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16 female celebrities who proposed to their male partners

Talia Lakritz   

16 female celebrities who proposed to their male partners
Kat Dennings and her fiancé, Andrew W.K., proposed at the same time.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards
  • Some female celebrities have flipped the script and chosen to propose to their male partners.
  • "Succession" star Sarah Snook proposed to comedian Dave Lawson during lockdown.

According to Irish lore, February 29 is a particularly auspicious time for women to flip the traditional script and propose to their male partners, IrishCentral reports.

While more women have chosen to propose marriage outside of Leap Day in recent years, it still remains a relatively uncommon phenomenon.

Here are 16 famous women who asked their male partners to marry them instead of the other way around.

Out of Elizabeth Taylor's eight marriages, she proposed once, to Michael Wilding.

Out of Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding in 1952.      WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Taylor proposed to Wilding, a British actor, while working on a film in England in 1952, The Guardian reported. They had two children together before divorcing in 1957.

Judy Sheindlin, better known as the no-nonsense Judge Judy, proposed to her husband Jerry Sheindlin.

Judy Sheindlin, better known as the no-nonsense Judge Judy, proposed to her husband Jerry Sheindlin.
The Honorable Judy Sheindlin and her husband, Jerry Sheindlin, in 2015.      Amanda Edwards/WireImage

Sheindlin had been married once for 12 years before she met her now-husband in a bar. When he continued to express ambivalence about the importance of getting married, she asked him to marry her herself.

"I did propose to him," Sheindlin told DuJour in 2013. "I said to him, 'Where is this relationship going?' And he tried to weasel out of it, with his, 'Well, you know, why do we have to get married?' Whatever. He finally capitulated. I told him to pick a date. He picked Flag Day."

Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg proposed to Barry Diller, and they've been married since 2001.

Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg proposed to Barry Diller, and they
Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg in 2016.      Jim Spellman/WireImage

Von Furstenberg turned Diller's proposals down several times before she took matters into her own hands.

"One year I didn't know what to give him for his birthday, and I called him and said, 'You know, if you want, for your birthday I'll marry you,' she told O Magazine in 2014. He replied with, "Let me see if I can arrange it."

Britney Spears proposed to Kevin Federline in 2004.

Britney Spears proposed to Kevin Federline in 2004.
Kevin Federline and Britney Spears attend a party together in 2006.      Getty Images

The couple was on a flight from Ireland to New York when Spears proposed, she told People magazine in 2004.

"All of a sudden I said, 'What if you want to get married?' And I kind of went from there to asking him if he would marry me," she said.

Spears and Federline divorced three years later, in 2007.

Pink asked motocross racer Carey Hart to marry her in 2005 while he was racing in the Pro 250 class finals.

Pink asked motocross racer Carey Hart to marry her in 2005 while he was racing in the Pro 250 class finals.
Pink and Carey Hart.      Rich Fury/Invision/AP

As Hart began his third lap around the track, Pink held up a pit board that read, "Will You Marry Me?" When he didn't pull over, she added "Serious!"

Cary accepted the singer's proposal, and they married in Costa Rica in 2006, PopSugar reported. They have two children.

Jennifer Hudson proposed to David Otunga in 2009, five months after he proposed to her.

Jennifer Hudson proposed to David Otunga in 2009, five months after he proposed to her.
Jennifer Hudson and David Otunga in 2014.      Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards

Otunga had proposed to Hudson on her birthday, so she returned the favor on his birthday with a five-carat ring, People magazine reported.

They announced their separation after 10 years together in 2017.

Jenna Bush Hager proposed to husband Henry Hager after three months of dating — years before they actually got engaged in 2007.

Jenna Bush Hager proposed to husband Henry Hager after three months of dating — years before they actually got engaged in 2007.
Jenna Bush Hager and Henry Hager.      Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

On an episode of "Today with Hoda & Jenna" in August 2023, Bush Hager said that she proposed to Hager, a former White House staff assistant during her father's administration, "after several cocktails" in 2003, when she was 22 years old.

"We'd only been dating three months," she said. "He told me he loved me and I'm like, 'Me too! Let's get married!'"

Hager said no at the time, as Bush Hager said in the episode, according to People, adding that he eventually proposed in 2007. They got married in 2008 and have three children.

Gretchen Rossi asked Slade Smiley to marry her on an episode of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in 2013.

Gretchen Rossi asked Slade Smiley to marry her on an episode of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" in 2013.
Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley on vacation in 2015.      Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for Sandals Resorts

Rossi got down on one knee to ask Smiley to marry her. He got down on one knee to say yes.

"With this ring, I hope you'll say yes, and I hope you'll marry me, and I hope we'll have a wonderful, fabulous, maybe not perfect, but happy life together," she said.

The couple still has not gotten married — although they wear wedding rings and call each other husband and wife, Us magazine reported. They welcomed a daughter, Skylar, in July 2019, People magazine reported.

Kristen Bell proposed to Dax Shepard on Twitter after marriage equality became legal in California in 2013.

Kristen Bell proposed to Dax Shepard on Twitter after marriage equality became legal in California in 2013.
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.      Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Bell and Shepard didn't want to tie the knot until every couple had the right to marry. When the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, legalizing same-sex marriage in California, Bell popped the question on X, formerly known as Twitter.

".@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove," she wrote.

His reply? "F*** yes!!!!!!!!!!!"

Actress Haley Lu Richardson and Brett Dier were together for seven years before Richardson popped the question.

