Actor and reality TV personality Nick Viall and longtime girlfriend Natalie just got engaged! He proposed with Natalie Joy’s engagement ring on January 12, 2023, and it’s a stunning ring!
We got on an EXCLUSIVE phone call with Benjamin Khordipour, the author, lecturer, and GIA-certified jewelry specialist of NYC’s Estate Diamond Jewelry for a professional look at this lovely ring. Click here to see what he had to say.
Natalie Joy’s Engagement Ring, Nick Viall’s Romantic Proposal
After dating Natalie for more than 2 years, Nick knew she was the one. He planned an elaborate proposal and surprise for his longtime girlfriend that would surely win her yes.
In order to get Natalie glammed up for the secret special occasion, he set up a fake screening of Tom Hanks’ new movie, A Man Called Otto, on January 12, 2023, at Create Studios in Venice, California.
Nick recalled the idea on his podcast show, The Viall Files, telling us that, “My whole idea of even faking an event was I wanted her to get glam. I knew she wanted to look nice and special. I had to figure out how to make sure she got glam, and it had to be some sort of special event.”
The venue had extras standing in to make it look like a movie screening. Expecting to see Tom Hanks and watch the movie, she instead got surprised when she entered a room decorated with a path of lighted candles and a video of Nick expressing his love for her.
In the proposal video, he gushed over his bride-to-be, “I can’t wait to start a family with you. It’s unreal to me that you get to be the mother of my children. I love you.” Nick then descended the stairs and got on one knee to propose to the love of his life.
Natalie Joy’s engagement ring featured a 5-carat elongated cushion cut diamond ring on an 18-k yellow gold pavé scalloped diamond band.
Although they didn’t meet Tom Hanks in the “movie screening”, he himself later found out about the proposal, and Nick quipped, “I guess he got a kick out of it.”
How Much is the Ring Worth?
Our phone conversation with Benjamin Khordipour, G.D., the jewelry specialist of NYC’s Estate Diamond Jewelry, who also holds advanced degrees from Gübelin and the Gemological Institute of America, revealed insights into this special ring. Benjamin placed its value at $170,000.
Natalie’s engagement ring commands this pricing for a few main reasons. It features a sizable 5-carat, elongated cushion-cut diamond mounted on an 18k scalloped yellow gold pavé diamond band. There are also diamonds around its undergallery.
Another factor is the expert craftsmanship of Brilliant Earth, the jewelry company that collaborated with Nick to create this gorgeous luxury ring.
Cushion-cut Diamonds, Color, and Clarity
A cushion cut diamond is a soft square or rectangle-shaped diamond with curved edges. They look like a pillow, thus the term “cushion” cut. Its round corners prevent chipping.
Natalie’s engagement ring diamond features an elongated version of the cushion cut, different from the regular version, more rectangular and slightly longer. This adds even more brilliance. An elongated cushion cut has a crushed ice look, with dazzling fire and brilliance.
With cushion cut diamonds, the more elongated the shape, the rarer it is to find. Tall and slender proportions are rarer. Anything above a 1.5 length-to-width ratio is rare.
The large top surface of this cut and shape displays more blemishes or inclusions. Experts recommend getting a diamond with a clarity grade of VS2, or Very Small Inclusions 2, or higher. The clarity must at least be eye-clean because it’s more likely to show imperfections.
Experts also recommend getting a higher color grade, as these longer cushion cut diamonds will display more color, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s of bad quality.
Additionally, the longer shape of the cushion-cut diamond will display more color, which doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. For those who prefer a “warm” looking diamond, you can get a colored diamond. Having a gold band on the ring like Natalie’s does will exude a warm color.
The ring also features a scalloped pavé diamond band, plus diamonds in the undergallery. Both features increase its sparkle, accenting the center diamond even more.
Nick and Natalie’s Love Story
Before dating Natalie, Nick Viall was a reality TV star, having been on The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, and Dancing with the Stars. He met Natalie online, when she sent a DM to him in 2019.
Natalie was a surgical technologist for a reconstructive surgeon at the Georgia Institute for Plastic Surgery. She got her degree in surgical technology from Savannah Technical College.
Before this, she tried to pursue a modeling career in New York from 15 to 17 years old, before deciding to go back home and earn a degree.
Speaking with E! Down in the DMs, Nick recalled their first interaction. “I think DMs are a great place to meet people, My current girlfriend slid in my DMs. Real clever, it said, ‘You’re unreal.’ I guess it was funny. I was more curious, wondering why I was unreal.”
Speaking with Bustle, Natalie recalls the interaction, explaining, “If I really thought he would end up being my husband and the father of my children, I probably would have put more thought into it and been funny or witty. He sent [back] a photo that I was tagged in of me on the beach. I think he said, ‘Are you Jesus?’ Because it looked like I was walking on water.”
It was also around this time that Nick created his podcast show, The Viall Files, which wounded up being a successful endeavor.
Becoming Official
The couple soon met and started dating later in July 2020, but didn’t become official until October. They had their first Halloween together, too, her dressing up as Lois Lane, and he as Superman.
By January 2021, there have already been more sightings of them together out in public. They hard launched their relationship on Instagram on the 27th of the same year, when Natalie posted an adorable vid of them together, with Natalie trying to kiss Nick while he was wearing VR goggles.
The sweet couple made their first red carpet debut together on May 17, in the MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED event at the Hollywood Palladium. That year they each dedicated celebratory posts for each other’s birthdays.
Their 18-Year Age Gap
In June 7, 2022, they were on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where they talked about their 18 year gap. Nick recalled, “At first, it was something I think I was having a lot of anxiety about. You know, like, ‘Are we going to be compatible?’ And I think early on that was part of the things I would worry about. But just the more I got to know her, the more I was just going to her for advice or just checking in with her, I just felt like we just met each other on the same wavelength and I always felt like she was my equal.”
Natalie added, “We realized we were on the same stages of life and we were ready for the same things … I’m in a place where I want to get married and have children and he’s also in that same place. We both have big careers and aspirations and jobs and stuff that we both love.”
