By Jessica Wedemeyer
3:28pm PST, Feb 17, 2022
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Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the stars who found love, suffered heartbreak or experienced some other major event in their love lives in early February 2022, starting with some engagement buzz… Is Jonah Hill secretly engaged to his girlfriend, surf instructor and environmental activist Sarah Brady? On Feb. 16, Deux Moi reported that, according to an anonymous source, “An A-list actor who has been away on vacation in Hawaii with his surfer girlfriend will return to Hollywood engaged! Friends say they’ll come back engaged but want to keep the buzz on the DL!” Just two hours later, the Oscar-nominated actor — who spent Valentine’s Day with his love in what appeared to be Hawaii — took to Instagram to address the engagement rumors, which never specifically mentioned him by name. “The rumors are not true. I am engaged. But not to my girlfriend. I am engaged to your mom. I know this is shocking but please respect our privacy at this time,” he wrote, adding in the caption, “media stop writing fake stuff it’s corny.” Unfortunately, his jokey response only seemed to further fuel the rumors that he is, in fact, engaged.
Now keep reading for more celeb love life updates…
RELATED: Celebs who got engaged in 2022
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On Feb. 14, Deux Moi reported that, according to multiple anonymous sources, Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers had gone their separate ways. “[I] was with Aaron Rodgers at a Super Bowl party on Friday. He said he was single. … My friend asked him point blank,” said one alleged insider. A second source claimed of the breakup rumors, which plagued the duo for months, “[I] can confirm this from a friend of Shailene’s.” Two days later, multiple media outlets reported that the split rumors were true: “While Shailene is supportive of Aaron’s career, he put football first and they were barely spending any time together. She felt he neglected their relationship. Neither of them was happy,” said an In Touch source, adding that the professional football player is “an independent guy” who “got cold feet” about marrying the actress. “There were too many obstacles. They’re both adults and decided to part amicably,” said a second In Touch source, noting that ultimately, Aaron and Shailene just “couldn’t make it work.” Later in the day, a People magazine source called the breakup “amicable.” Explained the People source, “It just wasn’t working. They’re very different people with busy careers and there were obstacles that they couldn’t surmount. They will remain friendly; there’s no bad blood and no drama. It just didn’t work out for them.” The former couple — who got engaged in 2020 but hadn’t been seen together in months — reportedly did not see eye to eye on political issues. Explained a second People source, “They fell hard and fast, but it was a mismatch from the start. … Aaron’s a complicated guy. No one in their circle is surprised this didn’t work out. In the bubble of the pandemic, it was easy for them to fall in love and focus only on their relationship but that’s not real life.”
RELATED: Celeb splits of 2022
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On Feb. 13, multiple media outlets reported that Matt LeBlanc quietly split from his girlfriend of around six years, “Top Gear” producer Aurora Mulligan, sometime in 2020. “They haven’t been together in over a year,” a source told MailOnline of the former couple, who connected when the “Friends” alum signed on to host the British car show. The Sun, meanwhile, reported that, according to a source, the duo “struck a clean break,” though the breakup is “still very raw.” A second source told The Sun, “Matt and Aurora’s relationship has run its course. It’s all over. It’s a huge shame and Matt has taken the news particularly hard, as anyone would. He and Aurora fell for each on ‘Top Gear’ and although there was a pretty big age gap they were a really great match. But when he announced he was leaving ‘Top Gear’ and took on other work, it was hard for them. He’s mainly based out of Los Angeles and was traveling a lot while Aurora was working in the U.K.” Matt’s rep later confirmed to Us Weekly that he and the Irish beauty, who’s nearly two decades his junior, “are not together but remain good friends.”
RELATED: Celeb couples with big age gaps
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On Feb. 15, Ioan Gruffudd filed for a domestic violence restraining order against his estranged wife, Alice Evans. According to People magazine, he claims in legal documents that he told the actress in August 2020 that he was “unhappy” in their relationship but that she “repeatedly told me between August 2020 and our separation on January 1, 2021, that if I left her, she would make false public accusations about me, sell false stories about me to the press, and destroy me and my career.” Alleges the “Fantastic Four” alum, “Alice told me verbally multiple times that she would do to me what Amber Heard did to Johnny Depp. Alice threatened to tell people I had abused her and our daughters; she threatened to call the police on me if I did not comply with her demands; she threatened to tell people I am a drug addict and put me in prison; she threatened to write a fake diary that reflected an abused victim, and to have the diary published; and she threatened to destroy my mother. … Alice told me she would win, and everyone would believe her over me.” He goes on to claim that his ex has “carried out many of these threats” since they separated in 2021 by writing “many false and harassing” posts about him on social media. He also claims that she sent “hundreds of harassing, abusive and threatening communications by text, voice message, video message” and sent “threatening emails” to his mother. In her response to Ioan’s request for a restraining order, Alice writes that she has not “hit, struck, attacked, threatened, assaulted, harassed, followed, stalked, molested, destroyed the personal property of, kept under surveillance, impersonated, blocked the movement of, annoyed by phone or electronic means by repeated contact, or disturbed the peace of either” her estranged husband or his new girlfriend, Bianca Wallace. She adds that she has “no idea what he is going to accuse me of” but that “whatever allegations he is going to make against me are false.” She also accuses Ioan of filing for a restraining order “as a ploy to gain some sort of advantage over me in our divorce proceedings.”
