ESPN's Gary Striewski Is Engaged to Abbey Carnivale: 'Best Day of My Life' (Exclusive)

03/22/2025 12:00 PM

"I can't wait to wear the ring for the rest of my life. It's perfect," the bride-to-be gushes to PEOPLE

• ESPN's Gary Striewski got engaged to girlfriend Abbey Carnivale on March 15 in Brigantine, New Jersey
• "I was ready to take a family picture and get some breakfast, little did I know Gary was behind me, ready to ask the question of a lifetime," Carnivale tells PEOPLE.
• The custom engagement ring is a 2 carat, elongated radiant natural diamond on a 14-karat yellow gold band

Gary Striewski is gearing up to walk down the aisle!

The ESPN host popped the question to his girlfriend of three years, Abbey Carnivale, on a beach in Brigantine, New Jersey, on Saturday, March 15.

"I was and still am absolutely stunned," Carnivale exclusively tells PEOPLE. "I think we both blacked out during the proposal."

Striewski, who has appeared on SportsCenter, SC+ on Disney+, and across ESPN platforms, enlisted Carnivale's family's help for the surprise proposal.

"Everybody was in on the bit except her, convincing Abbey that we were going to the beach Saturday morning to take a group picture," Striewski tells PEOPLE. "Abigail had no idea, even acting as the 'stand-in' for her sister, Jessica, who is a professional photographer, helping her set up the shot for her own big moment."

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Carnivale, a TV host, admits she might have been "difficult" that morning, but playfully blames the misty weather and her hunger.

"I was ready to take a family picture and get some breakfast!" she says. "Little did I know Gary was behind me, ready to ask the question of a lifetime."

Due to a mix of nerves and excitement, Striewski "rambled" his way to the big question.

"I remember the first sentence out of my mouth and the last question out of my mouth," he says. "Fortunately, the answer I recall hearing was 'yes.' "

It wasn't until Striewski said, "Now is the perfect time to start the rest of our lives together," that Carnivale "realized what was happening." Once Striewski got down on one knee and presented his girlfriend with a sparkling diamond ring, she gasped and covered her mouth. 

The 2 carat, elongated radiant natural diamond on a 14-karat yellow gold band was custom made at Lux Bond & Green in West Hartford, Connecticut. 

"Abbey was sent in on an exploratory mission about a year ago to 'get an idea' and my good friend and store manager Annie helped bring it to life once Abbey expressed some of the things she liked!" Striewski explains. "We got it made during the summer of 2024 and it lived in their safe until the Wednesday before we left for New Jersey. I took my parents and close friends to the store in December to look at the ring."

Even though Carnivale had "pretty much zero involvement" in the ring design, she wouldn't change a thing.

"No one knows me or my style better than Gary so I trusted him wholeheartedly to create something beautiful," the bride-to-be says. "Clearly my gut was right, because I can't wait to wear the ring for the rest of my life. It's perfect." 

She continues: "I'll never get over the thoughtfulness and coordination from Gary and my family to plan what's been the best day of my life, to date."

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Striewski and Carnivale met while working together at ESPN in 2018. Their friendship blossomed into romance in 2022.

During her time at ESPN between July 2017 and July 2021, Carnivale worked her way up from a production assistant to a social and digital video content associate to a social and digital video content producer, according to her LinkedIn. Her next job as a multimedia journalist at Spectrum Networks took her to New York, which caused the beginning of her relationship with Striewski to be long distance because he was still in Connecticut as a SportsCenter anchor.  

Luckily, work eventually brought Carnivale back to Connecticut, where she and Striewski now reside.