From the moment Jezzel Viray stepped into her life, Morgan Yates knew she wanted to be by her side. The two first connected on February 5, 2021, when Morgan was hosting a friend’s birthday party at her home. One guest came to the celebration with Jezzel in tow, and Morgan was smitten. “I can’t say I remember a ton of it, but when Jezzel went to leave, I allegedly tried to steal her shoes so she couldn’t get in her Uber,” laughs Morgan. “Right after she did leave, I looked up her Instagram and sent her a DM at 1 a.m. that just said ‘Come back.’” A few weeks later, the pair reconnected and went on their first date.
By May that year, Morgan asked Jezzel to be her girlfriend when they were on a trip together in Scottsdale. “I, of course, said yes,” shares Jezzel, who works in tech. “Later, I found out that Morgan wanted to beat me to this, so that one day if we stayed together long-term, she wouldn’t have to be the one to propose since she was the one who asked me to be her girlfriend.” She jokes, “And that’s Morgan for you… always planning ahead.”
Jezzel got her chance at planning when she crafted the perfect proposal for Morgan. The couple went on a two-week trip through Europe ending in Mallorca in September 2024. Even though they were looking into potential wedding venues on the island, Morgan didn’t suspect a thing. “Jezzel can be a bit forgetful (for example, I’m the one who keeps up with our passports), so I never thought there would be a world where she would pack our engagement rings to tote around Europe,” she says. Meanwhile, Jezzel planned to propose at a cliffside viewpoint in Deiá at Belmond’s La Residencia, a favorite spot from the pair’s last trip to Mallorca in 2022.
“When the day came around, we were met with a terrible thunderstorm on the drive there, which resulted in the proposal spot no longer being accessible,” remembers Jezzel. “I was running around the property with the Belmond staff in search of a Plan B, all while Morgan thought I was on a ‘work call.’” Jezzel came across the patio of the El Olivo restaurant and noticed tables had been cleared and dinner service had been moved indoors due to the weather. Since the sun was beginning to shine through, she asked the staff if they could arrange a private dinner on the patio for the proposal. “They set up the most beautiful table for two, which completely shocked Morgan when we later went downstairs for what she thought was a normal dinner reservation,” she says.
“When we walked in, I saw the table outside set for two and immediately knew what was happening,” Morgan recalls. “I am very hard to surprise, and can honestly say I have never been so shocked in my life.” She adds, “It was, of course, an immediate ‘yes.’”
