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Hallmark’s gay cowboy Jake Foy just got engaged to his boyfriend

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Jake Foy and Nicolas La Traverse at the red-carpet premiere of 'Ride'
Image Credit: Getty Images

This cowboy’s a lone ranger no more!

Congratulations are in order to actor Jake Foy—best known for Hallmark’s surprisingly gay-friendly ranch drama Ride—who recently got engaged to his longtime partner, Nicolas La Traverse.

Foy proposed earlier this month on May 8, but the pair just shared the news on Instagram with a join post featuring some truly dreamy photos of the engagement. Alberta, Canada’s Two Jack Lake and the mountains of Banff National Park serving as their stunning backdrop.

The two look absolutely adorable—serving “L.L. Bean catalogue, but make it gay”—and are joined by their sweet puppy, Daisy, making this a family affair.

In their captions, Foy and La Traverse marked their engagement date with some ring emoji and the quote, “Ain’t we got fun…?!,” likely referencing the classic foxtrot number and radio standard of the same name.

According to a recent throwback post from La Traverse, the couple have been together since at least 2018, sharing a photo from September of that year just after they moved into their first apartment together.

“So much has happened since then and there’s so much more to come… Proud of you. Proud of us. And, I can’t wait for all the future has to bring,” La Traverse wrote in the caption—did he know a proposal was right around the corner?

The news comes at a big moment for Foy, the out, gay actor who’s been winning over audiences with his charming turn on Ride. With previous credits that include ABC/Netflix‘s political thriller Designated Survivor and guest stints on TV genre favorites like Batwoman and Star Trek Beyond, the scripted Hallmark drama represents his first series regular role.

Jake Foy wears flannel and a cowboy hat while watching the rodeo
Image Credit: ‘Ride,’ The Hallmark Channel

Foy plays Tuff McMurray, the youngest of a famous rodeo family in Colorado who works on the ranch. He also happens to be gay, and Ride has been recognized for the way it thoughtfully makes his sexuality a matter-of-fact facet of the character—not something that defines him.

Already out to and accepted by his family and community, Tuff is given space to pursue life and love on his own terms. He’s even gotten close with a local named Julian, and the two recently shared their first kiss on the series—which actor Vasilios Filippakis was happy to tell us all about.

Related:

Hallmark’s cowboy drama just had its first gay kiss—meet the hunky actor bringing the heat to ‘Ride’

Now we know what they mean when they say, “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”

Speaking with Edge Media Network, Foy opens up about what it means to him to play a gay character in a genre and a network where LGBTQ+ folks have been historically underrepresented:

“What [Tuff’s journey] means to a young person that grows up in the world of the show with rodeo and ranching and maybe a more rural experience—I’m hopeful that a character like Tuff means that they might see themselves more accurately depicted. And that opens a new door to their comfort, with being honest with themselves.”

New episodes of Ride air every Sunday on The Hallmark Channel, with the season one finale set for May 28.

Scroll on below for more “couple goals” photos of Jake Foy and Nicolas La Traverse:

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