Channel Nine weather presenter Andrea Crothers has announced her engagement to her partner, Amy Barton, sharing a gallery of photos from the moment on Instagram.
Crothers posted the carousel of images on Sunday, showing the couple beaming in an outdoor setting during a picnic before she flashed her engagement ring and celebrated with a glass of bubbles.
She captioned the post, "YES! To my favourite person, in my favourite place," alongside a clinking glasses emoji.
The announcement quickly drew warm messages from Crothers' Channel Nine colleagues. Today show co-host Sylvia Jeffreys wrote, "Hooray!!! Huge congrats to you both."
Alison Piotrowski added, "Congrats! How lovely," while Sarah Abo wrote, "Aww how gorgeous!! Congratulations!!"
Andrea Crothers' koala hugs stunt
Crothers is well known to Today show viewers for a 2024 segment that went viral after cuddles with koalas were banned at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Queensland.
Rather than let the ban stop the fun, Crothers decided to offer free hugs to random passersby instead. "Stuff the koalas. Hug me instead," she told hosts Karl Stefanovic, Sarah Abo, Alex Cullen and Brooke Boney, who were watching from the Sydney studio.
Crothers then approached a man who was scrolling his phone and drinking a cup of coffee, asking him, "Sir, free hug?" He replied, "Uh... yeah," before Crothers went in for the embrace.
The reporter appeared to go further than planned, leaning in for a kiss with the man, leaving the Today show panel stunned. "She went for the pash!" Stefanovic exclaimed, while Abo added, "Wow, straight to second base, Andrea," as Boney burst out laughing.
Fans react to the koala hugs clip
The moment sparked a wave of support in the comments for the presenter. "Way to go Andrea!" one fan wrote, while another added, "She is the best!" A third commented, "Love her she is such a legend."
From Sky News to a Dubai pond mishap
Crothers previously worked as a reporter for Sky News Australia before moving to Channel Nine's Today show.
In 2023, she fell into one of the black-marble ponds during a live broadcast at Dubai's 1.9 billion dollar Atlantis The Royal hotel. Afterwards she wrote, "What a bloody night... I should also mention I fell off the red carpet into a full pond of water, soaking me up to my waist. Thank goodness sequins hide all manner of sins."
