Joanna Gaines is famous for upgrading old homes and turning them into something new and incredible through her Magnolia retail and construction empire. But one thing she'll never upgrade is the diamond engagement ring she's had for more than a decade.
Joanna revealed the touching story of her engagement to husband Chip in their book The Magnolia Story, which was excerpted on Cosmopolitan.com.
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After dating for about a year, Chip proposed to Joanna outside of a shopping center. Then, he lead her into a jewelry shop owned by a man Chip's dad knew from high school, who told her, "You're here to design your ring."
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Joanna writes in the book: "The fact that the selection of the ring tied back to Chip's roots and family history made it all the more special for me."
Joanna ended up choosing a classic and timeless ring. "I was able to pick out a nice round diamond and a beautiful, antique-looking platinum setting," she writes.
It took some time for the ring to get made, so, in the meantime, Joanna rocked some big, fake bling. Her friends and family were thrown off by the size of the fake rock, which solidified even further that her real ring was the perfect one for her.
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"It's funny to me that, even way back then, they all seemed to realize that a flashy ring just wasn't my style," she writes. "They expected to see me wearing something a little subtler, a little smaller, a little more classic maybe."
So, when 12 years later, the man who designed the ring surprised Joanna on her anniversary, saying Chip wanted to upgrade her ring as a gift, Joanna knew her answer right away.
"I looked him in the eye, and I said, 'I'm sorry, but no. This is the original diamond I picked, and it's perfect just the way it is,'" she writes. "It wasn't a "perfect" diamond, but it was perfect for me. ... I don't ever want to replace that diamond or that ring. To me, my ring is part of our story."
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Jessica Leigh Mattern is a web editor and writer who covers home, holiday, DIY, crafts, travel, and more lifestyle topics. Prior to working for Country Living, she wrote for several lifestyle and women’s magazines including Woman’s Day, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook
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