Michael Parr opens up in an exclusive shoot about his stunning engagement to partner Isabelle Du Plessis as the talk parenting, life on the Dales and plans for their big day
Theirs is a love story that has unfolded across the globe, encompassing London, New York, South Africa and Leeds, and ending in a proposal so unexpected that Michael Parr‘s fiancée Isabelle Du Plessis admits she was “standing in the way of her own engagement”.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, the couple appear relaxed and happy at home in Leeds with baby Suzie, who’s now seven months old. “It’s been fantastic,” Issi smiles. “We’ve been out and about as much as possible with the baby and the dog and enjoying this beautiful weather.”
Emmerdale star Michael adds, “Suzie is such a bundle of joy. I was always focused on my career, but now my priorities have shifted to being a dad and a husband-to-be. We’re making the most of it.”
The pair have always believed fate played a hand in bringing them together. “Michael’s family are from Brooklyn, which is really close to where I was working,” Issi says.
“We would have been in New York, hovering around each other at different times in our lives,” says Michael. “It’s like the universe was putting us together.”
They finally met in October 2023, but their early relationship wasn’t without challenges. “We actually met through [dating app] Hinge,” Issi explains.
“I was in London on a business trip and we matched. On our profiles, we both mentioned Muay Thai boxing and I knew the trainers Mike had worked with in New York.
“We went for a drink and joked, ‘Why are we even on this date? We don’t even live in the same country. And then we went on another date… and another… and then we ended up going to Paris together that same week.”
Michael laughs, “Our relationship escalated really quickly.”
Within weeks, things had shifted dramatically. “By mid-November, I was back in New York,” Issi explains. “And Mike said, ‘I’m not interested in dating anyone else, let’s give this a go.’ By December, I’d moved back to the UK.”
Looking back, they both recognise how unusual and serendipitous their connection was. “It felt like kismet,” Issi says. “There were too many coincidences.”
The couple were visiting Issi’s family in South Africa when Michael quietly began planning his proposal, although things didn’t go entirely to plan.
“We were going on safari,” he explains. “I said to her family, ‘If we see elephants or giraffes at the watering hole, I’ll take that as the sign to pop the question.'” “I had no idea at all,” Issi laughs.
At one point, Michael tried to steer her towards the perfect setting. She says, “He kept asking me to go on this bushwalk and I was like, ‘I’ve done bushwalks before. I’m not that into it, but I think you should go.”
“You were literally stopping your own proposal,” Michael laughs.
When the moment finally came, it was unexpectedly emotional. Michael recalls, “A bull elephant and its partner came to the watering hole and they started wrapping their trunks around each other. It looked like they were kissing. It felt romantic and really symbolic.”
“I thought everyone was being really weird about the elephants,” Issi adds. “I had no idea what was going on.”
Moments later, Michael seized the moment. “I came up with this really cheesy line and said, ‘What do you think is more beautiful, those elephants or this ring?’ and I pulled the ring out of the box and said, “Will you marry me?”
“I turned around and saw the box. I cried a lot. I was so emotional,” Issi says, smiling. “I completely forgot about everyone else around us.”
Michael had spent weeks planning the ring, with help from Issi’s best friend in New York. “They’d actually tried on engagement rings years ago and taken pictures,” he explains. “There was one she really liked, so I had a reference.”
After sourcing the diamond from Birmingham’s jewellery quarter, he kept it hidden in their home for five weeks before their trip to South Africa. “I had it in a basket on top of the bathroom cabinet,” he says. “Somewhere she couldn’t reach.”
Issi shakes her head. “It’s a miracle I didn’t find it. I know where everything is in our house.”
The ring itself is a two and a half carat diamond set on a whisper-thin gold band. Michael teases, “And I needed a six-claw setting because Issi’s clumsy.” “I am very clumsy,” she agrees, laughing. “It needs to be extra secure.”
The proposal has come at a time when life is already busy for the couple, thanks to baby Suzie, who was born last September. And they admit the early months of parenthood were far from easy. “She was waking up every 45 minutes for six months,” Issi says. “It was really intense.”
Michael adds, “It meant Issi wasn’t getting any proper rest at all. It started affecting her health.” After bringing in a sleep consultant, the situation finally improved. “It was tiny little techniques,” Issi explains. “Within one night, she was sleeping through.”
Michael nods. “It’s about teaching them to self-settle. But you get used to functioning on very little sleep.” Despite the exhaustion, both are clearly besotted with their daughter. Issi says, “She has changed everything. It’s such an honour to be her parents.”
Michael admits he feels far more settled in Leeds than he did in Los Angeles, where he went to find acting work after leaving Emmerdale in 2018.
“I did five years on Emmerdale then moved straight to LA,” he explains. “I had an American passport so it wasn’t too difficult, and I thought, ‘I’m an actor, but also my mum’s side of the family is American.’ I wanted to go there and make some stories of my own.”
But the experience didn’t quite turn out as he expected because of the lockdown in 2020. “My stories ended up being about Covid,” he says. “I was only there about nine months before everything shut down.”
He adds, “It’s very different. We speak the same language, but culturally it’s not the same. I actually became quite lonely out there. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.”
And as for meeting any eligible fellow actresses, he confesses, “I didn’t really date. I was focused on work, but I realised I missed home.”
Before his relationship with Issi, Michael dated fellow Emmerdale actress Isabel Hodgins, who plays Victoria Sugden on the soap. They met on set and were together for several years before going their separate ways.
Returning to the UK, and eventually to Emmerdale in late 2024, felt like the right decision for Michael, who reprised the role of bad boy Ross Barton. “There’s a real community at Emmerdale,” he says. “I know everyone’s kids’ name. It’s not like that on other shows.”
Reflecting on his move back across the pond, he adds, “It makes so much sense now – I get to come home every day and that’s everything.”
Now approaching a major milestone – his 40th birthday is in August – Michael admits life looks very different to the days when he used to party hard as an actor when he first joined Emmerdale. “The first time around it was G and Ts, now it’s sleepy teas,” he says. “We go to bed at, like, half eight.”
Issi smiles, “I’m planning a big party for his birthday. He doesn’t usually like celebrating, but I’ve coaxed him into it. There’s this old man’s pub in Leyton in east London. It’s one of those places that’s not yet been gentrified. You can still get a cheap pint and that’s exactly what we want.”
“A pint in a beer garden, that’s my vibe,” Michael agrees.
With wedding plans still in the early stages, the couple are focusing on getting properly settled.
“We want to buy a house this year. That’s the priority,” Issi says. “We’ve talked about getting married for a while, but I genuinely didn’t think it was coming yet.” Michael confesses, “I had said things about buying a house first, so she wasn’t expecting it.”
As for the wedding itself, there are plenty of ideas, from a South African game reserve to a London registry office, but nothing is locked in yet.
“There are so many options,” Issi says. “South Africa, London, New York… we want it to feel personal and we have so many family members to consider too.”
For now, life is about enjoying the present – a new baby, an engagement and a future slowly coming together. Issi says, “We’re enjoying every moment of being engaged.”
For Michael, it all comes back to something simple. “It just felt completely right,” he says. “I knew she was the one.” Smiling at the memory of the unforgettable proposal, Issi adds, “I had no idea at all, but it was perfect.”
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