Moments before longtime boyfriend and Olympic gold medalist Shaun White proposed to her, Nina Dobrev found herself “panic-stricken.”
On a Friday night in late October, the “Vampire Diaries” actress was preparing for a private CFDA/Vogue dinner with Anna Wintour at the Golden Swan in New York City. Unbeknownst to her, the “fake” event was actually a proposal orchestrated by White.
“[Shaun] made it look so legit,” Dobrev told Vogue of receiving the official invite a few days earlier.
Shaun White and Nina Dobrev first went public with their relationship in 2020. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Before arriving, Dobrev – who was late – said: “I was so scared because Anna was waiting for me.”
When she opened the main door to the event space, Dobrev said she was immediately “shocked.” “I just froze and stared at him,” said Dobrev, who was standing in front of her future fiancé and a photographer hired to capture the moment.
Dobrev said White “said all the right things” when he proposed to her with a five-carat Lorraine Schwartz ring beneath an arch of white flowers.
“I knew she was nervous because when she’s nervous, she makes jokes,” White said. “She’s like, ‘Wait, isn’t Anna here?’”
White popped the question with a surprise proposal in New York City. (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
White and Dobrev went public with their romance in May 2020, with an Instagram post shared to both accounts featuring the actress cutting his hair. “Add to resume: hairdresser,” she captioned the post.
In a January interview with People, Dobrev revealed their relationship is “quite fun and exciting,” saying they make sure to “spend time together.”
Dobrev reported that White said “all the right things” during the proposal process. (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
“I’m generally a planner in life. Yeah, I like a schedule and I definitely like a plan. I’m a Capricorn so that’s part of my personality,” she said. “But, we’ve done something that, I think, is really great. We have date nights and take turns [planning].”
“So one week I’ll plan it and he won’t know what we’re doing so it surprises him,” she continued. “And the next week he’ll plan it and it’ll be done.” “It surprises me and we do that every week.”
