Nick Kelble and Hayley Roll are very fond of Fiona, the famous baby Hippo at Cincinnati Zoo, and have been following her progress since her premature birth. However, Kelble didn’t expect what happened as he got down on one knee to propose to Roll on October 8. As he knelt to pop the question to his bride to be, Fiona the hippo couldn’t resist stealing the limelight by photobombing their special moment.

Proposal photobombed by Fiona the baby hippo

It turns out Kelble and Roll are not in the least upset that Fiona made her appearance in the photos.

In fact they were delighted that their favorite animal in the zoo was witness to the event. As reported by the Telegraph, Roll went on to post the now famous image on Instagram, with a message to say they were happy the baby hippo joined them on their special day and telling Kelble she was looking forward to many more years of visiting zoos with him.

Roll told the Daily Buzz they went to Cincinnati Zoo to celebrate the first year anniversary of their relationship and while they were queuing, Fiona was looking through the glass.

While the couple was waiting in line for their photo to be taken with the baby hippo, she gave her cellphone to another person nearby, asking them to take a photo. When she turned around, she found Kelble on bended knee, holding out a ring and proposing marriage to her.

Roll went on to say it was the first time she and Kelble had visited the baby hippo in person, but that they have been following Fiona's progress since her birth and are “huge #TeamFiona fans.”

Couple to wait a while before getting married

The couple is not in a hurry to officially tie the knot, however.

Roll recently graduated from Bowling Green State University and is working as a radiology technician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, while Kelble is still studying at the University of Cincinnati. They will wait until his graduation in 2019 to finally get married.

Cincinnati Zoo’s baby hippo is popular

Fiona has been in the spotlight since her premature birth in January.

She battled to survive, weighing only 29lbs at birth, compared to the normal 50-110lbs. This led her to be not only the first Nile hippo to be born at Cincinnati Zoo, but also the smallest hippo ever to survive.

Cincinnati Zoo said earlier in the year that as the baby hippo grows, new facets of Fiona's fascinating and complex personality are showing. Her popularity is such that a children’s book featuring Fiona was recently published and sold out online within a few hours.
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