Jessica Biel reflects on Justin Timberlake’s ‘unexpected’ proposal: ‘Lovely, surprising, hilarious’

Couple married in October 2012

Jessica Biel has reflected on the “unexpected” way that her husband Justin Timberlake proposed nearly a decade ago.

The Sinner star, 40, shared details from the 2011 marriage proposal during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden on Wednesday, where she revealed that the Rock Your Body singer, 41, popped the question while the pair were on a snowboarding trip in Montana.

“We were in Montana on a piece of property that we owned at the time. We had snowboarded all day. It was in the middle of the winter. Waist-high snow,” Biel recalled. “We were [in] head-to-toe snowboarding outfits - hats, gloves, everything.”

According to Biel, who said the proposal was “so nice and so sweet and so unexpected,” the singer waited until the pair were spending a quiet moment checking the foundation of their property to ask the actor to marry him.

“And, all of a sudden, he gets down onto his knees and just sinks into the snow,” Biel continued, to laughter from the crowd. “And then he looks up at me and pulls out this ring. And it was the most lovely, surprising, hilarious…”

The recollection prompted Corden to ask whether Biel knew the proposal was coming, to which she confirmed that she hadn’t.

The late-night host then proceeded to question Timberlake’s decision-making skills, as he joked that it was “bold” of the singer to go snowboarding while holding onto the ring.

“Bold to go [snowboarding] with a ring in your pocket,” Corden said. “That is not a decision I would make. That can only backfire.”

Corden’s response prompted Biel to acknowledge he had a good point, as she recalled that she’d had to pull her heavy gloves off to put the ring on.

“For the first time, I’m questioning Justin Timberlake,” the host jokingly added. “Now that I think about it, I think this is a nuts way to propose.”

Biel’s praise for Timberlake’s surprise proposal came after she recently reflected on their nearly 10 years of marriage while speaking to Access Hollywood in April.

According to Biel, she feels “proud” of the time the couple has been together, while acknowledging how fast the time has gone.

“I sometimes feel like 10 years has just flown by in the blink of an eye and other times I feel like: ‘Oh my gosh, 10 years, that’s a really substantial amount of someone’s life,’” she said. “I just feel really proud of it.”

The couple, who share sons Silas, seven, and Phineas, one, began dating in January 2007 before marrying in October 2012.