When Megan Rapinoe decided to propose to girlfriend, Sue Bird, the soccer star took a bit of a spontaneous approach.
During an interview with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, Rapinoe spilled the details about how she popped the question and admitted the proposal came together just the way she hoped it would.
"Well, in true and typical Megan fashion, I really do plan things, and I do think about them," the 35-year-old said. "I just don't actually have a plan, so I had been thinking about it for a while, thinking about it really every day for a number of months."
The athletic couple, who first got to know each other during the 2016 Olympics, announced their engagement in October with matching Instagram posts. In the photo, Rapinoe, 35, can be seen bending down on one knee as she proposes to Bird, 40, a star player for the WNBA's Seattle Storm.
The moment looked pretty magical, but as it turns out, it wasn't entirely planned.
"I didn't have a special ring," Rapinoe said on "The Tonight Show." "I actually took one of the rings off my fingers and gave it to Sue. And I didn't know exactly when I was gonna do it but just, like, the perfect moment presented itself."
The beautiful blue sky and glistening ocean in the photo's background certainly made for one heck of an engagement photo, and a friend of the couple caught the moment on camera for Rapinoe.
"It was really sweet and beautiful and spontaneous but planned at the same time," she said.
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During her virtual appearance on "The Tonight Show," Rapinoe also talked about her new book, "One Life," which covers her soccer career and work as an advocate for the LGBTQ community and women's rights. When asked where her activist roots originated, she acknowledged that her parents helped shape her values.
"I didn't grow up even knowing what the word activism was or like having the language for it," she said. "But I definitely remember my parents instilling in all my siblings, but definitely my sister and I — I'm a twin, just, like, you stand up for yourselves, you stand up for each other, you stand up for people who maybe need you to."
Fallon noted that President-elect Joe Biden congratulated Rapinoe on her engagement and asked her to share her thoughts on the large voter turnout this year.
"We should encourage everybody to vote," she said. "As many people should vote as possible. We should be making it easier and much more simple for people to vote. It was pretty incredible to see the turnout this year."
