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Oct 31, 2024

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White Are Engaged!

The Olympic snowboarder popped the question to the 'Vampire Diaries' alum in late October in New York City: 'She Said YES' ANDREW ARTHUR Wedding bells are ringing for Nina Dobrev and Shaun White! The

The Olympic snowboarder popped the question to the 'Vampire Diaries' alum in late October in New York City: 'She Said YES'

ANDREW ARTHUR

Wedding bells are ringing for Nina Dobrev and Shaun White!

The actress, 34, and the Olympic snowboarder, 36, got engaged in New York City in late October according to Vogue.

White popped the question with a 5 carat diamond ring under an arch of white roses at the Golden Swan restaurant.

"I went into shock," Dobrev told the publication of the surprise proposal. "I just froze and stared at him." Later in the night, the couple were joined by friends to celebrate with caviar and champagne before they ordered Shake Shack and dumplings to the restaurant.

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White came up with an elaborate proposal plan to make sure he caught Dobrev totally off guard. According to Vogue, he had his publicist send Dobrev a fake invitation for an intimate CFDA/Vogue dinner with Anna Wintour. “He made the invite look so legitimate,” Nina said.

When she arrived, the only people present were White and the photographer. “He said all the right things," Dobrev recalled to Vogue.

White shared the happy news on Instagram with a series of photos and the caption: "She said YES."

Dobrev captioned the same photos: "RIP boyfriend, hello fiancé," on Instagram.

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Dobrev and White started dating in 2019 and moved in together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They went Instagram official with their relationship in May 2020 with a series of snapshots of Dobrev giving White a quarantine haircut.

In April, White teased a possible engagement to Dobrev while chatting to PEOPLE at Oasis Celsius Vibe House.

"We're just enjoying our time together right now. No pressure," he said. "But I told her, I was like, 'Look, after the Olympics, I finally got my freedom to do whatever. And let's just have fun and be together and support each other.'"

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"But you never know. We'll see what happens,” added White, who retired from competing following the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The pair first met during a brief encounter at an awards show in 2012, but they weren’t formally introduced until 2019 when they were both giving presentations at an event in Florida organized by motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

Recalling their first dinner together following the event, the three-time Olympic gold medalist told PEOPLE in January 2022, "I actually didn't know anything about her. The place was packed. And she was like, 'Let me go see if I can get a table.' "

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White said he then smiled knowingly when the hostess of the restaurant began blushing as Dobrev spoke to her, and remembers thinking to himself that she probably told her, "There's an old gold medalist over there who wants a table."

The Vampire Diaries alum and the hostess were soon joined by several other members of staff, but when White went over to the group, he wasn’t met with the response he was expecting.

"Can we get a photo ... with her?" White remembers one of the waiters asking. "And I was like, 'What's happening? What's going on?' It was actually really funny."

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Going on to praise Dobrev, White told PEOPLE, "Nina's just been so supportive and so amazing through this whole process for me. Through the pandemic, she was a lifesaver — she really made that time in my life special."

As well as moving in together, the couple also undertook a DIY home renovation project together during the pandemic, painting the entire exterior of Dobrev's West Hollywood home.

"We went to the hardware store bought a bunch of paint, and brushes and definitely got in over our heads, but it was really fun," White told PEOPLE.