Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott are made for each other, but the world didn’t always agree.
“When we first started dating, Zooey posted a picture of us together. It might’ve been the very first time we ever posted anything on social media. And I remember I looked at it and I saw the first comment right below was, ‘Why the hell is she with a Property Brother?!’ I was like, ‘Excuse me—rude!'” Scott, 45, tells PEOPLE with mock indignation in this week’s cover story.
“Why wouldn’t I be with you?” Deschanel, 43, chimes in. “Our personalities are so compatible. It’s just that we’re from different worlds.”
Chatting with PEOPLE at their new home in Los Angeles, in their first interview since their surprise engagement in August, it’s obvious why they’re a match: They are perfectly in sync, all playful banter and lovestruck grins.
But the couple of more than four years say there’s another reason why they work: “We identify as nerds, we’ll have you know,” says Deschanel.
And their whole history is evidence.
After meeting while filming an episode of Carpool Karaoke — during which they sang a mash-up of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (famously performed by Deschanel in Elf) and Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” — their first date was at an escape room, a favorite activity of Scott’s.
“I had actually never done one, and he kept telling me how much he liked them,” says Deschanel of the interactive puzzle-solving game. “It sounded very much up my alley and I loved it right away. I mean, I wasn’t good at the first one to be honest, but I’ve gotten pretty proficient.”
Scott also got major points for sending her an itinerary for the evening ahead of time. “I was like, this is my dream. I’m a Capricorn,” she explains.
A few months later, at their first major family event — Jonathan’s older brother J.D.’s Halloween wedding — they went all out in coordinating Batman and Catwoman costumes.
The HGTV star even said “I love you” for the first time in a decidedly nerdy setting: while taking in a show at L.A.’s Magic Castle, a members-only club for illusionists, to which Scott belongs.
For all their silliness, the couple are on the same page professionally too.
He has made cameos at her She & Him Christmas concerts, and she has appeared on his star-studded HGTV series Celebrity IOU as well as in features on drewandjonathan.com, the brothers’ website that they relaunched this week as a hub for makeover stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and much more.
Still, Scott says he knows he’s found an absolute catch: “I’m not gonna lie, this I did not see coming,” he says of Deschanel, whom he describes as “somebody who cares to make sure you get through the hard moments as well.”
Both Deschanel and Scott have been married previously and she has two children: Elsie, 8, and Charlie, 6, with her ex husband, producer Jacob Pechenik. Scott has happily proclaimed himself a “bonus dad,” explaining “They have even more people to love them.”
“Our family is very deeply rooted and very blended,” adds Deschanel.
In August, Scott cemented his future stepdad status when he popped the question to Deschanel at a castle in Scotland with a wildflower-inspired ring set with diamonds and pink and purple sapphires.
“We’ve just been basking in engaged bliss and haven’t really figured out anything,” Zooey says of their future wedding, but teases, “We do love to throw a party.”
For all the details on Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott engagement and their life as a blended family in their new dream home, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
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