The romantic gesture has captured the heart of a nation that has been starved of good news and remains anxious about an uncertain future.
Robert Ormsby was due to pop the question during their holiday on the island, but the journey was called off as the outbreak escalated.
Patsy Murdoch said yes, but told the BBC she was ‘laughing hysterically’ as he got down on one knee.
Mr Ormsby, who had previously been employed by Iceland in the 1980s, is now working in operating theatres at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.
He said: “It’s nice to know you can cheer somebody up by doing something that was just a humorous thing to make up for what we were going to miss.”
He hoped that the public interest in his gesture would help to highlight the dedication of those in the medical profession who are treating the victims of the coronavirus outbreak.
He said anaesthetists are the ‘frontline people for this’, adding that it was ‘frightening and reassuring at the same time’ to see the work they are doing to get ready for the crisis.
The couple from Sevenoaks, both 58, made the unscheduled call at the store on their way out to dinner, when Mr Ormsby said he wanted to pick something up.
“I was actually looking for an empty aisle,” he said, adding that Ms Murdoch “looked embarrassed at first”.
They had bought the ring together, and Ms Murdoch said she was a ‘bit suspicious when his suit went on’ that evening, and was expecting him to propose at the restaurant.
She said: “I was thinking, ‘what do you want in Iceland?’ I didn’t twig for a minute, and then suddenly he went down on one knee. I was just laughing hysterically. It was very exciting.”
Iceland put the story up on Twitter, and Ms Murdoch, who works for Hospice in the Weald, said social media ‘had gone beserk’ after their story went viral but added: “We all need a bit of distraction at the moment.”
