Congratulations! Harold Ford Jr. To Marry Emily Threlkeld

Harold Ford Jr., one of the country's most eligible bachelors in politics, became engaged Friday to Emily Threlkeld, 26, who works for clothing designer Carolina Herrera in New York.

"We dated a little over two and a half years," said Ford, 37, a former congressman and current Democratic Party leader who ran for U.S. Senate last year. "We dated throughout my campaign.

"I didn't appreciate the demands on her just because I was so focused on the race. She was so incredibly supportive and generous with her patience and, more than that, showed a love toward me that I didn't really fully appreciate until after the race.

"It wasn't long after I met her that I knew it was something special," Ford said. "It's the longest relationship I've ever been in. It wasn't until after the race that I realized I was more than ready to go to the next level with her and I was ready to share the rest of my life with her."

Ford proposed, with a ring he bought in Memphis, Friday during dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Paris, where the blonde stunner was working. He arrived on Friday, but Threlkeld thought he was just spending the weekend with her.

"I got to the hotel a little before she did," he said. "She was a little late. All of the guys in the bar and restaurant were aware of what I was doing. After about 40 minutes of sitting idle, a guy walked up and said, 'Sir, are you sure she's coming?' She walked in about 15 minutes later."

She wanted to get her cell phone charger because she was expecting a few work-related calls. "I said, 'Sweetie, why don't you relax?' I thought I was going to have to propose to get her to relax," he said.

They talked, then went to the hotel's restaurant and ordered champagne. She suggested they toast to his being in Paris, but he said, "I've got a better toast."

He proposed and she accepted.

Said Inez Crutchfield, a close Ford family friend: "I am certainly delighted. I'm sure that if they have been dating for nearly three years that they feel that they are ready, that they know each other and they will be happy, which is all one can wish for them."

While Threlkeld, a native of Naples, Fla., remains in Paris working for a few days, Ford left Paris on Sunday afternoon and will teach his class today at Vanderbilt University.

Source: The Tennessean