Fox News star gets engaged to congressman 15 years her senior four years after their first date at major DC event
FOX News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich is officially off the market after a surprise proposal in a sea of lavender.
The 36-year-old journalist said “yes” to Pennsylvania Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, 51, during a sunrise moment in France.
The couple had traveled to Valensole, a hilltop town in Provence, known for its picturesque lavender fields.
Fitzpatrick popped the question on June 29, planning the romantic gesture around Heinrich’s long-held dream to visit the region.
In a previous Boston Globe interview, Heinrich had said she wanted to visit the French Riviera “to eat the baguettes, see the lavender fields, drink the wine and eat the butter.”
The congressman apparently took notes, and turned that dream into a birthday gift, telling her: “I’m going to take you this summer to the South of France.”
Though their vacation was threatened by a potential last-minute call back to Washington for the signing of The One Big Beautiful Bill.
When Heinrich suggested postponing, Fitzpatrick insisted they continue with the trip, Heinrich told People in an interview.
“All the time I’ve known this man, he has never been desperate to see a field of flowers at dawn,” Heinrich joked.
The couple drove to Valensole to see the fields before sunrise.
Fitzpatrick abruptly pulled over and told her, “Alright, this field looks good. Why don’t you walk out into that field and I’ll take some pictures of you.”
As Heinrich walked among the flowers, a hidden photographer emerged, and a drone flew to capture the moment.
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Fitzpatrick then got down on one knee and proposed to Heinrich.
The ring features a brilliant-cut round diamond solitaire on a six-prong platinum setting with a yellow gold band.
Heinrich told Fox News Digital that Fitzpatrick’s engagement ring came from her family’s longtime jeweler, Attos Estate Jewelers, based in Portland, Maine
“He didn’t ask for any help from me or anyone I know,” Heinrich said.
“So I was really surprised he got it spot-on.”
She called the moment breathtaking.
The couple shared their big news with loved ones, including Heinrich’s dad, who was already in on the plan.
Fitzpatrick had flown to New Hampshire in advance to ask for his blessings.
“My dad teared up on the phone,” Heinrich recalled, while Fitzpatrick’s elderly parents were “so overjoyed,” she told People.
The Fox News star said the couple plans to host a combined housewarming and engagement party soon.
She also recently purchased a new home.
Heinrich personally confirmed the engagement in a post on X on Tuesday.
“The cooking was the dealmaker. Congrats, Jacqui!” Fox News contributor Joe Concha said in comments.
“Love this news,” chimed Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst.
Heinrich and Fitzpatrick started dating in 2021.
The couple is organizing a large celebration that will include a Catholic Church ceremony.
Heinrich was previously criticized by President Trump, who said in a March Truth Social post that he had watched her on Fox and thought she was “absolutely terrible.”
“She should be working for CNN, not Fox,” he wrote, adding that he later discovered she was a fan of the White House Correspondents Association.
In February, Heinrich openly criticized the White House’s move to take control of the press pool from the White House Correspondents Association.
Jacqui Heinrich joined Fox News in 2018 as a general assignment reporter based in New York.
She covered the 2020 presidential election before being promoted to Congressional Correspondent in 2021, then later to White House Correspondent.
Heinrich previously worked as a reporter at a local news station in Boston.