RELATED: Notorious celeb cheating scandals
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Sandra Lee made her relationship with her boyfriend (and rumored fiancé!) Ben Youcef Instagram official on Valentine’s Day. “So this happened! Ben happened! Love happened! Happiness happened! I was certain it never would again. I was shocked when it did. I swore I would never fall again, trust again, love again or open myself up again. On our one-year anniversary I shall share the story of how we met but until then, my wish for you is that no matter where you are, how old you are or what has happened, you can welcome hope back into your life again. This Valentines I wish you all an abundance of love, laughter, butterflies, long walks, intimate talks, chills, tender kisses, sweet moments and pure joy in the world. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you — and to My Sweet Ben, thank you for making my heart feel whole again, alive again, and in love again,” she captioned a slideshow of PDA-packed pics.
RELATED: Celeb couples’ Instagram debuts
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On Feb. 14, E! News reported that, according to a source, a “relentless” Kanye West is “desperately trying” to win back his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, who filed for a bifurcation of marital status back in late December 2021. (The rapper is also reportedly stalling divorce proceedings by refusing to sign any paperwork to legally end the marriage.) A second E! News source noted that “Kim is trying to ignore” her ex’s “pleas to get back together.” Explained the second insider, “She is really happy right now and is having a lot of fun. She likes where she is at in life and is loving this new chapter. … Kim is hopeful Kanye will be able to move on in the future and accept they aren’t getting back together. She wants him to be happy.” The source added that the mother of four will “always be cordial and communicate” with the rapper. As for her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, a third E! source said that the “Saturday Night Live” star “doesn’t want to get involved or be in the middle of Kim and Kanye” and “supports Kim with whatever she needs.” He also has “sympathy” for Ye. “Kim is very good at compartmentalizing and not letting these things get to her. She is able to shut it off and ignore when she has to,” said the third source. Said a People magazine source of the new couple, “Pete is great for Kim. During the past few months when they have been dating, Kim has been very happy. All the drama with Kanye is still difficult for her, but Pete cheers her up. They haven’t had any drama so far. It’s very refreshing for Kim.”
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In the Feb. 12 edition of her “On The JLo” newsletter, Jennifer Lopez publicly shared her early Valentine’s Day gift from back-on boyfriend Ben Affleck: a new cut of the music video for her late-2021 love song “On My Way” featuring footage of the duo from their childhoods and pre-fame days and from their time as a couple before their initial 2004 breakup. (Yes, the Oscar winner included footage from their 2003 box office bomb “Gigli” and from J.Lo’s iconic “Jenny from the Block” music video, in which he appeared.) “Watching it made me think about the journey of true love, its unexpected twists and turns, and that when it’s real, it actually can last forever,” the singer-actress explained, adding that the video “seriously melted my heart.” Later on Valentine’s Day — during an interview with Heart FM — she shared her thoughts on what an ideal marriage proposal looks like: The superstar said that although she loves “public displays of romance,” she wouldn’t necessarily love getting engaged in public. “I don’t know that I would love a proposal. I think that that’s a more intimate thing between two people, but I have no problem with PDA. I’m actually all about it if you really feel it,” she said. “But I do think a proposal is kind of a sacred, intimate thing that should just be between two people. When you’re about to pledge your lives to each other that’s a big deal.”
