Gina Kirschenheiter revealed her engagement ring from Travis Mullen is a temporary prototype, joking it’s “fake as f–k.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 41, got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Travis Mullen, 40, during a family ski vacation in Big Bear, California, on New Year’s Eve.
On New Year’s Eve, amid their family ski vacation, Mullen invited her outside to “scope out the right spot for a family picture,” then surprised her by dropping to one knee and offering a 6-carat, oval-cut diamond ring.
“I was in complete shock!” Gina said. “My nervous system was trying to catch up to what just happened in this magical moment and I was trying to process the iceberg that was being presented to me as well! I, of course, said ‘yes,’ and melted into what was the sweetest kiss I’ve ever felt!”
His daughter, Presley, filmed her father getting down on one knee.
All six kids celebrated inside the cabin moments later.
“But what you didn’t see was that then we went inside the cabin that we had rented and all the kids were in the house and they had like, the New Year’s Eve horns and the confetti poppers, and they just started to sound the horns and pop the confetti poppers, and we were all jumping around and hugging and celebrating.”
Travis, 40, popped the question to the 41-year-old Real Housewives of Orange County star after the two of them, and their combined six children, got all dressed up for a “Fancy Dinner Night,” which has been a tradition for their family in recent years.
The custom-made ring features a 6-carat oval-cut diamond in an 18k gold setting, with six smaller diamonds symbolizing their blended family of six children.
“The ring is absolutely perfect!” Gina added. “The thought he put into it blows my mind.”
Earlier she had told Bravo’s Daily Dish she wanted something simple.
“I honestly would just like a nice big round stone, like, nothing busy,” she said. “I feel like [in] my first marriage, my ring was very busy. And I just feel like I’m a different person now, so I just would want something very simple, classic, timeless, but not small.”
The surprise worked: they’d had no prior engagement ring talks.
“She was so surprised by the engagement that she had “zero conversations about engagement rings” with Travis prior to the proposal. “Zero,” the RHOC cast member continued. “So that’s also why I didn’t see this coming, ’cause I’m like, ‘We weren’t even talking about this.'”
“I will enjoy wearing this every day of my life, so I think he did a great job,” she said in an exclusive interview weeks after he proposed.
On January 10, Gina shared the full proposal video on Instagram.
“After 8 years on television, what I loved most about this moment was that there were no cameras around except for my stepdaughter hiding in the woods,” Gina captioned the January 10 Reel. “I will cherish this unexpected, simple, beautiful moment forever. Thank you Travis, I love you.”
In the video, Gina’s own captions captured her real-time emotions.
“Wait for one of the best moments of my life. Omg is he going to propose to me?!” she wrote. “Nooo. He’s not going to propose to me. Holy shit he’s proposing to me!!”
“Total shock!!! YES! Of course!” she continued. “Best kiss of my life. Trying not to pass out.”
But months later, when Gina appeared on RHOC Season 20, the ring story got more complicated.
In the viral moment, Gina revealed the engagement ring isn’t what fans thought.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star has been dating her now-fiancé since August 2019.
After roughly seven years of dating, Gina and Travis got engaged on December 31, shortly before filming began.
When Gina appeared at the RHOC Season 20 premiere, she addressed the reality of the sparkler on camera.
“Travis worked with a jeweler to design a prototype, because there was a possibility that I might not like the ring, which means this ring is fake as f–k,” she revealed during RHOC’s July 9 episode.
She elaborated on why Travis made that practical choice.
“We took the kids to Big Bear on a pretty-last-minute ski trip,” Gina recalled. “I had eaten my way through the holidays, so my pants were extra tight. I had two broken nails. Of course, this is the time this motherf–ker decides to propose to me.”
Gina and Travis have not set a wedding date because they want to enjoy their engagement, while focusing on family life, ongoing custody matters, and their growing real estate business, The Gated Group.