Actor Sharif Atkins engaged

Actor Sharif Atkins is engaged to his longtime girlfriend after proposing to her onstage at a fundraising gala in New York, where he was honored for his charity work.

The White Collar star was being feted at the Operation Smile benefit at Cipriani Wall Street on Thursday night (01May14) when he turned the spotlight on his partner, Bethany Lynn Hotchkiss.

Speaking from the stage, he said, "She doesn't know I'm about to do this", before getting down on bended knee and telling Hotchkiss, "For three-and-a-half years you stood behind me. You care and you loved me and I love you very much. So in front of all of our family, in front of your mother and dad, my mother and dad, I would just like to... ask you to marry me."

His delighted girlfriend shouted "Yes!" from the audience, which cheered at the happy news.