Pete, 30, took The Real Housewives of New Jersey daughter to Frank Sinatra Park and popped the question on a bridge full of "love locks" with the New York City skyline in the background. "I pretty much just showed her some of the locks that were on the bridge, and I said we should put one up," Pete told The Daily Dish. "I had a lock on me that I bought. I wrote our names on it. And then I asked her if she wanted to put today's date on the lock, and she wrote the date, and I hooked it onto the bridge. Then after I hooked it on, I got down on one knee, and I asked her to marry me."
Ashlee, 25, reveals she couldn't believe what was happening.
"I was just in shock," she told The Daily Dish. "I was like, is this happening right now? I was just all smiley and then he cried. He tried to say it was the wind, but it wasn't. He cried. But it was really cute. It was so perfect."
Though they've been dating for about a year, Ashlee and Pete, who went to high school with Ashlee's cousin Albie Manzo, have known each other since she was 18 years old.
"I would say, a year or two, we just became best friends. I've seen him in relationships, and he's seen me in relationships, and then we were both single at one point. We were just both hanging out every day, basically dating, and so we finally were just like, 'All right, why don't we try this?'" Ashlee said. "And then once we started dating, we just kind of knew that it was something that was gonna happen. I didn't know it was gonna happen yesterday, but I knew."
Ashlee's family couldn't be happier about the engagement. "They all love him," Ashlee said. "He got to meet my dad and family in Texas. He's the first guy I ever brought to Texas with me, so everyone loves him."
Still, Pete was nervous about the proposal. "I was petrified," he said. "It was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done in my life. But I would do it every day again. It was perfect. I was so happy with how it turned out."
But with that gorgeous ring their friends Anthony Frisina and Mark Shami at The M Jewelers helped Pete pick out, he probably shouldn't have been too worried about Ashlee's reaction. "I'm a really big Pinterest person, so I've had my whole wedding planned since I was in high school," Ashlee said. "I guess he kind of perused my Pinterest a little. The ring that's on my Pinterest board is almost identical to this ring. Actually, my ring is better because I wanted a thinner band, and I just wanted the thinnest band possible."
Now that they're engaged, Ashlee and Pete said their next step is to move in together before they start planning the wedding. "We're trying to figure out which season right now and go from there, but we're probably not going to start planning until we actually move in together," Ashlee explained.
Ashlee and Pete are currently looking for a place to live together — and reveal that they're still planning on staying in New Jersey. "I wanted us to be engaged before we moved in," Pete said. "I knew I was gonna marry Ashlee [for] a long time, and I just couldn't be happier."
Congratulations to the newly engaged couple.
Source/Photo Credit: Bravo, Instagram
