Brooke Eden and her girlfriend of five years, Hilary Hoover, are engaged! The couple took turns popping the question in two surprise proposals that they coincidentally planned only nine days apart, according to People.
Between the two special moments, the couple got to enjoy the best of two very different kinds of proposals. Hoover wound up being the first to pop the question, and she opted to do it via a romantic surprise getaway to one of the two women’s favorite vacation destinations: Sedona, Arizona. Throughout the day, Hoover kept surprising Eden with greeting cards that had sweet messages written inside.
It wouldn’t be a true proposal without a slight logistical hiccup, and sure enough, the couple arrived at the airport without their luggage. But the resort where they were staying helped keep the romance flowing, upgrading them to a different room with a private pool — and fortunately, they’d packed their swimsuits in their carry-ons. As Eden jumped into the pool for a swim, Hoover gave her one last greeting card to read.
“I’ve been giving you cards all day long because I knew I wouldn’t have the words to say, so I guess this would be the time to ask, will you be my wife?” Eden recounts to People of what Hoover wrote inside the card. Of course, she said yes — and because Hoover had had to improvise by proposing in a pool, she wasn’t able to do the classic kneel while holding out a ring. Later that weekend, the couple recreated the iconic pose amid the jaw-dropping desert scenery where she’d originally planned to pop the question.
But the surprises weren’t over just yet: Throughout the romantic proposal weekend, Eden didn’t let on that she’d already planned a surprise proposal of her own — for just over a week later.
On Saturday (May 22), Eden and Hoover headed to the Virgin Hotel’s rooftop terrace in downtown Nashville for what Eden told Hoover was going to be an interview to talk about their Sedona proposal. But when they arrived, no one was there, and Eden dropped to one knee saying, “yes, I’m proposing to you.”
Next, out came the “ring-bearer,” aka the couple’s Maltese-Yorkie-poodle, whose name is Dolly. “At that point, Hilary thinks that Dolly’s the big surprise, right?” Eden says. But there was much more: In fact, Eden had enlisted a vaccinated group of close friends and family members to join them in Nashville, surprising her bride-to-be for the special moment.
“It was just the cherry on top of all of it,” Hoover relates. “Obviously, I would have loved a proposal that was just us, but I was so overwhelmed to see everyone there. I just never imagined my whole family being in Nashville. I kept looking at [Eden] like, ‘I’m impressed with you. I knew you were up to something, but you had to do a lot to get all these people here!'”
The couple also shared all the details about their engagement rings, which are just as unique as their double-proposal story. Instead of a classic engagement ring, the two women each have a series of stacking rings: Four for Eden, five for Hoover.
“You can change them out or reorder them,” says Eden. “We just thought they were so fun.”
The pair first met during Eden’s first week of a radio tour, when Hoover was working for Eden’s record label (Hoover now works on Garth Brooks‘ team.) Over the past several years, Eden has gradually come out as gay to her fans; In January of 2021, she officially told their full love story in a video posted to her social media.
Also this year, the singer has released a trio of songs that are her first new music since 2017. They are “No Shade,” “Sunroof” and “Got No Choice,” the latter of which features Hoover in the music video.
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