The Real Reason The Valley's Luke Broderick Nearly Didn't Propose To Kristen Doute

When The Valley brought a few Vanderpump Rules alums back to our screens, fans were thrilled to follow their journey beyond the party scene, as they embraced serious relationships and started families. One of those VPR stars was Kristen Doute, who is now engaged to her fiancé, Luke Broderick.

Viewers watched as Luke planned his extra-special proposal during a cast trip to Maui in Episode 12 of The Valley. But things didn't go entirely smoothly with his nerves on full-display as he tried to keep the surprise intact while persuading Kristen to go along with a few plans without giving anything away.

Here's Why Luke Broderick Almost Didn't Propose To Kristen Doute

Luke Wanted To Make Sure Kristen Showered Before He Got Down On One Knee

In Episode 12 of The Valley, the cast is in Hawaii, though only a few know the real reason behind the trip: Luke Broderick is planning on proposing to Kristen Doute. However, the proposal nearly hit a snag when Kristen gave Luke a hard time over a few things, like insisting she didn't need to shower before their fishing trip because she would just end up "being fishy," unaware it was part of his carefully planned proposal.

With a little extra push from Zack Wickham—who was in on the proposal—Kristen finally agreed to hop in the shower. But getting her to dress up for the big moment was another challenge. After all, a fishing trip doesn’t exactly call for glam and a dress. Thankfully, Nia Sanchez, who was also in on the secret, stepped in and subtly sent Kristen a few outfit inspiration photos to steer her in the right direction.

The two get on the fishing boat with both Nia and her husband, Danny Booko. But, it still wasn't smooth sailing as Nia tried to persuade Kristen to take photos to distract her as Luke wanted to grab the ring from his bag. However, Kristen admitted to "not feeling cute at all" and while she was fixing her makeup, she was actually sitting on the bag with the ring.

With Kristen finally feeling cute, she gets to the front of the boat as Luke goes in and gets the ring, which he puts in his pocket. As the two couples pose for pictures, they point out that they saw dolphins out in the water. Kristen turns around and tries to spot them (although they really aren't there), and Luke quickly gets down on one knee.

When Kristen turns around, she is in shock and the first thing states is, "What the f***?" Luke tells her if she would be his "catch of my lifetime," and Kristen says "yes."

The episode concludes with the group surprising Kristen with an engagement party, with Zack giving each person a matching shirt with Kristen and Luke's faces on them.

Kristen Admitted She Wished The First Word Out Of Her Mouth During Luke’s Proposal Wasn’t An Expletive

Luke Admitted He Was Surprised That Was The First Thing Kristen Said

On The Valley After Show, Luke revealed that he was quite shocked that the first word out of Kristen's mouth was a curse word when she turned around and saw him down on one knee. "I didn't think the first thing [Kristen] was going to say was 'f***,'" he shared. In the same episode, Kristen agreed, stating, "I wish I hadn't said f***," adding, "What a moment ruiner."

While appearing as a guest on Tori Spelling's misSPELLING podcast in March, Kristen shared that she really regretted saying the expletive.

"The only thing I hate is, like, it's on the trailer in the very beginning and the first thing I say is, ‘Oh, f---,'" she began. "Like, why wasn't it this, like, Bachelor moment of, like, ‘Uh’ and then the ring and all the fairy fairy tale book type that you see? No. My response was, I turn around having no idea that he sat on one knee on a boat. And I'm just like, that's so romantic."

The couple also laughed at Luke's proposal speech, especially when he said, "Will you be the catch of my lifetime" while they were on a fishing boat. "It's so cheesy and so cute," Kristen shared.

In the same interview with Tori, Kristen offered more insight into that day, revealing that she truly had no idea a proposal was coming—even though she was told to look cute and take a shower, despite it being just a fishing trip.

"We were on a fishing boat. So in my mind, I'm like, I'm not even putting makeup on. Like, we're going on a fishing boat. I'm vegetarian, I don’t fish. My fiancé is such a fisherman. And in my mind, I'm picturing, like, Bubba Gump shrimp from [Forrest Gump]. Like, just fish guts all over."

"But I didn’t know. And I'm like, why would I get cute? And even though we had just gotten to Hawaii, one of my nails came off," she added. "So I'm like, 'Great.' It wasn't in my left hand luckily, but I'm just like, ‘Oh, OK. So let me glue this one on, not the same color, whatever.’"

Kristen added that her friends know her for her excellent sleuth skills, so they were shocked she really had no clue she was about to get proposed too.

"It blows my mind because everyone calls me detective Doute. Like, how did I not see this how did I not there were times I would go through his bag to look for something and the ring's in there. But I didn't know to look for a ring. Why would I even think of you know what I mean? So it's like it didn't even occur to me," she told the host. Kristen even shared that she was looking through the bag that had her ring in it, but thankfully, did not see it.

On the After Show, Zack confirmed that even Kristen—who’s famously known for her detective-level instincts (as Vanderpump Rules fans know all too well)—had no idea a proposal was coming.

"She was actually, actually surprised," he shared. Luke was also shocked that his now-fiancee did not figure out what was going on.

"There were a lot of hurdles to get there. Honestly, Kristen could have seen the writing on the wall. I think she just truly didn't believe there was any way I would propose that soon because we had talked about it, baby first, all these things," he shared.