NEED TO KNOW
Blake Horstmann revealed on Jason Tartick’s Trading Secrets podcast that he refused to “go into debt” for his fiancée Giannina Gibelli’s engagement ring
“She likes nice things … but we have a family, a house, a mortgage,” he explained
The Starcrossed hosts got engaged in Madrid, Spain, in October 2024
Blake Horstmann is getting real about setting a budget for his fiancée Giannina Gibelli’s engagement ring.
The former reality TV stars and hosts of Starcrossed, who got engaged in Spain in October 2024, joined Jason Tartick on the Feb. 2 episode of his money-minded podcast, Trading Secrets. During the wide-ranging conversation, Horstmann, 36, opened up about choosing a ring for his wife-to-be — and his intention not to “go into debt” in the process.
“When it came to the ring, I knew what she wanted, and we had chatted about it,” the Bachelor Nation star said. “But like most men, I had no idea [how to go about selecting a ring]. Like, I started from scratch.”
Horstmann said he went into the Brilliant Earth showroom a few times to look at options and eventually found the perfect band with “little diamonds” around it. “And then we put the rock on top, and I was like, ‘This is it. She is gonna die,’ ” he recalled.
Blake Horstmann proposing to Giannina Gibelli in Madrid, Spain, in October 2024
David Prades l @davidpradesphoto
Addressing his budgeting process, Horstmann said, “G likes nice things, and she expects certain things — but at the same time, she didn’t expect me to drop like $100K on it.”
“She didn’t expect me to go into debt,” he continued. “We have a family, a house, a mortgage. She didn’t expect like, ‘I need a $100,000 ring.’ It wasn’t like that — which, thank God, because I couldn’t have done it. I hate spending money.”
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Horstmann said he didn’t “feel the pressure to drop six figures on a ring or otherwise she’s not gonna say ‘yes.’ “
“So, I knew that I wanted to get a beautiful ring that didn’t put us into debt with a son,” he added, referring to the couple’s child, Heath, born on March 29, 2024.
Blake Horstmann and Giannina Gibelli with their son Heath
Giannina Milady Gibelli/Instagram
Ultimately, Horstmann said, “the key” was to find a ring that “looked like it [cost] six figures but didn’t break the bank” — and he feels he succeeded.
Gibelli, 32, confirmed the success of his mission, declaring her diamond sparkler “the ring of my dreams.”
At the time of the couple’s engagement, Brilliant Earth revealed to PEOPLE that Gibelli’s ring features a 4.87-carat oval lab-grown diamond set on an 18-karat yellow gold “Luxe Versailles” shank detailed with small diamonds. Horstmann told PEOPLE the ring left the Love Is Blind alum “breathless” and “so happy” when he popped the question in Madrid’s Parque del Retiro.
Elsewhere during the podcast conversation, Horstmann and Gibelli shared an update on their wedding planning. The two are set to tie the knot this year.
Gibelli said they are paying for the big event “100% ourselves,” and ultimately opted to choose a location in Europe to get more bang for their budget.
“I did all the research imaginable, and I found the most beautiful, gorgeous venue. I found people who are willing to work with us, and I’m getting just like this banger of a wedding for probably a little less than half of what you would get in the States,” she noted.
Read the original article on People