"It Was So Confusing": Melanie Lynskey Didn't Know She Was Engaged Until Three Days After The Proposal

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Saying "yes" to an engagement to be married is often a moment one is acutely aware of, but that wasn't exactly the case for Melanie Lynskey.

Closeup of Melanie Lynskey
Elyse Jankowski/Variety via Getty Images

It turns out, when the Yellowjackets and The Last of Us star got engaged to her now-husband Jason Ritter, she didn't know for three whole days.

Closeup of Melanie Lynskey
Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

"My husband's first proposal was so confusing. I didn't know what was happening," Melanie said Tuesday on The Tonight Show.

Melanie Lynskey on "The Tonight Show"
Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images

She'd been looking at rings online before Jason's proposal but opted not to buy a specific ring because it looked too much like an engagement ring.

Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on
Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on
Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on
Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on

NBC Universal / Via youtube.com

Melanie said Jason later presented her with the ring. "So I was like, 'Oh, thanks,'" she said. "It didn't sort of cross my mind, and then there was this strange speech. We were just sort of sitting there, [and] he had paused The Bachelor."

Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on "The Tonight Show"
Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images

Melanie was so unaware Jason was proposing that she actually wondered if they were breaking up.

Closeup of Melanie Lynskey on "The Tonight Show"
Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images

"He's like, 'No, no, no,'" Melanie said. "So I said, 'Okay, well, thank you. Lovely, good chat.'"

Melanie Lynskey speaking with Jimmy Fallon
Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images

Three days later, Melanie and Jason celebrated Christmas with his family, where he noted they were engaged.

Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey on the red carpet
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

"I said, 'Are we? Oh!' It was so confusing," Melanie continued, noting she had to tell Jason that, when it comes to proposals, "people usually understand that it's happening."

Melanie Lynskey and Jason Ritter on the red carpet
Randy Shropshire / Getty Images for MPTF

Melanie and Jason married in 2020 and are now parents to a 5-year-old daughter.

Closeup of Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic / Getty Images

And, to make up for the initial engagement mishap, Melanie said Jason has been "proposing" many times over, including recently during her birthday while filming her new Peacock show The Tattooist of Auschwitz in Slovakia. But that proposal didn't go as planned either.

Closeup of Jason Ritter
Dia Dipasupil / WireImage / Getty Images

"He was going to take me out for dinner and do it at dinner, but our daughter was like, 'Give her the ring, Dad,'" Melanie said.

Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey
Steve Granitz / Getty Images

Melanie was also candid about her relationship with Jason last week, telling People that he's been "sacrificing" his career as she rides a career upswing.

Closeup of Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey
Trae Patton / NBC via Getty Images

She told the publication, “The last few years we've had this role of like, whoever's job makes the most sense, whether it's the most exciting career wise or it's more money, we would prioritize the one that was going to help move the person's career forward."

Closeup of Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey
Amanda Edwards / Getty Images