Broadway star Courtney Reed is getting her happily ever after, and it was all thanks to the series of events that led her back to an old flame in her hometown.
The Aladdin actress, 38, posted a touching video on her Instagram recapping her 2022 over Jaymes Young's "Happiest Year," showing moments that defined her year, including sweet exchanges with her photographer boyfriend of two years, Nick Pflederer.
The video was capped off with a romantic scene of Pflederer proposing to Reed at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. The Moulin Rouge! star can be seen breaking down in tears as he gets down on one knee.
There are also clips of Reed celebrating with her new fiancé and giddily jumping up and down with some of her Moulin Rouge! cast members. "2023…you've got some big shoes to fill," the actress captioned the video.
But the couple's story is more than what meets the eye, as they had originally dated for a brief stint in college in 2006, as shown by a montage of clips at the start of the video.
Reed tells PEOPLE that even though they had attended different colleges at the time (Reed attended the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, while Pflederer attended Columbia College), he instantly caught her eye.
"We shared the same gym," Reed says. "I saw him come in one day and said, 'He looks like Tom Welling… He will be my boyfriend.' I was obsessed with Smallville at the time."
They dated for four months in college before going their separate ways, and it wasn't until 14 years later, amid the pandemic, that they were drawn back together.
"When COVID hit, I moved back home to Chicago, and we ended up meeting for a hang just as friends," she tells PEOPLE. "We had no idea our little meet up would end up like this!"
The chemistry was still there, and they rekindled their romance in August 2020. Pflederer has even joined Reed for life on the road as she stars as Satine in the national tour of Moulin Rouge!.
Pflederer is a prominent feature on Reed's Instagram, and she often posts photos of their adventures together. In August, she shared a video of some of their fun shenanigans to the social media platform, captioning it, "1 more sleep until my bad romance is back to me 💃🏻♥️."
A few months earlier, she also celebrated Pflederer's birthday by posting a photo and video carousel, along with some sweet words dedicated to him.
"You are my BB my BF and my BFF," she wrote. "Today is the best day and it's not just because you were born on this day…it's the best because it marks the day when you are no longer a year YOUNGER than ME! 😝."
She added, "I love you. I can't wait to celebrate you today and every day after."
