Former “DWTS” partners Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart are engaged

The "Coda" star and "DWTS" pro started dating shortly after Durant's stint on the dance competition ended.

While ABC is the longtime home of The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars might actually be their most successful matchmaking series.

On Friday, season 31 contestant Daniel Durant (CODA) and his pro partner Britt Stewart announced that they are engaged. Durant and Stewart shared the particulars of the proposal exclusively with PEOPLE, detailing a Christmas Day engagement in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.

Durant asked Stewart to marry him while the two were on a hike with their families, including Stewart's mom and stepdad, Jasmin and Lonnie Speed, and Durant's moms, Lori Durant and Mary Engels. On top of the mountain, the family members shared what they were most looking forward to in the new year.

"I was the last one — and I started talking about the year, about us meeting and everything that happens in life," Durant told PEOPLE, admitting, "I just feel like there's balance. She sees me. She knows my culture, my language, and understands everything about me."

"We were both emotional, overwhelmed with joy and at peace knowing that this would eventually be part of our story," Stewart added. "It felt like magic, but at the same time, it felt right and normal."

The couple met on season 31 of DWTS, paired together as celebrity contestant and pro dancer in fall 2022. They ultimately came in fifth place at the semifinals, narrowly missing a spot in the season's finale.

Durant and Stewart both stressed that their romance did not begin until after their journey together on the show had ended — in part because they were so focused on the competition. "I'm a really competitive person, I wanted to win this thing and so I saw that in her and we trained," Durant said.

Stewart made the decision to learn American Sign Language (ASL) as soon as she knew that Durant would be her partner. "When I met him and found out he was my partner on Dancing With the Stars, immediately I was like, I must learn ASL because I'm teaching him how to dance," she noted. "I'm not going to use his interpreter."

That commitment helped the two forge a connection, which they first realized might be something more during week eight of the competition in which they performed a jazz routine to "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. A significant portion of the dance was performed without music to give audiences a window into Durant's experiences as a deaf artist.

"For me, it was the moment when our lives showed each other," Stewart said. "I was really able to see him and his experience in Dancing With the Stars, but then just a little of his life too."

When the two were eliminated from the competition, Durant said he realized he couldn't imagine a life without Stewart in it. "I think, in that moment, we realized what we had felt for each other," he explained. "It was more than friends and naturally we connected and started dating after that."

The two publicly confirmed their relationship on Valentine's Day 2023. Durant is an actor known for Best Picture winner CODA and his role in the Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening.

Stewart began her time on DWTS as a troupe member in season 23. She became the first Black pro dancer on the show in season 29. This past season she was paired with former NFL player, Adrian Peterson.

It's funny, I remember us meeting," concludes Stewart. "I remember us as teammates. I remember us as best friends, and then I remember us together. And now it feels like we've just been together for forever."

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