The Apprentice's Karishma Vijay gets engaged the same week as BBC finale - and is flooded with support from fans after the 'hardest soft launch' of her fiancé

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The Apprentice star Karishma Vijay has revealed her engagement just a day away from the final of the BBC One as she took to social media with the 'hardest soft launch' with her fiancé.

The businesswoman took to Instagram with a series of pictures of her and her husband-to-be, not showing his face, as they danced around on a beach together. 

Karishma, 28, was seen running hand in hand with her fiancé in a long white dress in the first image, before she was seen being picked up by him, and showing off her sparkling diamond ring for the camera. 

Other images saw Karishma standing alone in the sea, posing for the camera, before the happy couple were pictured wrapping their arms around each other and drawing hearts together in the sand. 

'Hardest soft launch,' Karishma wrote beneath the post, which was soon flooded with comments from her fans how gushed how 'happy' they were for the star. 

The Apprentice co-star Priyesh Bathia was first to pen: 'SOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU,' to which co-star Roxy Hamedi added: 'So happy for you both!'

The Apprentice star Karishma Vijay has revealed her engagement just a day away from the final of the BBC One as she took to social media with the 'hardest soft launch' with her fiancé

Karishma, 28, was seen showing off her sparkling diamond ring for the camera

'Congratulations!!! You deserve it all,' a third friend penned, while someone else wrote: 'Finally. So happy for you.'

A third fan of Karishma added: 'What a week it’s turning out to be! Huge congrats Karishma! Now win the series!'

It comes after Pascha Myhill and Karishma were revealed as The Apprentice 2026 finalists after a tense semi-final interview episode last week.

Dan Miller, Lawrence Rosenberg and Priyesh Bathia didn't make the cut after taking part in the infamous interviews on last Thursday night's episode of the BBC show. 

The trio followed in the footsteps of Kieran McCartney and Rothna Akhtar who also left the competition last week after failing to impress Lord Sugar. 

The remaining five candidates five had to take part in interviews with Lord Sugar's business associates - and for some of them it didn't exactly go to plan. 

Their business plans were pulled apart and even blind tested in front of the cameras.

This week fans will see recruiting consultant Pascha and beauty brand owner Karishma join forces with some of their former co-stars once again. 

The group will work to bring their business plans to life in order to win over Lord Sugar in the final stage of the competition. 

Pascha's business plan is a recruitment company within private healthcare, while Karishma wants investment to 'elevate her current business'. 

Pascha Myhill and Karishma Vijay have been revealed as The Apprentice 2026 finalists

The pair will have to present their ideas to leading experts, as well as stars who have previously been in their shoes on the show. 

Then they will head to the boardroom for one final time to see who will win a 50/50 partnership with Lord Sugar, as well as a £250,000 investment into their business.

After getting fired from Lord Sugar, Lawrence said of his experience: 'Incredible - it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m going home having been a part of every episode. 

'That’s an amazing achievement and an honour in itself - nobody will ever be able to take away that I made it to the final five of one of the most competitive processes on television.'

When asked if he would do anything differently, he confessed: 'I'm not a big one for regrets, but I do wish I’d pushed back more on the AI accusations in the interviews - my business plan was written by a human, and I have over 100 hours' worth of logs to prove it. 

'Obviously, with it being an AI-powered PR agency, there were elements where we leaned on AI for support - but that’s the whole point of AI. 

'We stress-tested the proposal with AI and used elements of it to improve the business plan, but that wasn’t a secret.'

Their business plans were pulled apart and even blind tested, which left some unimpressed

Next week will see recruiting consultant Pascha and beauty brand owner Karishma join forces with some of their former co-stars to bring their business plans to life

Then they will head to the boardroom for one final time to see who will win a 50/50 partnership with Lord Sugar, as well as a £250,000 investment into their business

Meanwhile Dan said: 'I feel immensely proud to have made it to the final five.

'My interviews went so well, and it was a fantastic validation for me to know the business I have built up over the years is really good. 

'I made the right decision for myself and my business in that moment and I’m really happy Karishma and Pascha are the two finalists.'

He added: 'The highlight for me was getting to the final five – having my business plan grilled by Lord Sugar's experts was incredible. 

'Probably saved me about £100k in consulting fees.

'I took all their feedback on board and have implemented most of it at my company, Young Professionals.'

Pascha's business plan is a recruitment company within private healthcare

Priyesh sad: 'It’s obviously disappointing to come this far in The Apprentice and fall just short of the final.

'You invest so much time, energy, and belief into the process, so getting fired at this stage does sting. 

'That said, I’m incredibly proud of how far I got. It’s a huge milestone and a massive achievement for me, and something I’ll always look back on with pride. 

'I’ve learned a huge amount about business, about resilience and about myself and I’ll take that forward. 

'I’m leaving with my head held high and a lot of momentum for whatever comes next.' 

 Last week Kieran quit the show after back-to-back task failures - storming out of the boardroom before Lord Sugar could fire him.

Kieran lost the latest challenge, to create a pet lifestyle brand and product, as well as his deal with Lord Sugar. 

During last week's episode, the estate agent struck a dramatic 'win or walk' agreement with the business mogul, 79, after landing on the losing team in a live shopping channel task.

He said: 'I've been project manager twice on the same task, if I stay in this process, I would like to be the project manager on task 10 to prove to you what I can do. If I lose, we shake hands, I walk out.'  

Claude Littner was back to grill the semi finalists over their business plans 

Lord Sugar instead fired his rival, Conor Galvin, before granting Kieran his request - with a warning.

'You wanted to be project manager,  you've got it,' he said. 'The bad news is, it's got nothing to do with selling houses.' Kieran stood firm, replying: 'If I lose, I'll walk.'

Alongside Kieran's departure, his teammate Rothna Akhtar, who confessed to a fear of animals, was also fired from the process. 

Reflecting on her exit, she said: 'It was disappointing in that immediate moment, but it wasn't a complete shock because I was standing against Dan, who I knew had a really good business. 

'I was in shock because I was so close to the final five and I just felt this wave of disappointment. But slight relief because it's an intense process. It was gut-wrenching when you're so close to making final five.'

The Apprentice final airs Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.