Frankie Grande Proposes To Boyfriend Hale Leon — In Virtual Reality
Their proposal was virtually adorable.
Getty Images Frankie Grande is engaged to Hale Leon after two years of dating.
The Broadway star, 38, popped the question to Leon, 28, in a virtual reality-themed proposal on Tuesday night.
It will be Grande’s turn to walk down the aisle after watching his sister, Ariana Grande, get married to Dalton Gomez just a few weeks ago.
The couple got engaged in front of family and friends, including Ariana, who congratulated the pair on her Instagram story.
Grande and Leon’s creative engagement involved VR and a whole lot of planning, according to Grande.
The dancer, actor, singer, producer, television host and YouTube personality whose full name is Frank James Michael Grande Marchione, said he had been working on the proposal for over a year.
Grande told his now-fiancé that he had planned a party at an immersive VR adventure venue to celebrate his four-year sober anniversary, which will land on June 16. Grande customized the ending of their VR experience to include a "Will you marry me?" message and intergalactic virtual fireworks.
"It was such a perfect, beautiful moment," the performer and activist said. "Hale was completely surprised and we both started crying tears of joy."
Who is Frankie Grande’s fiancé, Hale Leon?
Here’s everything to know about Grande’s husband-to-be and their adorable relationship.
Hale Leon is a model and actor.
Leon describes himself as a “commercial actor” in his Instagram bio and he has starred in a few short films including "The Gay Police," "Sweet and Sour," and "My Piano Lesson."
A love of performing also played a role in how Grande and Leon met. Grande recalled seeing Leon for the first time at a bar in Los Angeles.
"He was performing for everybody. He loves to go to Oil Can Harry's. He knew all the dances, I was blown away," he said.
He’s a gamer and Twitch partner.
Leon is also an avid gamer and hosts daily Twitch streams for his 7,000 followers on the streaming platform. Grande occasionally joins him for these streams and it appears to be one of the couple’s favorite pastimes.
When Grande took to Instagram to celebrate their engagement, he expressed joy about spending the rest of their lives together “Playing games and making me laugh.”
The couple’s love of gaming likely inspired Grande to propose in virtual reality.
Frankie Grande and Hale Leon met in 2019.
The couple met in 2019 at a line-dancing bar in Los Angeles, which Grande described as "love at first dance."
Grande recalled chasing Leon down after seeing him dancing at the bar and striking up a relationship from there.
If Leon can impress Grande, who is known for his love of theatrics, he must be quite the performer.
Grande’s family approves of Leon.
As well as Ariana, Grande’s mother Joan was in attendance to see her son get engaged. But the real seal of approval came from Grande’s grandmother, who is beloved by fans of the Grandes but, in Grande’s own words, tough to impress.
"Nonna really loved him and paraded him around her retirement home, [showing us off] as the new hip gay couple visiting," he said. "It was so cool, I didn't know if they would be hip to that, but it was really adorable."
Grande and Leon share a puppy.
Grande and Leon are fathers to a little furry friend named Appa.
The red toy poodle joined Grande and Leon’s family in late 2020 and he already has over 36,000 followers on Instagram.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.