Forget roses — she got a ring! Bachelor alum Caila Quinn is engaged to boyfriend Nick Burrello after two years of dating, Us Weekly can exclusively confirm.
The businessman, 27, popped the question to Quinn, 28, on Thursday, January 2, in Sarasota, Florida on the way to visit her grandparents.
“He was like, ‘We’re going to go on a little detour and we’re going to spend the weekend with both of our parents,” the reality star told Us. “He rented an Airbnb for all of us to stay in, the six of us. So, from visiting my grandparents, we drove a couple of hours to another little town and he said that he wanted to do dinner, just the two of us.”
Quinn continued on that Burello had planned a “very romantic, elaborate evening,” which included a stay at a suite at the Ritz Carlton with roses and candles in the room. Burrello had dinner waiting at the restaurant of the hotel where he was prepared to pop the question.
“As we start walking up the table at sunset, by the beach, there was an acoustic guitar playing this beautiful romantic song, ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ and I start tearing up,” Quinn recalled. “And it was just a special evening where we had dinner by the ocean and we kind of talked about our relationship, our lives together. It was just the two of us. Then, at the end of the dinner, he asked me to slow dance and I said, ‘OK.’ So we started slow dancing and I’m swaying in his arms and then he gets on one knee and he asks me.”
After Quinn said yes, she was surprised when both Burrello’s parents and her own parents came around the corner ready to celebrate with a toast.
The couple plans to have the wedding in 2020 and are considering Sarasota as a possible location for the ceremony. As for if any Bachelor Nation stars are on the guest list, Quinn said her friends Sharleen Joynt and Olivia Caridi will definitely receive invites.
Quinn added that she’s grateful she appeared on season 20 of The Bachelor because it ultimately led her to the love of her life.
“I feel really lucky because I feel like I wasn’t meant to go on the show to find love there,” she explained. “I was meant to go on the show to find Nick. If I wasn’t on the show, I wouldn’t ever have met him because I would never have been a blogger and that’s who introduced us and set us up on our first date. So, I think everything happens for a reason and I thank God every day.”
The TV personality confirmed her relationship with Burrello in October 2017.
Quinn opened up about meeting the Harvard University graduate in a September 2018 blog post on her website. “The walls of the Wren were lined with hopeful singles, but to our table tucked away in the back of the bar you came without hesitation,” she wrote. “The polite man you are… you introduced yourself to my bevy of girlfriends, saving me for last. ‘Pleasure to meet you,’ I blushed in the dark. He was even cuter in person.”
The Bachelor in Paradise alum went on to explain that their encounter was more of a matchmaking exploit than by chance. “My girlfriend Olivia had briefly pulled up a picture earlier that night in an effort to set us up. I really wasn’t even looking for someone at the time, having been in New York for over two years – I thought all the good ones had deserted,” she continued. “But Olivia sold me with, ‘I feel like you guys are similar. He’s a thoughtful listener.’ So from one party to this rustic bar, I trusted my friend.”
Quinn gushed over Burrello in a Wednesday, January 1, Instagram post. “Happy new year!!” she captioned a photo of her kissing his cheek. “Can’t wait to start the next one with you.”
As for the executive, he signaled a bright future for the pair on his own Instagram account. “Around the world and back again. A year full of exploration, family, and friends,” he wrote on Wednesday. “Here’s to topping this list in 2020.”
Quinn made a name for herself while competing for Ben Higgins’ affection on season 20 of The Bachelor. She finished in third place and was almost named the season 12 Bachelorette before ABC pulled a last-minute switch, choosing JoJo Fletcher as the lead.
The blogger later found herself in the midst of a love triangle with Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti during season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise. Haibon and Iaconetti, both 31, reconciled in May 2018 after remaining friends and tied the knot in August 2019.