Darius Rucker and girlfriend Emily Deahl are engaged after more than one year of dating.
Rucker, 59, shared the news via Instagram on Wednesday, October 8, posting photos of himself getting down on one knee and popping the question to Deahl, 33.
“Thank you for showing me a level of happiness I have never known,” the musician wrote in a caption. “The day I met you I knew I didn’t want to go another one without you. Now I don’t have to.”
Rucker shared two images alongside the announcement: one of the proposal, in black-and-white, and the other in color of him smiling with his bride-to-be, who showed off a large diamond ring with a gold band.
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After Rucker revealed the engagement, a wave of well-wishes inundated the comments section of his post.
“Congrats!” wrote Miranda Lambert, while singer Parson James remarked, “Yayyyyy. Pub drinks in London to celebrate soooon! Congrats my angel x.”
Deahl, a social-media influencer, regularly references Rucker on Instagram, where she’s posted videos from their date night to a Lady Gaga concert and referenced chatter about their significant age gap.
“When I’m running from the comments and then I see them say ‘she’s gotta be in her 20s,’” she joked in a September clip, adding, “My frontal lobe has been fully developed for many years but thanks guys.”
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Rucker was previously married to Beth Leonard from 2000 until their 2020 divorce.
He became famous 30 years ago as the frontman for the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish and later pursued a country music career. Last year, Rucker released his memoir, titled Life’s Too Short, which detailed his relationship with Leonard, whom he met at an event in the late 1990s before they became friends. Eventually he asked her out on a date, and following their first night out, Rucker knew he would marry her.
“Beth and I marry on December 9, 2000, on the beach in Bermuda,” he wrote. “In the end, we stay married for twenty years, a testament to her in every way: to her strength, her resolve, and her commitment to our kids and to me. Sadly, we uncouple in 2020.”
The exes share daughter Daniela, 24, and son Jack, 20. Rucker is also father to daughter Carolyn, 30, from a previous relationship.
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“My 50-something self is a lot more forgiving than the mid-20-something self,” Rucker shared in a 2023 interview on Apple Music’s “Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen,” reflecting on his split from Leonard. “You have to, because life goes on.”
He continued: “Your kids are still your kids, and you have a life, and you try to make the best of it. Like I always say, [Beth’s] a saint, she’s an amazing human being, and she’s a great mom. And we get through life.”