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On Feb. 13, Nick Cannon dropped a new song, “Alone,” which, according to an official press release, is “an ode to Mariah Carey,” his ex-wife. “I say I’m cool when I know I miss it / I’d trade it all for the case / If I could have you back / If I could go back to where we started at,” he sings on the track, which samples Mariah’s 1990 single “Love Takes Time.” He also croons of his former love, “As much as I want you back / It’s probably better where you at / ‘Cause I’m still running the streets / I’m still all in the sheets / Having babies, models and singers and actresses saying they pregnant by me.” Nick and Mariah, who share twins Moroccan and Monroe, split in 2014 following six years of marriage. He’s since welcomed five more children with three different women and is currently expecting his eighth child with a fourth woman. Mariah, meanwhile, has been in a relationship with Bryan Tanaka since 2016. On Feb. 15, she made it clear that she and the dancer are still going strong by posting a selfie with him on Instagram. “Valentine’s marathon continues. Hour 23!” she wrote in the caption. The following day, on the Feb. 16 episode of the “Language of Love” podcast, Nick said of Mariah, “We’re really great friends and she’s kind of taught me so much — so that’s family.” He also said he’s currently single, that he doesn’t “have the bandwidth” for a relationship and that he doesn’t “feel like monogamy is healthy.” On the Feb. 16 episode of his eponymous talk show, he added that it would be “impossible” for him to win back his ex: “I had probably the greatest situation with my dream girl and I messed it up,” he said of Mariah. “The song was not really about trying to get her back. It was taking ownership of what I did as a man and owning my flaws and expressing it through song.”
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During an interview with ELLE magazine that debuted online on Feb. 14, Zoe Kravitz briefly opened up about her late-2020 split from Karl Glusman following just 18 months of marriage. “Karl’s an incredible human being,” she said. “It really is less about him and more about me learning how to ask myself questions about who I am and still learning who I am, and that being okay. That’s the journey I’m on right now.” She mostly demurred when asked to comment on her relationship with new love Channing Tatum though admitted she’s “happy” and feeling “optimistic about life” right now.
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On Feb. 13, People magazine confirmed a report from late 2021 revealing that actress Rosario Dawson and U.S. senator Cory Booker have gone their separate ways. They’re reportedly on good terms in the wake of their breakup, which followed around three years of coupledom.
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E! News reported on Feb. 14 that Tobey Maguire and his girlfriend of around three years, Tatiana Dieteman, quietly called it quits “months ago.” Said a source, “Tatiana has moved on.” She’s now dating surfer Koa Smith, who honored her on Instagram on Valentine’s Day. “Happy Valentine’s Day to my bessss fwennnnnn!!! Love you baby!” Koa captioned a slideshow of PDA-packed pics. Tatiana, meanwhile, called Koa her Valentine on her Instagram Story.
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On Feb. 12, The Sun reported that Ed Westwick has been quietly dating British Bollywood actress Amy Jackson since they met at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia in late December. “Ed and Amy are a really good match. They hit it off straight away. Both like to have fun and are career-driven. They’re enjoying getting to know each other for now,” said a source.
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On the Feb. 14 episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Kat Dennings finally cleared up the rumors about her relationship status with Andrew W.K.: “We’re not married yet, but we went to buy our wedding bands, and then we were like, ‘Why don’t we just wear them? Who cares?’ And that’s the end of that story,” she said. The duo announced their engagement in May 2021 and sparked rumors they’d secretly wed the very next month.
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Again?! Sometime in mid-February — as Shanna Moakler starred on the third season of “Celebrity Big Bother” — her off-and-on boyfriend of a couple years, Matthew Rondeau, quietly unfollowed her on Instagram and deleted all photos of her from his grid. After she got evicted from the “Big Brother” house on the Feb. 14 episode, Shanna unfollowed him in turn, signaling they may have called it quits again … for at least the third time in the past year. Two days earlier, TMZ reported that the male model planned to propose to the mother of three after she wrapped the reality show but had second thoughts after he saw her flirting with housemate Lamar Odom — he reportedly feels she crossed the line. But if we’ve learned anything from Matthew and Shanna, it’s that whatever drama they’re facing now, it’s unlikely to be the end of them.
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During an interview with Page Six that debuted online on Feb. 14, “Summer House” star Andrea Denver revealed that he’s “dating someone” and is “really happy.” Said the male model of his mystery woman, whose name he’s keeping publicly under wraps, “I’m excited for the future. But I like to keep my feet on the ground and take one step at a time. But, you know, let’s cross fingers and see what’s going to happen.” He added that he “can’t wait” to marry “the right person” one day and that “it would be really nice” to marry his current girlfriend. “I want to be realistic … but it would be great,” he said. Andrea also told Page Six that he found out about former fling Paige DeSorbo’s relationship with “Southern Charm” star Craig Conover “basically through blogs,” though he and Craig were in regular communication at the time, which he described as “awkward.” They’re all on good terms now, though he doesn’t “talk to Paige that much” out of respect to her relationship with Craig. “When I saw her a few times [recently], everything’s great. We still, like, joke around and stuff,” he said. “I just don’t feel like texting someone that is in a relationship, because I want to be respectful. I have [had] the chance to talk to Craig more and everything is great. … I’m happy for them. I’m excited for them and I think they’re a good match. … At the end of the day, I will always care for both of them.” He was just “a little bit upset” at first, he explained, because his pal kept the romance secret: “It was just like, ‘You’re my friend, I trust you. I want us to be open about everything and be supportive — and not just about Paige, about everything else,'” he said.
