Zooey Deschanel’s kids didn’t quite understand what was happening when she got engaged to Jonathan Scott.
While speaking to PEOPLE for this week’s cover story, the New Girl actress, 43, and her Property Brothers fiancé, 45, shared new details about their engagement story, revealing that Deschanel’s kids were a little confused after the proposal.
The engagement, which took place at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, began with a guitarist Scott had hired to play Neil Young’s song “Harvest Moon.”
“So when that started happening, Zooey, all of a sudden…You saw this, ‘What’s happening?’ ” Scott recalls.
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“Somebody magically took the kids over on the other side where the band was, and I was like, ‘Something’s happening,’ ” Deschanel adds.
The star notes that she wasn’t quite sure what was happening until her kids walked back out. “And then the kids pulled a banner out that said, ‘Zooey, will you marry me?’ ” Scott says.
“And I said yes,” Deschanel tells PEOPLE.
Although Deschanel’s kids played an integral part in their engagement, they didn’t really understand the proposal until after their mom said yes. “When Elsie turned around and read [the sign], that was the first time she learned,” Scott says of the couple’s engagement. “And she immediately goes, ‘Huh, did you just get married?'”
“And we’re like, ‘Well, no, not yet, but we got engaged.’ And she’s like, ‘Does that mean I get to be a flower girl?’ And we’re like, ‘Yes. Yes you can.’ So it was really sweet to have them there too.”
“So cute. It was so special,” Deschanel adds.
Deschanel is mom to son Charlie Wolf, 6, and daughter Elsie Otter, 8, who she shares with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik.
On Father’s Day this year, Deschanel took a moment to honor all the dads in her life, including Scott. “As a mom in a co-parenting family I am just so grateful for the dads in mine and my kids’ lives! From Daddy(Jacob), to Bonus Daddy (big-dad jonathan), Papa(Caleb)and Grandpa Jim. We are blessed with amazing father figures,” she wrote.
“Happy Father’s Day to all who father and nurture and mentor today! Hope you feel celebrated 🩶🩵.”
The carousel of photos she posted to Instagram showed special moments between her kids and each of the men, including a group shot where she and Scott posed with the two little ones and Pechenik.
Scott also shared his feelings on the occasion on his own Instagram, writing, “Being a bonus dad has been one of my greatest accomplishments and adventures so far. Thank you Dad for the advice over the years and #HappyFathersDay to all the father figures out there. ❤️.”
For all the details on Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott ‘s life as a blended family and their new dream home, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
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