“Survivor” Alum Jonny Fairplay Is Engaged: ‘Can’t Wait for Our Future Together’ (Exclusive)

Fairplay, who is known as one of the most notorious villains in 'Survivor' franchise history, popped the question to girlfriend Jessica Kendrick on Sept. 19

Jonny Fairplay is ready to walk down the aisle!

The two-time Survivor contestant (whose real name is Jon Dalton) proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Kendrick, at the Wyndham Grand in Clearwater Beach, Florida on Sept. 19.

Fairplay, 49, got down on one knee in front of Kendrick, 42, on a balcony at the hotel in front of a purple LED sign that spelled out “Marry Me” with a heart in the middle.

His fiancé accepted a 3.02 carat oval cut diamond by Daniel of Fifth Avenue from the reality TV star, before the two celebrated their engagement with a bottle of champagne. Dawn Booth planned the proposal with Fairplay's help.

Of the news, Fairplay tells PEOPLE exclusively, “I’ve never been more in love and can’t wait for our future together.”

The pair have been together for more than two years, and now they are ready to commit to forever.

“When I first met Jessica, she was the medical assistant at CAMI Greensboro and offered me free Botox. I was so afraid of needles, but as soon as I got there she held my hand,” Fairplay says. “Two years later, we never stopped holding hands.”

Related: Survivor Alum David Murphy Is Married! Inside the 1960s-Inspired Ceremony in Beverly Hills

Fairplay competed on two seasons of Survivor, first on Survivor: Pearl Islands in 2003 and he later had a brief stint on Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites in 2008. He finished in third place during his first season, which established him as one of the franchise’s most notorious villains.

While on the show, he infamously lied about his grandmother’s death in order to gain an advantage during a reward challenge.

During an episode in which loved ones visited, Fairplay arranged to have a friend pretend to tell him that his grandmother had died.

The lie earned him sympathy from his fellow players and a win in the subsequent reward challenge. In a confessional shortly after, he revealed to audiences that his grandma was not dead, but likely "sitting home watching Jerry Springer right now."

Host Jeff Probst later called the scheme the "greatest lie ever told on Survivor." During the season finale, Probst also said Fairplay's lie was "a move so low and so evil, it definitely guaranteed Jon a spot in the Survivor villain hall of fame.”

After his Survivor debut, he parlayed his infamy into more than a dozen subsequent reality TV appearances and a career in professional wrestling.

In 2020, he got into legal trouble with his mother, Patsy Hall, after they were arrested on larceny charges in Virginia.

"I (we) have been unjustly charged by a family member. I welcome the opportunity to vindicate myself (and my mother)," Fairplay told the Associated Press after news of the arrest broke. The case was later dismissed and the charges were dropped.

Related: Survivor Pair Matt Blankinship and Frannie Marin Are Officially Dating: 'We're Two Dorky Magnets'

Fairplay was previously married to Michelle Deighton from 2008 to 2011, and was later linked to Caryn Finkbeiner. He shares daughter Madilyn Jane, 6, with Finkbeiner, and is also father to Piper Addison, 15, who he shares with Deighton.

At the time of Madilyn’s birth in 2017, he told PEOPLE, “It’s an unbelievable feeling having another beautiful little girl enter our lives,” he said. “And amazingly she’s already said her first words: ‘Hey Jeff Probst, put my Daddy back on the show!’”

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The Survivor vet is set to make his return to reality TV — and to villain hood — on E!’s House of Villains, which premieres Oct. 12.

The series gathers ten reality TV villains under one roof to compete for a $200,000 prize and the title of "America’s Ultimate Supervillain."

The Bachelor’s Corrine Olympios, Vanderpump Rules’ Jax Taylor and The Challenge’s Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio are among the other reality TV villains who will compete in the series.

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