Former American Idol finalist gets engaged after nearly seven years of dating

Singer Grace Kinstler, who reached the top three on American Idol in 2021, announced her engagement to boyfriend Joseph Whitley. He proposed in a Boston park — the same place where both once studied music.

Who is Grace Kinstler

For Russian audiences who do not follow American television competitions, let us explain: American Idol is the local analogue of “Star Factory” or, more precisely, “The Voice”, only in the format of a long-term vocal show, from which Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson once emerged. Kinstler competed on Season 19 in 2021 and made it to the finals, finishing third behind winner Chase Beckham and runner-up Willie Spence. Since then, the singer has continued her musical career and has amassed an audience of over 1.3 million subscribers on TikTok, xrust reported.

Proposal in the Boston Public Garden

class=»notranslate»>__GTAG15__On July 31, Kinstler's boyfriend Joseph Wheatley proposed to her in the Boston Public Garden, a historic park in downtown Boston. The couple announced their engagement two days later, on August 2, with a joint post on Instagram with photos from the event. The caption for the post was laconic: “07.31.2026 Forever best friends” — with a ring and heart emoji. The footage shows the bride's ring — a silver band with small diamonds and a large round-cut stone in the center.

Relationships that survived the reality show

The couple has been together since November 2019 — that is, their romance is almost seven years old. It is significant that the relationship even survived Kinstler's participation in Idol: while she performed on the West Coast of the United States, Whitley remained in Texas, and all this time they kept in touch at a distance.

The choice of Boston for the proposal is not accidental: it was there that both once studied — Kinstler studied songcraft at Berklee College of Music, and Wheatley received his education at Northeastern University. Essentially, the groom returned the bride to where their story together began long before it became known to the general public.

The groom is also no stranger to show business

Joseph Whitley works as a realtor in Austin, but at the same time he is involved in beatboxing — he was once among the top 16 participants in the East Coast Beatbox Battle and still posts videos of his performances on TikTok. His own Instagram following is smaller than his fiancée's, with just over 10,000 followers, but the couple regularly appears in each other's posts.

Coincidence with the new single

It is symbolic that Whitley proposed on the same day that Kinstler released her new single “My Name's on You” — July 31. It turns out that for the singer this day became a double professional and personal event, although the engagement itself was made public after the release of the song.

Colleagues on the show were the first to congratulate

Other American Idol alums also noted in the comments under the engagement post. Casey Bishop, a participant in the same 19th season, left a short congratulations, and the finalist of the earlier, 10th season, Pia Toscano, who herself recently announced her pregnancy, also congratulated the couple. The wedding date of Kinstler and Whitley has not yet been announced.

Sources:
tvinsider.com
justjared.com
entertainmentnow.com

Xrust Former American Idol finalist gets engaged after nearly seven years of dating