Adrienne Watkins – the fiancée of the late Mark Pilgrim – delivered a poignant speech at his memorial service on Friday, 10 March.

Describing their romance as a “fairytale”, the woman spoke of her partner’s compassion, kindness, generosity, and courage.

 
Mark tragically died on Sunday 5 March following a battle with stage four cancer. He leaves behind Adrienne and his two daughters Tayla-Jean and Alyssa, whom he shares with ex-wife Nicole Torres.

On New Year’s Eve, Mark shared a post of him proposing to Adrienne with a ring. And by the look on her face, it’s clear she was overjoyed.

He captioned the post: “I love you my Adrienne”.

ALSO READ: Mark Pilgrim’s fiancée reveals his last unfulfilled wish [watch]

Speaking to The South African in January, Mark said of his proposal: “I knew for a while but didn’t know when it was going to happen as I wanted to be home when I proposed. It worked out well as her family was here from England when I got down on one knee.

“She is over the moon with excitement.”

At the time of his death, the couple were planning their wedding.
Mark and Adrienne recently began dating, after meeting “through mutual friends”. This, following his divorce from his wife Nicole in 2020.

Adrienne is a senior partner at a consulting firm based in Johannesburg. According to her LinkedIn page, Adrienne – who has a degree in economics – claims she is “passionate about people”. And this was clearly evident in how she lovingly cared for Mark.

ALSO READ: By his side ’til the end: Mark’s fiancée offered love, support

She told You Magazine earlier this year: “Mark’s a massive part of my life, and thankfully, I have a lot to keep my mind busy in the day. I have an amazing job and all those good things give me a sense of meaning and purpose”.

She added: “A big part of my life has been grey. Mark always says somewhere between black and white, instead of grey, there’s a rainbow. So, it’s trying to remember to see that. But it hasn’t been easy”.