Snowboard legend Shaun White went all-in with the storybook proposal for Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev, and let’s just say this proposal has everything: secret schemes, unexpected Shake Shack, and one very bedazzling diamond.
Here’s the tea: 36-year-old Shaun got down on one knee in New York City, orchestrating this big ol’ moment under an arch of white roses. And that ring? Five carats of pure “try and say no to this.” The proposal was set up at Golden Swan, a restaurant fancy enough to sound like it comes with a side of peacocks, per Vogue.
When he popped the question, Nina’s reaction was, well, downright cinematic. “I went into shock,” Nina confessed. “I just froze and stared at him.” Somewhere, a Hollywood screenwriter is furiously scribbling notes.
The night wasn’t just roses and glitz, though. Friends joined the couple to toast the newly engaged lovebirds with caviar, champagne, and—because it’s 2024 and bougie has boundaries—they topped off their feast with Shake Shack and dumplings delivered right to their fancy restaurant table. Nothing says romance like burgers on standby.
So, how’d Shaun pull off the element of surprise? He got downright sneaky. Shaun’s publicist sent Nina a super-official invite to a very private CFDA/Vogue dinner with none other than Anna Wintour herself. “He made the invite look so legit,” Nina said, already mentally prepping for high-fashion elbow-rubbing.
But the twist? When she arrived, there was no Anna, no fashion crowd—just Shaun and a photographer ready to capture the big moment. “He said all the right things,” she revealed, which we’re going to assume was something along the lines of, “I love you, and no, we’re not really here for Anna Wintour.”
These two go way back—well, kind of. They first crossed paths at an awards show in 2012, sharing exactly one “hey, nice to meet you” moment before parting ways until 2019. Fast-forward to a Tony Robbins event in Florida that year (as one does), and Shaun and Nina were properly introduced. It wasn’t long before they went Insta-official in 2020, a pandemic move that clearly stuck.
One proposal involving deception, haute cuisine, and enough diamonds to keep anyone in “awwww” mode for days.
