Former Miss USA Noelia Voigt is “in love” with her new engagement ring!
The 2023 titleholder, 25, got engaged to construction engineer Jack Henry Hendrix, 26, at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla., on Nov. 30. Hendrix popped the question with a marquise-cut diamond with two gold bands.
As Voigt tells PEOPLE, she was totally surprised by the design. “In August 2022, Jack Henry took me ring shopping because he wanted to know what I liked and what I wanted,” she says. “I originally chose a ring with an oval center stone and a halo setting that made the ring look like a marquise. It gave a hint of vintage charm, which I love.”
Over the years, Voigt saw other rings she loved and sent photos of them to Hendrix — one of which caused a momentary panic. “He responded with a bit of urgency like, ‘If you want to change the ring you gotta tell me as soon as possible because there are things going on in the background that you can’t know about,'” the pageant winner recalls. “So I thought that meant he already bought the ring I had chosen in 2022, which I still loved! I told him not to worry about it and I would love it regardless.”
Hendrix ended up working with a jeweler to create the perfect custom design that worked in details of the original ring as well as other options Voigt had shown him, “mixing vintage charm with modern together.”
Carlos Velez
“When he proposed with the ring, I was completely surprised and so in love with it!” Voigt says. “I think it is so classy, elegant, and I love how the bands are not perfectly circular, complementing the cut of the diamond.”
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
The ring’s unique double band is symbolic to the couple’s love story. “The top gold band comes off and is actually a separate ring, but when you put the two together, it represents both of us coming together to create something beautiful and uniquely us!” Voigt explains.
Carlos Velez
The former Miss USA also tells PEOPLE that the proposal location is meaningful to her.
“Sarasota is where I was born and raised, and Ringling is one of my favorite places ever,” she says. “It’s also one of the very first places that I took Jack Henry to when he came with me to Sarasota for the first time after we started dating in 2018. We took Polaroid pictures together there that I keep safe in a scrapbook, so for him to propose at Ringling was extraordinarily special.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As for the wedding, Voigt says she and Hendrix will likely plan an intimate celebration and are aiming to tie the knot in 2025.
Carlos Velez
“We both aren’t super in love with the idea of a huge wedding,” she says. “We both have our close groups of family and friends that we would be honored to share our wedding day with in a small and intimate setting. A lot of people think the more the merrier, but for this, I think we are on the opposite end of that spectrum.”
The proposal comes almost seven months after Voigt announced that she would relinquish her Miss USA 2023 title for mental health reasons. Days after her resignation, Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz accepted the crown while Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava stepped down from her post.
After resigning in May, Voigt told PEOPLE that she is “always going to be an advocate for mental health awareness and support.”
Read the full article here
