How Ace Young Kept His 'Idol' Proposal a Secret

May 24, 2012 American Idol

It was finalists Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips’ big night on “American Idol,” but it was former contestant Ace Young who stole the spotlight with a surprise proposal to fellow “AI” alum Diana DeGarmo.

How Ace Young Kept His 'Idol' Proposal a Secret

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How did Young pull it off? He explained to People at the season 11 finale post party, "I called Nigel [Lythgoe] directly last week and said, 'I want to do this. I'm going to do this. Is there any way I could do it at the show?' He said 'Yes, I'm not going to tell anybody until the day of ... [and] I want you to figure it out with Ryan [Seacrest]."

The plan worked (DeGarmo was “completely caught off guard”), maybe a little too well. She nearly spoiled the surprise with a trip to the bathroom.

"I actually almost got up to go to the bathroom to fix my hair," laughed DeGarmo. "And then I just started shaking [on stage]."

Young went on to reveal how he helped design DeGarmo’s new David Webb sparkler.

"A month ago, she said, 'Gold needs to come back,'" he said. "I was like, I agree, so mental note. Her favorite thing is a sunflower and she loves yellow, so one of our dear friends put together a ring that has a yellow diamond, a gold band and two smaller diamonds on the side that are clear, so it's like a sunflower."

Filed Under: Hot Topics, Trending Stories, Weddings, Couples News, Diana Degarmo, Ryan Seacrest, American Idol, Top Stories

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