After dating for almost a year, it was reported on Saturday that Belgian soccer superstar Thibaut Courtois had decided to take his relationship with Mishel Gerzig to the next level and proposed to the Israeli model.
In footage circulating on social media, Courtois, 30, is seen on one knee while Gerzig, 24, appears to shed tears of joy.
According to Spanish magazine Hola, Courtois proposed while on a trip to Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
The reported proposal came just days after Courtois’ Real Madrid FC victory in the Champions League.
Gerzig and Courtois’ relationship began about a year ago, when they met through mutual friends in the fashion industry, Channel 12 reported.
They would have lived in Spain ever since.
Courtois, who has two children from a previous relationship, is the goalkeeper for world-renowned Real Madrid FC as well as the Belgian national football team.
????| Courtois proposes to his girlfriend Mishel. #rmalive pic.twitter.com/GPdojc89WH
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) June 4, 2022
Gerzig has been a model since she was 13, according to Hebrew media. But her fame has grown since she started dating Courtois, leading some to criticize their relationship.
However, in an interview with Israeli lifestyle magazine La’Isha last year, the model defended their relationship and said life was too short to dwell on what other people think or say.
“I can’t say that I didn’t want to become famous before, because in modeling the more famous you are, the more work you get. But unfortunately over the years I’ve learned that if you don’t reality show, don’t star in a scandal or date someone famous, nobody will talk about you,” she said.
“I refused to play the game, said I wouldn’t do things that don’t suit me just for fame. If the fact that I’m from the periphery, that I’ve done significant military service and that I represent Israel in the best possible way is not enough, so be it. At least I will stay true to myself,” she said.
When asked how she felt about people claiming she only started dating Courtois to promote her own career, Gerzig replied, “Let them say whatever they want. I know the truth and Thibaut knows the truth — and that’s all that matters. At the end of the day, it’s my life and his, it doesn’t belong to those who sit behind a keyboard. Life is short and I don’t intend to care what other people think. Only my happiness and his matter.
But the relationship has proven difficult at times, as Gerzig herself indicated in an interview with Ynet, published last month.
“Some people are upset that Courtois is dating an Israeli,” she said, adding that her social media accounts have been bombarded with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian comments since the two began dating.
“People don’t care about you as a human being, if you’re from Israel, it’s over. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad, they instantly hate you and threaten you just because you’re Israeli,” she said.
But that didn’t seem to deter Courtois, who clearly liked Gerzig and their relationship enough to propose to his Israeli partner. And according to multiple reports, she said yes.
