'The' 'Young and the Restless' Star Camryn Grimes Gets Engaged in 'Up' -Themed Proposal

Camryn Grimes and Brock Powell got engaged on Jan. 7, which also happened to be her 32nd birthday

By

Published on January 19, 2022 04:10 PM

Camryn Grimes is engaged!

On January 7, the Young and the Restless actress, 32, said "yes" to her partner, Brock Powell's sweet Up-themed proposal — and PEOPLE has the exclusive photos.

"It was my on my birthday, which I famously hate, and the day was hectic," Grimes exclusively tells PEOPLE. "All I knew was that there was a dinner that night and so I couldn't understand why Brock had me running around all day. We ended up running late for dinner and Brock said he had to stop at the house first, we pull up and he grabs our dog Riley and asks me to get out of the car and join him. He escorts me to the backyard which was lit with markets lights and candles and balloons everywhere! Then he got down on one knee and popped the question!"

Powell, a voiceover actor, adds, "There wasn't just a plan for the proposal, there was a whole theme to the animated movie Up from 2009. The movie deeply connected to both Cam and I, especially as two people who were deeply in love and unable to travel and see the world beyond their own house over the last couple years."

Camryn Grimes — Sarah Irene Decristoforo

"In using the theme I tried to find a way to represent our love story so far by incorporating gentle nods to our favorite things," he says. "In addition to, of course, our mutual love for Disney, our dog Riley stood in for "Dug" complete with an app-controlled collar built by a dear friend and genius Disney TikTok influencer (@alexcorrao), which works twofold because Cam loves TikTok and the year prior Alex helped me recreate Disneyland at home for her Christmas gift!"

Grimes, a two-time Daytime Emmy winner who plays Mariah Copeland on the soap, said the proposal caught her by surprise... but also, she had an idea it was coming.

"I knew it was going to happen at some point, I just didn't know when or how," says Grimes, who began dating Powell in March 2020. "Luckily for me, Brock is a terrible liar."

"Honestly my mind was blank and all I could say was, 'Oh My God,' over and over again," she adds. "I was just so bowled over by the presentation and the fact that it was actually happening, I couldn't think of anything else to say! It was so deeply touching."

But in the end, the night was magical.

"I think the only thing I could think about was making it perfect for this woman who has brought so much joy into my life. And also making sure I didn't forget which knee to get down on because I had no idea that there was a proper knee to choose until one hour prior!" he says.

Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

"It is the most comfortable and normal feeling to be engaged to Brock," says Grimes. "I knew very early on that I wanted to do life with this person, and we have had some crazy things to contend with thus far. Every day we choose each other, so as a team, anything seems possible."

The Young and the Restless will be celebrating its 49th anniversary in March and has been TV's No. 1 daytime drama for 32 years.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.