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On Feb. 10, Dominic Fike made his relationship with Hunter Schafer Instagram official: He took to his Instagram Story to share a sweet shot of himself kissing his “Euphoria” co-star and real-life love during a dinner date. “Happy birthday happy birthday,” he wrote across the PDA pic. It’s unclear if the duo were celebrating a mutual friend’s birthday or belatedly celebrating their own back-to-back birthdays (Dec. 30 and Dec. 31).
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During an interview for People magazine’s “People Every Day” podcast that debuted online on Feb. 11, Dustin Lynch confirmed rumors that he quietly split from model Kelli Seymour during the coronavirus pandemic. “It was one of those ‘we didn’t survive quarantine’ relationships,” he said. “I learned so much about myself and what I want out of life and what I want out of my future partner. … There’s no regret, but I think I found a lot of clarity after that happened and we started recording [my new] album.” The country music star then claimed that the brunette beauty “ghosted” him following the breakup. “I wanted to be friends, but it takes two to tango, so that didn’t pan out for me,” he said. “We had hours and hours of conversations, to which I thought, ‘Hey, I’m here for you, I’ll support you,’ and I still am. It was just a clean break, which I think in hindsight is probably the best thing for us.” Dustin and Kelli first debuted their romance in late 2019.
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It’s official: Nazanin Mandi confirmed on Instagram on Feb. 15 that she and Miguel are back together. “Heal the root so the tree is stable. I’m so proud of us,” she captioned a slideshow of PDA-packed photos with the Grammy winner, who captioned the same shots on his own Instagram, “Love heals. Proud of us.” Commented his missus, “When you put the work in and it works out.” In September 2021, the duo announced their plans to go their separate ways. They started sparking reconciliation rumors just two months later.
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After months of rumors about the nature of their relationship, Chloe Bailey and Gunna have finally confirmed they’re more than friends and collaborators. On Feb. 10, the duo were snapped holding hands during a night out in West Hollywood. Four days later, they dropped the PDA-packed music video for their collaboration “you & me” before stepping out for a chic Valentine’s Day dinner.
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On Feb. 12, the day before the Super Bowl, Bachelor Nation’s Hannah Ann Sluss — who got engaged to Peter Weber and then quickly split from him on season 24 of “The Bachelor” in 2020 — revealed on TikTok that she’s dating Los Angeles Rams running back Jake Funk. “One win away. Already so proud. Can’t wait for tomorrow,” she captioned a video of herself hugging the professional football player following the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 30. The following day, she called him her boyfriend in a TikTok video recapping her experience watching the Rams best the Cincinnati Bengals during the big game. The couple also took to Instagram on Feb. 13 to jointly share a slideshow of celebratory photos from the field at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium following the game. “A moment we will always cherish. Love you!” they wrote in the caption.
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In other Bachelor Nation love news… “The Bachelorette” couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya made their red carpet debut as a couple in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. The duo got engaged on the finale of the 18th season of the hit reality show, which aired in late December.
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Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles took to Instagram on Feb. 15 to announce that she and Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens are engaged. “THE EASIEST YES. I can’t wait to spend forever & ever with you, you’re everything I dreamed of and more! Let’s get married FIANCÉ,” the gymnast captioned a slideshow of photos and videos depicting the proposal and showing off her new engagement ring. Wrote the professional football player in the comments section, “Ready for forever with you.” The two athletes have been an item since at least the summer of 2020.
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Kate Hudson’s oldest child — son Ryder Robinson with ex-husband Chris Robinson — took to Instagram on Valentine’s Day to publicly reveal he’s dating Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann’s younger daughter, Iris Apatow. He shared a slideshow of two cozy-looking snaps with the “Love” actress including a sweet shot in which he can be seen planting a big kiss on her cheek. It’s unclear how long they’ve been an item.
