American television personality and hair stylist Clare Crawley and her partner Ryan Dawkins had gotten engaged during the RiSE festival weekend in Las Vegas. “He has held me in my darkness, loves me through my healing, and we now celebrate the light together! The easiest YES of my life,” the salon owner announced via Instagram, sharing photos from the big moment.
“I wasn’t ready to date again,” the former Bachelorette, 41, exclusively told Us Weekly about the couple’s early courtship days during the DIRECTV Wives Night Out Event at New York City’s HK Hall on Thursday, October 13. “The second that I was single he was like, ‘Let me take you out.’ And he knew that I was in such a low point and I told him I wasn’t even ready to go out to dinner.”
Crawley recalled having a rough time dealing with her mental health at the time, adding, “I was in such — to be honest — in a depression. And I’ve been through a lot and a lot of things I haven’t even shared that I had gone through that were very difficult in my relationship.”
RELATED: Grey’s Anatomy Star Kate Walsh Unintentionally Revealed That She’s Engaged To Her Partner Andrew Nixon
Clare Crawley’s insight into her personal life comes after she previously made headlines for her on and off relationship with Dale Moss. The former couple, who met on season 16 of The Bachelorette, got engaged during a November 2020 episode of the series.
The twosome called it quits in January 2021 before giving their relationship another try. In September 2021, Crawley and Moss, 34, pulled the plug on their romance for good.
For the former reality star, it was important to wait until she was ready before taking the next step with Dawkins, 47. “I needed to take the space to have time to myself to heal,” she shared with Us. “I didn’t want him to be a rebound.”
Crawley also hinted at the pair’s upcoming plans to tie the knot. “I’m not getting any younger, but I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it. Obviously, I’m thinking 2023,” Crawley said. “I wasn’t even in a rush to get engaged. I thought as long as I found my person, I’m happy.”
Crawley and Dawkins kept their romance low-key before going public in September. One month after making their relationship official, Us confirmed that the Mascot Sports CEO popped the question during the duo’s getaway to Las Vegas.
“He has held me in my darkness, loves me through my healing, and we now celebrate the light together! The easiest YES of my life ❤️,” the hairstylist captioned a sweet Instagram photo from the engagement on Tuesday, October 11.
According to the Life & Style Clare tells that she was “1000 percent” surprised about the proposal.
“One of the things he said to me. … He was like, ‘I’m excited one day for you to be my wife.’ And I was like, ‘I know, me too.’ Because we always talk about getting married,” she recalls. “Then, he started getting a little teary and I was teary because of the festival. And I’m like, ‘Are you crying? Because I’m crying. What’s going on?’ Then, he got down on one knee.”
She continues, “I could totally talk about him forever. He’s amazing.”
The former ABC star says that she and Ryan had talked about the RiSE festival “last year on our first date.” So, when it came time to book their tickets, both of them were ready for “this festival of lights,” which Clare says was “beautiful.” She adds, “It was one of the most magical things that I’ve been looking forward to for so long, and I think it was meant to happen this year.”
Of course, she’s already envisioning her forthcoming wedding dress, which will be “white and stunning and long” with “no sleeves.” When it comes to the designer, Clare teases, “There’s a couple people that I’ve been eyeballing. I think it’s gonna be when you try it on and it’ll just feel right. I want to go a little bit more classic.”
Overall, the California native is “doing amazing” and at a great place.
“Life is really good. It’s very calm and full love and full happiness,” she shares. “I’ve been working on a lot of self-improvement, healing from a lot of things. This is where the happiness is in my life. This is where the joy is now and in all the work of healing myself.”
Clare went Instagram official with Ryan last month, with the Bachelor Nation star pinning one comment suggesting that their relationship isn’t entirely new. “Babyyyyy!!! Finally,” the comment read, to which Clare also responded with a heart emoji, “A year later and y’all still so f–king cute.”
In the wake of the engagement news, Clare said she’s “over the moon” and that becoming a fiancée was “the last thing I expected right now, especially coming from where I was a year ago.”
“It’s just been a serious journey, and Ryan has been by my side since the very beginning,” she told People, sharing that Ryan is “in it for is my heart” and has been “so consistent and so vocal about how much he loves me.”
Clare added, “It’s been such a gift having him in my life.”
READ NEXT: Zendaya Buys A $1.9 Million California Dream House For Her Dad
Sources: E! News, Us Weekly, Life and Style
Source: Read Full Article
