Pull up a chair and grab the tissues, you guys, because as far as celebrity engagement stories go, this one is a doozy — and there’s even video footage to prove it. The gist of it is this: Lauren Bushnell and Chris Lane are engaged, and it all went down on Sunday, June 16, in Bushnell’s family’s Oregon backyard. And once you get all the deets, you won’t be shocked to know that the Bachelor alum said “Yes!”
In a video that Lane shared on his YouTube channel, he explains that he wrote a song for Bushnell, and wanted to record her reaction while hearing it for the first time (#adorbs). The song is called “Big, Big Plans,” and I don’t think I need to tell you what those plans are. Because the second verse starts with the lyrics, “I already got a ring,” and while the couple is slow dancing on the porch to the song, Lane sings, “Now we’re back in her hometown and I’m down on one knee / I guess you finally figured out I’m gonna ask her to marry me.” With that, Lane leads Bushnell by the hand into the yard and does just that.
Bushnell looks visibly stunned, with one hand over her mouth from the moment that he begins guiding her out to pop the question — and TBH, can you blame her? Her country star bae just wrote a tribute song to her for the whole world to hear, and now he’s telling her he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, NBD. Not to mention, he picked out quite a sparkler featuring a 3.5-carat, emerald-cut diamond set on a dazzling diamond-studded band. This scene is the stuff of proposal dreams. By the time he says, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Bushnell totally loses it, and TBH, so did I.
Lane told People that he knew Bushnell wouldn’t want an “elaborate, crazy proposal,” which is why he decided to “keep it pretty casual.” Look, I’m not sure that writing a hit song about having a future your boo, and then sharing your proposal with hundreds of thousands of YouTube followers, can be considered “casual.” But I digress — it’s still romantic AF. Plus, Lane put a lot of effort into making sure his “Big, Big Plans” went off without a hitch. For one, he revealed to People that he had to make sure it was cool to pop the question at the Father’s Day family cookout — and fortunately, her parents were willing to pitch in and make sure the yard was in tip-top shape.
Not only that, but he also did some research to make sure he picked out the perfect ring. He told People that he and Bushnell went ring browsing five months ago “just for fun,” and while watching her try on a variety of options, he learned she loves emerald-cut diamonds. Kathryn Money, VP of Strategy & Merchandising for Brilliant Earth, estimates that Lane shelled out between $60,000 and 80,000 for the ring he selected (depending on the quality of the diamond). She told Elite Daily that emerald-cut diamonds are becoming increasingly popular, pointing out that both Jennifer Lawrence and J.Lo are rocking that shape on their engagement rings. According to Money, Higgins’ ring was the biggest in Bachelor franchise history — it’s pretty tough to compete with a 4.25-carat Art Deco-style ring with a radiant-cut center diamond surrounded by over 240 smaller diamonds. That said, bigger is not always better, you guys.
“Her ring from Chris is more contemporary and understated— and nicely complements Lauren’s down-to-earth personality,” says Money.
Still, Lane did face one small snag — he stepped in fresh dog poo (while barefoot, no less) just as he was about to get down on one knee. Fortunately, he was able to shake it off and carry out his plans just as he intended — although understandably, he admitted in his People interview: “I’ve never been that nervous.”
“When I got to the third verse of the song and knew it was time, I pretty much blacked out,” he said, according to the magazine. “The next thing I knew, she said ‘yes’ and the nerves just lifted! It’s an explosion of excitement, pure joy, and love.”
For her part, Bushnell says she realized what was going down once she lyrics began to sink in.
“Chris is the most thoughtful person,” she told People. “He clearly put so much time and thought into not only the song, but also making sure everyone I love most was surrounding us in that moment. Holding each other, hearing the song for the first time and then seeing him get down on one knee is a moment I’ll never forget. Watching the video back was almost just as emotional as the proposal itself — I still get teary-eyed even thinking about it. Seeing all of those memories in one place and then reliving the best day of my life is pretty special!”
It’s tough not to get teary-eyed just reading about this epic proposal story, especially knowing all that Bushnell’s heart has been through in the past. In the season finale of Ben Higgins’ season of The Bachelor, Bushnell snagged the final rose, and Higgins proposed to her with a jaw-dropping rock. Less than a year later, the couple launched their own reality show called Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After? Rumors started swirling that the couple was headed for splitsville in the winter of 2017, and on May 15 of that year, they officially confirmed their breakup in a joint statement. Since then, Bushnell has opened up about struggling with jealousy over Higgins’ relationship with JoJo Fletcher (who, it’s worth mentioning, he also said “ILY” to at the end of the show).
While Higgins has yet to comment on the engagement, it’s safe to say that Bushnell probably has Higgins’ blessing. After all, he’s moved on with the beautiful University of Mississippi grad Jessica Clarke. The relationship, which he announced on IG in February 2019, appears to still be going strong. And he also expressed supportive comments about her relationship with Lane in a November 2018 interview with Entertainment Tonight, in which he reacted to the news that they were dating.
“I think the first time, when she was dating Devin [Antin], I remember that feeling — like the Band-Aid getting ripped off,” he explained to Entertainment Tonight. “This time, and I mean this, I really want Lauren to be fulfilled and happy, whether it’s with Chris or not.”
Higgins also added that Bushnell was already friends with Lane while they were dating.
“I know she always admired him and thought he was a good dude," he told the news outlet.
Now that we’ve all had time to lick our wounds from that brutal Bachelor breakup, I think we can all agree with Higgins that we want Lauren to be fulfilled and happy. The “happily ever after” may have come with a question mark on her show with Higgins, but it seems like this time (fingers crossed), there’s a period in its place.
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