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On the Feb. 16 episode of the “FML Talk” podcast, Morgan Willett revealed how she discovered last year that “The Challenge” co-star Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio was cheating on her: She got tipped off when she came home from a girls’ trip and discovered that he’d washed their bedsheets but hadn’t done any other cleaning. “[Something] made me think, ‘Something is so wrong right now.’ He’s hungover and he just picked me up. He said he wasn’t out that late. Why? Nothing else is being cleaned,” she recalled. The second clue came when he didn’t kiss her goodnight. “That’s when I was like, all right. I knew something in my heart of hearts is really wrong,” she said. A week later, a mutual friend reached out to tell her that Johnny left the bar that night with another woman. “In that moment, I just went numb,” Morgan said, noting that she immediately confronted her then-boyfriend, who denied the allegations against him. Ultimately, she trusted her gut over his word and ended the relationship. “You have no choice,” she said. “You can’t stay in this situation anymore. You can’t lie to yourself. You’re gonna lose it.” She went on to say that Johnny never fessed up to his indiscretions: “I wanted an ‘I’m sorry.’ I wanted any sort of comfort, and I was met with kind of like coldness,” she said. “‘I didn’t do it,’ I think, is the last thing I heard as I walked out and shut the door behind me. I think that’s what’s hard. Two and a half years down the drain and all you want to hear is ‘I made a mistake’ or ‘You were enough and it just wasn’t meant to be’ or an explanation in general. I didn’t get that in the moment, which is why I think it’s been very, very difficult for me.”
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During separate interviews with E! News that debuted online on Feb. 15, “Below Deck Sailing Yacht” co-stars Daisy Kelliher and Gary King said that although they were seen making out in a trailer for the upcoming third season of the Bravo reality show, they’re not a couple. “We’re not dating. … Gary and I are just friends,” said Daisy. “It’s a complicated friendship. I don’t think we’re more than just friends. We’re very affectionate people and we’re very affectionate towards each other and care a lot about each other and we’ve been through a lot over the last two years. I just think that just got a bit blurred. … Our relationship is very platonic. We care about each other and like I said we’re both affectionate people, so affection can sometimes lead to kissing. But no, we’re just friends.” Echoed Gary, “It’s very difficult to date when you’re working on a yacht. I mean, I’d probably see Daisy once every four or five months and I personally don’t think that’s fair on any of the parties. So I can safely say that we are just friends.” He did, however, admit that he’s “always had a soft spot for Daisy” and “thought she was very cute.” He also admitted that “there was definitely chemistry” between them and that their makeout session was “amazing” for him. Added Gary, “It’s a work in progress this relationship and we’re just trying to build it step by step and see where it takes us. … We’ve actually built a very strong friendship.”
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Priscilla Presley’s son with screenwriter Marco Garibaldi, Them Guns frontman Navarone Garibaldi, married his girlfriend of four years, Elisa Achilli, in an outdoor ceremony at the Schloss Hünigen hotel in Konolfingen, Switzerland, on Feb. 15. “I never thought I would find a counterpart that is so understanding and supportive. She makes everything we do effortless, and I can’t imagine life without her,” the groom told People magazine. Added his new missus, “Navarone is truly the most genuine, sweet and sensitive man I have ever known and I’m so lucky that after four years of long-distance, we can start our life together as husband and wife.” The duo got engaged on Christmas in 2020.
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On Feb. 12, Reba McEntire’s son with ex-husband Narvel Blackstock — former race car driver Shelby Blackstock — married his love of more than five years, Marissa Branch, at Walt Disney World, where they also got engaged. According to People magazine, which published exclusive wedding photos, the duo met on Tinder in 2014 but didn’t start dating until two years later. “We made fast friends early on and have had a strong bond ever since. We are twin flames. There’s this indescribable feeling of déjà vu when we are together — as if life is reminding us that we’re following our destiny,” they said in a joint statement. “In retrospect, our mutual friends could see how compatible we are. They would always recommend that we should date; I think we were the only ones who didn’t see it (at the time). The love was always there; we just didn’t understand it until we were both in the right headspace and had the maturity to recognize it. We both agree that if we had dated immediately upon meeting, we likely would not be as prepared as we are now to deserve one another.”
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According to People magazine, country music star Adam Doleac got engaged to his girlfriend of nearly five years, MacKinnon Morrissey, at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee, on Feb. 9. The bride-to-be was under the impression that she was set to attend a screening of “The Parent Trap” with some girlfriends when her beau pulled off the surprise proposal, which she described as “truly the most romantic, thoughtful, fun, special night I could have imagined.” Added MacKinnon, “He had me 100% fooled. … It was perfect. I just feel so lucky to have been loved and celebrated like that.” Said the groom, “We feel so lucky that we’ve already gotten to live so much life and make so many memories together. Every day continues to get better and better, and it just felt like the perfect time to start our forever.”
