Inside MLB Player Joe Ross' 'Low-Key' Engagement to Influencer Payton Sartain: 'Literally Perfect' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.Photo:Rebel Creative Agency

Rebel Creative Agency

MLB playerJoe Rossis engaged to influencerPayton Sartain!

The Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, 31, first announced his engagement to Sartain viaa joint poston Instagram on Dec. 26, 2024. “We’ve been keeping something to ourselves for a bit 💍💙,” the bride-to-be captioned their post, in which she showed off several photos of her sparkling new ring. Now, the pair are sharing all the details of their private proposal.

“The proposal happened just as I requested, on our couch, in the living room of our first home together in South Florida,” Sartain tells PEOPLE. “Joe ordered [food from] our favorite restaurant in the area, set up our dinner spread in the living room so we could watch a show together (our favorite way to decompress) and pulled the ring out upon us sitting down for the evening.”

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.Rebel Creative Agency

While the proposal wasn’t anything extravagant, with Sartain wearing comfy loungewear, it was everything she wanted and more, she says. Despite having 150,000 followers on Instagram and 115,000 followers on TikTok, she didn’t want a public proposal.

“I like to live out much of my life online, in pretty pictures or videos, but this is a moment I wanted to keep for us, private, no pomp or frills, in the midst of our normal daily activities,” she explains. “The whole thing felt so natural and normal, which is my kind of romance.”

“Our dog Winnie was our witness,” she adds.

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.PHOTO:Rebel Creative AgencyJoe Ross and Payton Sartain.PHOTO:Rebel Creative Agency

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.

Joe Ross and Payton Sartain.PHOTO:Rebel Creative AgencyJoe Ross and Payton Sartain.PHOTO:Rebel Creative Agency

Ahead of their engagement, Sartain requested that Ross do “something low-key” because she’s a “pretty anxious person” and “doesn’t like surprises.” The baseball pro listened.

Having spoken to Ross beforehand, Sartain knew a proposal was coming. She was also very involved in her ring design.

Joe Ross admires Payton Sartain’s engagement ring.Rebel Creative Agency

“We really wanted to work together on the ring to make sure it was perfect, as it’s a pricey decision to be making, and we wanted to get it right for both of us,” she says.

The couple — who met and started dating in 2020, split at the end of 2022 but got back together at the end of 2023 — reached out to a trusted family friend’s jeweler in Houston to create the engagement ring.

Sartain’s ring is an elongated cushion cut, with a ratio of 1.3. Her natural diamond is five carats and set in a low-profile setting for daily convenience.

“I wanted something simple but significant, something timeless that could be dressed up with a more unique wedding band,” Sartain says. “I love the simplicity of the ring and can’t wait to make it a bit more vintage-looking with the wedding band I have in mind.”

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Ross also “really enjoyed” the process of sourcing his fiancée’s engagement ring.

“It took some time and lots of calls, but we were able to find exactly what she wanted,” he tells PEOPLE. “When I was finally able to see the ring in person, not only was I in shock, but I knew that she would love it.”

“When the time came to finally propose, we were having our regularly scheduled night in,” he continues. “Dinner prepared, tables set and Winnie at our side. It couldn’t have been more perfect for us.”

The newly engaged couple plans to tie the knot in late November in Sartain’s hometown of Fort Worth, Texas.

“We have limited options for the timing of the wedding due to Joe’s Major League Baseball schedule, so it made it easy to pick a time of year,” the bride-to-be says. “I want [the wedding] to be luxe with a bit of a Texas edge.”

source: people.com