s hand as he was dying, it really knocked me sideways.

Family: Bear and Shara, who divide their time between a holiday home in North Wales and London, have three young sons together: Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry (pictured in 2011 with Marmaduke and Jesse LR)

Emotional: Bear recently admitted he was “knocked sideways” when he revealed the truth about his great-uncle’s death and discovered a royal connection in Who Do You Think You Are?

Bear added, “My grandfather sometimes called his brother. That pain and loss stayed with him all his life, but I could never understand where it came from.’

“I knew there was a broken piece of his heart when he was reminded of his brother. There was a sadness behind his eyes.’

In tracing his lineage, Bear explained how it “sheds light on his character” as he drew parallels between himself and his relatives.

“I think I’ve always known the military has been a big part of my family, but this took it to a whole other level for me and it answered so many questions about the natural traits that come into my life, but I’ve never understood where she came from,” he said.