One June 11, celebrity news website TMZ shook up the internet with a video of reality star Courtney Stodden clearing out an unwanted possession in a very unusual way.
“Just doing a little last-minute spring cleaning before summer,” Stodden says as she pulls a 5-carat diamond engagement ring out of a clear plastic jewelry box in her bathroom. “I guess diamonds aren't always a girl's best friend after all."
Stodden focuses on the ring, sighs loudly, and drops the ring into the toilet. As she flushes it down, she waves goodbye, "Toodaloo. Onto the next chapter."
What we learned late last week was that the 29-year-old Stodden was making emotional room for the new engagement ring she received on June 11 from Emmy-award winning producer Jared Safier.
Safier, 41, popped the question at Beverly Hills' five-star Beverly Wilshire Hotel, which happened to be the exact location of their first kiss one year earlier.
People magazine reported that the ring features a 5-carat, radiant-cut center stone of VVS clarity surrounded by a double halo of accent diamonds.
According to TMZ, Stodden spotted the ring in the lobby of the same hotel in February after an Academy Awards party and Safier was quick to take a mental note.
The ring that ended up in California's waste stream was from 44-year-old director Chris Sheng. The couple had been engaged since May 2021, but called off the relationship in February of 2023.
Stodden told TMZ that the flushing episode was inspired by the pivotal scene in 1997's Titanic, where Old Rose, played by the late Gloria Stuart, drops the blue diamond "Heart of The Ocean" necklace into the sea.
"Like the little old lady who dropped it into the ocean in the end, I needed to rid myself of any remnants from the past that no longer had any hold on me," she said. "Rose’s character taught me something special — what a woman does with her diamonds is her prerogative."
Stodden was famously married to character actor Doug Hutchison from 2011 to 2020. At the time of their nuptials, Stodden was 16 and Hutchison was 51.
Today, Stodden is a media personality, model and singer. She appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and is preparing for a role in a project to be directed by her new fiancé.
Stodden told people.com that she adores Safier's creative mind.
Credits: Images via Instagram / jaredsafier.