Former professional skateboarder, snowboarder and three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White dug deep into his bag of tricks to deliver a surprise marriage proposal to actress Nina Dobrev with a flawless, oval-cut 5-carat diamond ring.
White conspired with his publicist to send a fake invitation for Dobrev to attend an exclusive dinner with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at The Golden Swan Restaurant in New York City's West Village. Knowing that his girlfriend would never pass up such an opportunity, he also arranged for a pre-dinner styling session, so she would look absolutely perfect.
When she arrived at the restaurant's private room, Dobrev froze as she was greeted — not by the Vogue editor — but by her now-fiancé. White went down on one knee and proposed under an arch of white flowers.
Dobrev told Vogue that she was in shock and doesn't remember exactly how White proposed, but she did recall that he said "all the right things."
After she accepted his proposal, the couple shared champagne and caviar with some friends and partied into the evening.
Page Six Style reported that the ring was designed by celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, who described the gem as “a flawless diamond for a flawless girl.”
White and Dobrev had been dating for five years, and the ring has been burning a hole in White's pocket for six months. He originally planned to pop the question to Dobrev during their summer vacation, but she fractured her knee in a biking accident and the proposal was put on hold until she completed her rehabilitation.
Then, he was all set to propose during their planned trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in November, but friends of the couple started asking too many questions about his intentions. Once again, his plans were thwarted.
The fake invitation did catch Dobrev by surprise.
"He made the invite look so legitimate," she told Vogue.
On October 30, Dobrev and White turned to their Instagram pages to share pics of their surprise proposal in Lower Manhattan.
Dobrev wrote, "RIP boyfriend, hello fiancé" and punctuated her statement with two emojis, an engagement ring and an infinity sign.
"She said YES," confirmed White on his page, while punctuating his comment with the same two emojis.
According to the Daily Mail, Dobrev and White first met during a brief encounter at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, but were formally introduced in 2019.
The 38-year-old White is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. Dobrev, 35, is best known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in CW's The Vampire Diaries (2009–2015).
The couple has yet to announce wedding plans.
Credits: Images via Instagram / niña, Instagram / shaunwhite.