SHOCK PROPOSAL: Grace Gealey and Trai Byers
EMPIRE CO-STARS Grace Gealey and Trai Byers are engaged following a whirlwind romance that began on the set of the hit show, it has emerged.
Byers, who plays the son of Terrance Howard’s character Lucious Lyon, a former drug dealer turned hip-hop mogul who is the CEO of Empire Entertainment, got down on one knee as the couple celebrated Gealey’s 31st birthday at a Chicago eatery on Sunday (July 26).
“He popped the question and she was totally surprised and elated. She can’t stop looking at the ring! They celebrated all night,” a source told US Weekly.
Gaely, who takes on the role of saucy starlet Anika Calhoun in the soap opera – the fiancée of Lucious Lyon, was said to have been grinning from ear-to-ear after Byers got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage.
The 32-year-old posted an image, which showed them revelling together and some of their other co-stars for his wife-to-be’s birthday celebration.
He captioned the image: “Had so much fun celebrating @gracegealey’s life!! Happy Birthday to an exquisite human being.”
And after thanking the Chicago eatery where they had enjoyed their evening, he also dropped a hint about their proposal by saying they had an ‘UNFORGETTABLE night.’
US Weekly first revealed that the pair were dating in March after meeting on the hit show.
Empire has been a runaway success for Fox, with 17.62 million viewers tuning in to see the show’s season one finale in March.