“Saturday Night Live” Alum Cecily Strong Is Engaged—And the Proposal Went Completely Wrong (original) (raw)

For a decade, Cecily Strong shared her comedic skills with a wide audience while appearing on Saturday Night Live. When she first started the gig in 2012, the comedian and actress was a natural, earning four recurring characters within the first three months of her stint. She quickly became a favorite with the fans of the late-night live sketch comedy variety show and the staff writers, and her performances eventually scored her two Emmy nominations. While Strong had a successful career on the hit NBC show, she recently reached a personal milestone in her relationship with her partner of three years—whom she’s kept private but has previously referred to as Jack.

During an appearance on Late Night on March 27, 2024, Strong told host Seth Meyers that her boyfriend proposed in December 2023. “I got engaged,” she said before joking, “You always said, ‘No one will ever love you, and you will never get married.’ You were wrong!”

Strong explained that the engagement was not a surprise because there was a blunder that exposed Jack’s plan to pop the question. “We talked about getting married, and then, one day he was like, ‘I’m so inundated with emails and texts, look at this,’” she recalled. “And he showed me his phone, and the first text was from a friend that said, ‘How did it go, ring emoji.’ And then, I was like. ‘Oh no, should I?’ And he went, ‘Did you see that?’ And I was like, ‘I could try very hard to lie, but…’ So, then I knew.”

Steven Ferdman / Getty Images

Even though the secret was out, Strong nonetheless encouraged her partner to follow through with the proposal and get down on one knee at a date and time that she wasn’t privy to. “I was like, ‘Whenever you want to do it, that’ll be the surprise,’” she recounted. But the former late-night comedian called the shots anyway. “And then, I had kind of a rough night in December, and I was like, ‘Can I just wear the damn ring now?’ So, that’s how we got engaged.”

Not only did Strong suspect the proposal, but also, her engagement ring was too loose. “I don’t know my ring size—I wear like every size ring,” she admitted. “So, he took one of those, and it was five sizes too big. I was wearing it on my index finger for a long time—not as a statement; it just would’ve fallen off.”