“New Amsterdam” Actress Ana Villafañe Is Engaged After Her Fiancé Proposed While Running Through London’s Hyde Park
“New Amsterdam” Actress Ana Villafañe Is Engaged After Her Fiancé Proposed While Running Through London’s Hyde Park
Kimberlee SpeakmanSat, June 27, 2026 at 8:46 PM UTC
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Ana Villafañe in London on June 24, 2026; Villafañe after running a marathon on Jan. 25, 2026Credit: Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/Getty;Ana Villafane/tiktok -
Ana Villafañe is engaged to businessman Anthony “AJ” Parillo, who proposed during a recent run in Hyde Park in London
Parillo popped the question with a custom 2.8-carat diamond ring designed by Solitaire Creations by Dennis
Villafañe is currently starring as Ava Gardner in Sinatra: The Musical on the West End
Wedding bells are ringing for actress Ana Villafañe.
The New Amsterdam alum, 37, revealed she is engaged after her partner, businessman Anthony “AJ” Parillo, proposed to her while they were running together in London, according to The Sun, which first reported the news.
“Running through Hyde Park in the middle of the UK heatwave, he got down on one knee by the water, right next to the Serpentine Bar, and asked me to marry him,” the actress recalled of the surprise engagement, per the outlet.
“I immediately burst into tears,” she continued. “And before I knew it, everyone around us was applauding.”
Photos obtained by The Sun show Villafañe and Parillo posing side by side in athletic clothes in the middle of their run, as Villafañe sported a new sparkler on her left hand.
Other photos show her embracing her new fiancé and kissing him on the cheek and also the aftermath of the proposal, as she could be seen putting her head in her hands in disbelief while sitting down afterward.
Ana Villafañe at the press night after party for ‘Sinatra: The Musical’ in London on June 24, 2026Credit: Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/Getty
Parillo, a partner at Deloitte, told The Sun that he worked with Solitaire Creations by Dennis to create the custom ring for the occasion. The ring he chose featured a 2.8-carat round brilliant-cut diamond set on a gold band with platinum prongs.
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The West End actress said, per The Sun, that she had Bad Bunny’s song “Baile Inolvidable” playing on her headphones at the time of the proposal, which she noted made “it all feel even more surreal!”
“I’ve been crying and floating on cloud nine ever since … although I still made him finish the rest of our run,” she said.
PEOPLE reached out to Villafañe’s reps for comment on the engagement on Saturday, June 27, but did not receive an immediate response.
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It is unclear when she and Parillo began dating. Villafañe, who played “Dr. Valentina Castro” on New Amsterdam between 2019 and 2020, has for the most part kept her private life under wraps.
The actress is currently starring as Ava Gardner in Sinatra The Musical in the West End. She recently shared videos and photos from the opening night of the show on Instagram.
She could be seen several videos posing alongside cast and crew as she celebrated the special occasion together, and was even snapped with her partner, according to a picture obtained by The Sun. She captioned the shots in part, “I’ll never forget last night as long as I live.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
