Millie Bobby Brown Shares Her Chaotic, Romantic Underwater Proposal Story for the First Time

Almost a year after getting engaged to Jake Bongiovi, the actress is sharing details of the sweet moment.
Millie Bobby Brown

Millie Bobby Brown.


Millie Bobby Brown just blessed national television with the most adorable, chaotic and personal story about how fiancé Jake Bongiovi proposed to her. The Stranger Things actress, who stars in Netflix’s new fantasy-adventure film Damsel, appeared on a recent episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and divulged details about her engagement for the first time.

The 20-year-old explained that she and Bongiovi, 21, bonded over their love of scuba diving. One day, while the two were on vacation, he told her she had to be up at 8 a.m. the next day for another dive, and he insisted that they go to their usual spot.

“We love diving. We got our diving licenses together,” Brown shared. “So we go under and we’re many meters down and he gives me a shell and I turn it over and it’s a ring.”

The live audience said “aww” in unison. Brown continued to explain that he mumbled some completely incomprehensible words underwater, and Brown couldn’t give a “thumbs up” sign to accept because in diving that means you want to go up to the surface of the water. So she nodded and made an O.K. sign with her hand instead.

“I think it was underwhelming but anyways, he puts the ring on and as I [tilt my hand down] to show him, the ring falls off my finger, plummets so fast,” she recalled. “It was like a movie. Jake threw himself so deep [that] the diver was like, ‘You can’t do that, your ears, literally your brain will explode.’ He throws himself, he does a cinematic grab, opens [his hand] and he saved the ring.”

The entire audience and Fallon cheered with excitement over the sweet story.

“I truly feel like it’s a reflection of who he is. I feel like we are always gonna have each other’s back and if anyone drops the ball, we got it,” the Florence by Mills founder gushed. “I haven’t told anyone this [story] because you know, like there are key moments [you want to keep private], but I’m like ‘Fallon is the best’ and also, I think this is too good of a story to not tell.”

She added that there was a more formal proposal above the water, as well.

“He was like, ‘I bought you this ring because your mom wouldn’t let me take her ring,’ which is the one I’m wearing [now],” she continued, showing her hand with the stunning jewel. “This is my mom’s ring. My mom was like, ‘Absolutely not Jake. You’re not taking my ring down there, you’ll drop it.’ She was right.”

Once the two were on the boat, he gave Brown her mother’s ring, which was a very special and “magical” moment. His parents, famous musician Jon Bon Jovi and and Dorothea Hurley, were there, too.


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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.