James Hetfield Engaged to Adriana Gillett After Underwater Proposal

James Hetfield is officially off the market. The Metallica vocalist and rhythm guitarist announced his engagement to girlfriend Adriana Gillett over the weekend, revealing that he proposed during an underwater scuba diving excursion, complete with whale sharks as witnesses.

The 62-year-old metal icon shared the news on Instagram with a photo of the couple submerged beneath the ocean surface. In the image, Hetfield holds up a laminated sign reading “Adriana Gillett, will you marry me?” while his now-fiancée gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up, engagement ring in hand. The post's caption was as direct as a Hetfield riff: “She said yes!”

The proposal took place on Friday, March 13th, during what Gillett described as a birthday trip. She took to her own Instagram to share the moment, writing that the experience of swimming with whale sharks alongside a once-in-a-lifetime proposal was something only a Pisces could truly appreciate. She described the encounter as the most unique and romantic surprise she could have imagined, adding a poetic note about finding each other in a vast ocean.

Gillett and Hetfield have been together since approximately 2023, having gone public with their relationship after Hetfield's divorce from costume designer Francesca Tomasi, to whom he was married for 25 years. The pair finalized their split in 2022 and share three children. For Hetfield, who has been candid about his personal struggles over the years — including stints in rehab and the emotional toll of life on the road — the engagement signals a new chapter in a life lived at full volume.

The couple made a notable public appearance together at the 2025 Tribeca Festival for the screening of Metallica Saved My Life, cementing their status as a recognized pair within the rock world and beyond.

Hetfield won't have long to bask in engagement bliss before getting back to work. Metallica's next live date is scheduled for May 9th in Greece, kicking off a European summer run. But the biggest event on the band's calendar looms larger: a massive 24-night residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, dubbed Life Burns Faster, spanning from October 2026 through March 2027. The residency reportedly broke records during its ticket on-sale week, a testament to Metallica's enduring grip on the global concert market.

Drummer Lars Ulrich has described the Sphere residency as an opportunity to reinvent how the band interacts with fans in a live setting, expressing excitement about taking the experience to the next level.

For now, though, the spotlight belongs to Hetfield and Gillett. In a career defined by songs about rage, rebellion, and the darkness of the human condition, it turns out that the Master of Puppets still has a romantic streak — one that involves whale sharks, a waterproof sign, and a love story worthy of its own power ballad.