Everyone loves surprises. But for Gabby Thomas, the latest surprise in her life rocked her world. But who is swift enough to surprise the gold medalist? Well, none other than her boyfriend Spencer McManes. For all their time together, Gabby thought that her man couldn’t think of a plan to save his life. So, just imagine the shock on her face when he surprised her by not only catching her off-guard but also proposing to her right there. Yes, you heard that right. But what did the Gold Medalist have to say on Spencer’s heist of the century?

Speaking to Vogue about her recent engagement, the Olympic gold medalist seemed visibly elated. Shedding light on the poor surprising skills of McManes, Thomas shared, “That’s when I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening…’ Normally he’s very bad with surprises—and this was the one surprise I think I’ve ever witnessed him keep.” Well, Thomas should have kept an open mind in recent times. Spencer McManes almost spilled the beans on what was his biggest feel-good moment of his life.

After all, the signs were there for Thomas to pick. During Valentine’s Day, McManes and Thomas headed out to shop for a ring at the iconic Tiffany’s in New York. Now, if that was not enough clue, Thomas suddenly found her boyfriend reserving a table on a random night at their favorite Austin restaurant, J. Carver’s. Still, Thomas was pretty much ignorant of the impending big day that was coming up. 

But McManes seemed to be keeping a close tab on all the proceedings. The moment he took note of the fact that Thomas broke a nail on her finger, her boyfriend sent her $50 via Venmo and asked her to fix the same immediately. Well, all of these led up to the D-day. Before a grueling season for Gabby Thomas started, the duo rented an Airbnb near Travis Heights for a staycation.

While Thomas went up to the roof, she was dumbfounded. What she saw made her both elated and shocked at the same time. Surrounded by sunflowers, her best friend and a photographer, Spencer McManes, was ready to go down on his knees for his ladylove. Meanwhile, as their love story has reached a satisfying turn, let’s rewind the pages to see how it all started.

From flirting to forever is the path that Gabby Thomas and Spencer McManes chose

Gabby’s and Spencer’s love story began with a simple Instagram follow! However, it did not take a lot time for the connection to quickly grow into something deeper. Gabby’s mutual friends in Austin had mentioned that Spencer, a former Yale football player, might be a good match. Intrigued, Thomas checked out his profile and was drawn to a saved highlight of pizza reviews. 

Stating the reason she shared, “I’m a huge fan of pizza myself—I was like, ‘This looks like really good quality content,’” That highlight was enough to convince Gabby to follow him back. Moments after she hit the follow button, Spencer’s DM popped up, “What did I do to earn a follow?” Their connection unfolded naturally from there.

 After months of online flirting, Spencer asked Gabby out. Their first date at a speakeasy turned into a three-hour conversation. This was followed by a 2nd date centered on what they both loved! Yes, you guessed it right, pizza! “I fell in love with him despite the fact that he went to Yale,” Thomas jokingly shared. But their relationship faced its biggest test during the Paris Olympics, where Gabby captured three gold medals.

Through the intense highs and emotional lows of the Games, her beloved remained her steady support. Cameras caught Gabby embracing him in the stands after her victories, tears streaming down her face as Spencer stood proudly in his ‘Team Gabby’ shirt. Referring to the phase, McManes shared, “We grew closer through it.”

He further added, “Last season helped us solidify our relationship and work well as a team through the ups and downs.” With all this, you can simply imagine just how strong the relationship between the two is. From Olympic heartbreaks to candid surprises, the two have come a long way. And now, with the big surprise out of the bag, fans can only imagine how many more happy shocks remain in Spencer’s bag.