Lawson Bates and Fiancée Tiffany Espensen Star in the Ultra-Romantic Music Video for 'Crazy Love'

"The song is a huge part of our love story. Everything in that song, and now the music video, is tied to my love for her and how deep it is," the singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE

By Tricia Despres

Published on March 24, 2022 12:00PM EDT

Bringing Up Bates star Lawson Bates knew that he wanted to ask actress Tiffany Espensen to be his wife and he knew he wanted to pop the question during their trip to Italy last year. What he didn't know is if he could pull off filming a music video at the very same time.

But that's exactly what this talented singer/songwriter did.

"When we left for Italy, it was slated as a work trip," Bates, 29, tells PEOPLE of the memorable trip where he not only asked for Espensen's hand in marriage at the Tenuta Larnianone in Siena, but also captured footage for the music video for his current single "Crazy Love."

"Looking back, I feel like Tiffany knew something else was going on," he says with a laugh. "The song is a huge part of our love story. Everything in that song, and now the music video, is tied to my love for her and how deep it is."

Tiffany Espensen and Lawson Bates. Lawson Bates/YouTube

It's that love that will now forever be documented in the sweet music video, which premieres exclusively on PEOPLE. Shining a spotlight on the closeness of the couple, who plan to get married in San Diego later this year, the music video for "Crazy Love" ultimately turned into everything Bates had once envisioned.

"I wanted this entire music video to be about the moments and memories of that trip with her," says Bates of Espensen, 23, who also serves as his duet partner on "Crazy Love." "Even though I had told her that this was a work trip, it really didn't feel like that at all. I had told the director [Tammi Weed] and the cameraman [Justin Baker] to just catch everything that happened, and they did that beautifully."

And it was those memories that came flooding back as Bates returned to his current home base in Nashville to edit the video that not only showcased Bates' proposal, but also featured all the good times the couple had while in Italy.

"When we saw the first cut of the music video, it was really amazing," recalls Bates, who had a hand in writing all 12 of the tracks currently featured on his debut country album, American Dream. "We were so busy when we were there and on such an emotional high that it was nice to just experience it all over again."

Of course, the video shoot did have its challenges.

"Yep, that was us going all over Rome at the same time that the G20 Summit was going on," Bates admits with a laugh. "It was mayhem. I mean, Joe Biden was there. Everybody was there and military escorts were everywhere and we're just zooming around like crazy without a care in the world. I should probably have planned that a bit better."

But no matter the circumstances, Bates said he tried to take it all in stride, a trait that he seemed to have picked up after being a part of a reality show for so long.

"Ever since I was like 11 or 12 years old, we've been filming pretty much every week for one show or another, so I felt really relaxed with the cameras," remembers Bates, whose parents were also on hand for the proposal and video shoot in Italy. "Tiffany has done more scripted stuff though, so I just told her to not worry about trying to play a role or anything. Just have fun and try to take in all this cool stuff we're seeing and experiencing."

And now, Bates says he can't wait for his fans to experience some of the same exact feelings.

"It's so much more than a music video," he says. "We did all of this in October and now the music video is finally coming out and we're just thrilled for people to see it. Hopefully people will be able to connect to it and maybe make it a song that fits their love story too."