Actress Haley Lu Richardson and Brett Dier were together for seven years before Richardson popped the question.
Brett Dier and Haley Lu Richardson in 2017.      C Flanigan/Getty Images

While chatting with Busy Philipps on "Busy Tonight" in 2019, Richardson said that she had asked Dier to marry her.

"I just asked," she said. "Neither of us are, like, crazy romantic people, so nothing was planned. He was sitting there eating a pizza and he was telling me a joke that Shia LaBeouf had said in an interview, and he was, like, pretending to be Shia LaBeouf explaining this joke and for some reason I just cut him off and was like, 'Wanna marry me?'"

Richardson revealed in an Instagram story in November 2022 that she and Dier had broken up two years before, People magazine reported.

Retired Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn proposed to New Jersey Devils defenseman PK Subban on Christmas in 2019.

Retired Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn proposed to New Jersey Devils defenseman PK Subban on Christmas in 2019.
P. K. Subban and Lindsey Vonn at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.      Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images

The couple had already announced their engagement in August 2019 when Subban proposed to Vonn. But Vonn said that she wanted Subban to have a ring too.

"Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!!" Vonn wrote on X.. "On our 2 year anniversary, in a 'non-traditional' move, I asked PK to marry me and he said, Yes ! Women aren't the only ones who should get engagement rings! #MerryChristmas #equality"

The couple announced their split in December 2020 after postponing their wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic, Us magazine reported.

In an appearance on "The Tonight Show," Joshua Jackson revealed his then-wife, model and actress Jodie Turner-Smith, proposed to him in Nicaragua.

In an appearance on "The Tonight Show," Joshua Jackson revealed his then-wife, model and actress Jodie Turner-Smith, proposed to him in Nicaragua.
Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson in 2019.      Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

The "Dawson's Creek" actor appeared on "The Tonight Show" in July 2021 and told host Jimmy Fallon about "the best choice [he] ever made."

"She asked me, yeah, on New Year's Eve," Jackson said of Turner-Smith's proposal. "We were in Nicaragua. It was very beautiful, incredibly romantic. We were walking down the beach, and she asked me to marry her. There was, like, a preamble. There was a lead-up to it … I did not know, but she was quite adamant, and she was right."

Turner-Smith gave birth to the couple's daughter in April 2020, People magazine reported. Turner-Smith filed for divorce in 2023.

"Succession" star Sarah Snook proposed to and quietly wed comedian Dave Lawson, a longtime friend, while they lived together in lockdown during the pandemic.

"Succession" star Sarah Snook proposed to and quietly wed comedian Dave Lawson, a longtime friend, while they lived together in lockdown during the pandemic.
Dave Lawson and Sarah Snook at the Critics Choice Awards in 2024.      Monica Schipper/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

"At the beginning of the pandemic last year, I got locked down in Melbourne with one of my best mates and we fell in love," Snook told Vogue Australia in October 2021. "We've been friends since 2014, lived together, travelled together, always excited to see each other, but totally platonic. We've just never been single at the same time. I proposed and we got married in February in my backyard."

The couple wed with "Succession" costar Ashley Zukerman in attendance as a witness.

"It's been a ride," Snook said. "There's so much heartache and sadness in the world, but on a micro personal level, I've been very fortunate. There's a really lovely grace in that without the pandemic, we might not have ended up together so quickly."

In an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Kat Dennings said that she and her fiancé, musician Andrew W.K., proposed at the same time.

In an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Kat Dennings said that she and her fiancé, musician Andrew W.K., proposed at the same time.
Kat Dennings and Andrew W.K. attend the premiere of "Thor: Love and Thunder" in 2022.      Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Dennings announced her engagement to W.K. (whose legal name is Andrew Wilkes-Krier) on Instagram in May 2021.

"Don't mind if I do," she captioned a photo of her engagement ring.

Dennings told Barrymore in a February 2022 appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" that their mutual proposal was "a special moment that makes me believe in magic."

"We were doing kissing, and we had, like, a shared feeling," she said. "I felt this intense … thing, like, 'This is my person. This is it. I can't live without him. This is the man I'm supposed to be with.' And we looked at each other, and we both proposed at the same time."

Becca Kufrin proposed to fellow "Bachelor In Paradise" star Thomas Jacobs in May 2022.

Becca Kufrin proposed to fellow "Bachelor In Paradise" star Thomas Jacobs in May 2022.
Becca Kufrin and Thomas Jacobs.      Dara-Michelle Farr via Getty Images

Kufrin and Jacobs, who met on season seven of "Bachelor In Paradise," both announced their engagement on Instagram.

"In the ultimate plot twist…HE SAID YES!" Kufrin captioned photos of them popping champagne.

"The ultimate UNO reverse card / power move," Jacobs wrote in his own post. "You keeping me on my toes for a lifetime has a great ring to it. Cheers to forever Boops."

They married in October 2023.

Rita Ora proposed to Taika Waititi in 2022, who told Vogue he "said yes instantly."

Rita Ora proposed to Taika Waititi in 2022, who told Vogue he "said yes instantly."
Rita Ora and Taika Waititi.      Samir Hussein/WireImage

Ora proposed to Waititi while the two were on vacation in Palm Springs, he told Vogue in an interview in August on their first wedding anniversary.

They held a small, private wedding ceremony at their Los Angeles home in August 2022, a few weeks after Ora proposed, and only publicly revealed that they were married in their Vogue interview.

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