The News Of …

“American Idol” fan favorite Danny Gokey (who tragically lost his wife Sophia three years ago) is engaged to marry his girlfriend – according to the Sophia’s Heart charity named after his wife.
Gokey is engaged to his girlfriend Leyicet Peralta. The couple is planning a wedding for next month.
According to the Sophia’s Heart Foundation website, the 31-year-old singer “is thrilled to have found Leyicet who also shares his passion and desire to help children and families in need.”
All wedding gifts are being requested as donations to Sophia’s Heart.
“We are thankful for so many of the blessings God has given us” – the couple posted on the website.
“It is our desire to see homeless children and families be kept together and lifted back on their feet through the help of Sophia’s Heart. We love and appreciate you all.”
Gokey lost his wife Sophia three years ago after complications from surgery for congenital heart disease. The Milwaukee singer auditioned for Season 8 of “American Idol” four weeks after her death.
As for his upcoming wedding, one of the married couple’s first big trips will be the Danny Gokey Cruise, which departs from Miami on February 2 and departs to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico.
Joining Gokey on the cruise is Kalamazoo’s Matt Giraud.

Danny Gokey.

Danny Gokey has found love again. The “American Idol” alum has announced his engagement to Leyicet Peralta, whom he plans to marry in late January.
Danny lost his first wife three years ago. Sophia Gokey died after complications from surgery to treat her congenital heart disease. The singer opened Sophia’s Heart Foundation in her honor, a non-profit organization that offers housing for homeless families, GED tutoring, job counseling and life coaching. The facility also has a variety of after-school music and arts programs for children.
“Our vision at Sophia’s Heart includes programs to house and restore the lives of the economically challenged and families that have been displaced from their homes due to unfortunate circumstances” – Danny told The Boot at the grand opening of the Nashville facility. “This might include children and families who have been touched by poverty, sickness, disease, broken families and broken dreams … Our goal is to not just provide them housing but give them programs that help them to return as a viable part of the community.”
Leyicet shares her fiance’s commitment to helping families in need. “It was the most beautiful thing. She came up to me after we got engaged and took me aside and said: ‘Listen, I don’t want any gifts for our wedding’” – Danny recalls to FOX News. “My ears kinda perked up, and she said: ‘I want them to give toward the organization in honor of us.’ It’s her desire, too, to help homeless families and to see kids who don’t have a lot of opportunities to be given the opportunity. She feels our wedding could be significant in helping all these people. My heart was touched when she did that, because you have to have someone strong in partnership with you to make an organization like this flourish.”
The couple shared their engagement news on the Sophia’s Heart Foundation website, with a note to fans and friends – “We are thankful for so many of the blessings God has given us. It is our desire to see homeless children and families be kept together and lifted back on their feet through the help of Sophia’s Heart. We love and appreciate you all.”

If you ask Danny Gokey, his best days are ahead of him.
Bouncing back after the tragic passing three years ago of his wife Sophia, the “American Idol” alum has announced he’s headed down the aisle with girlfriend Leyicet Peralta.
Danny and Leyicet broke the engagement news on the website for Sophia’s Heart, the nonprofit that the bespectacled country singer started in Sophia’s memory. The pair said they’re planning to swap vows in a ceremony set for late Jan. 2012.
“We are thankful for so many of the blessings God has given us” – read a statement from the couple. “It is our desire to see homeless children and families be kept together and lifted back on their feet through the help of Sophia’s Heart. We love and appreciate all.”
The pair’s announcement added that Danny’s “thrilled to have found Leyicet who also shares his passion and desire to help children and families in need.”
As such, the couple requested that all wedding gifts be in the form of a donation to Sophia’s Heart.
On July 9, 2008, a month before he auditioned for Idol, Gokey’s high school sweetheart underwent a routine operation for congenital heart disease, but died from complications. A devastated Danny threw himself into his music, crediting Sophia for inspiring him.
Gokey (31) subsequently appeared on the eighth season of American Idol, finishing third behind runner-up Adam Lambert and eventual winner Kris Allen. But the popular Fox talent competition helped land the Milwaukee native a record deal. His 2010 debut, My Best Days, peaked at No. 4 in Billboard’s Top 200.