Paul Wesley Dishes on Surprise Proposal to Fiancée Natalie Kuckenburg

Paul Wesley is sharing the details of his romantic “surprise” proposal to Natalie Kuckenburg!

The Vampire Diaries star, 43, revealed on Live with Kelly on Mark on Monday, Sept. 1, that he popped the question to his fiancée at a hotel in Italy where the couple had their first date.

“It was fantastic. She fell for it,” said Wesley. “It was a surprise. We did go back to this one hotel in Italy that was our first date years ago. And so when I said we were going there, she sort of was like, ‘Oh…’ ” the actor recalled.

“I asked her after the fact, ‘Did you expect it?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I kind of had a feeling.’ But she still broke down in tears,” he explained.

Wesley and Kuckenburg, 25, were first linked after the pair were spotted on a dinner date in Nerano in November 2022. On July 19, Kuckenburg announced their engagement on Instagram, sharing a photo of her stunning ring.

Wesley revealed on the show that he met Kuckenburg the “classic” way — “at a bar” in New York City’s East Village.

“That’s rare these days, I guess, because everyone’s, you know, meeting online and all these dating apps,” the newly-engaged star said. “It was just like the classic, pretty girl at a bar. There was a little look and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go for it.’ ”

“It was nice because we had a mutual friend,” he continued. “Because otherwise it’s very awkward … it was kind of more of an introduction.”

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In an Instagram post shared on July 22, Kuckbernburg spoke in more detail about the significance of the location where their engagement took place.

“Paul and I came to this hotel 3 years ago for our very first trip together and immediately fell in love with the place 🤍,” the model wrote in the caption, alongside several photos of the pair on the Amalfi Coast.

“A charming little town, the most beautiful views of amalfi, amazing hospitality, cute street cats… the list goes on,” she added.