HOOTIE-ING & HOLLERING

Rocker, 59, Engaged to Influencer Girlfriend, 33, After a Year of Dating

The couple had kept their relationship private.

Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker announced his engagement to influencer Emily Deahl after a year of dating. The 59-year-old rocker announced the news on Instagram with a picture of him down on one knee. A second snap had the 33-year-old influencer showing off a golden ring on her finger. “Thank you for showing me a level of happiness I have never known,” Rucker wrote in a caption accompanying the post, which Deahl reposted on her own Instagram Stories with a caption explaining her decision to stay quiet about her romance with the three-time Grammy winner. “I never intended on keeping this part of my life from you guys for so long,’ Deahl wrote, stating that she wanted to “protect” their relationship, and expressed relief that she would no longer have to edit him out of pictures. Rucker previously went public with his relationship back on Sept. 9, which saw him receive a slew of kind words and support from fans. Deahl, meanwhile, has fended off comments about the couple’s age gap, writing, “My frontal lobe has been developed for years, but thanks, guys.”