Lea Michele on Zandy Reich’s proposal: I thought he was joking

Still on cloud 9! ☁️✨ I 💓 you Z.. 💍

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Lea Michele has now completed the “extra engagement trifecta” – mandatory engagement ring social media post, friends’ reaction screenshots, with bonus “nipple ring” cupcakes (I can’t unsee that now…thanks, commenters!) and now gratuitous talk show appearance.

The 31-year-old actress was a guest on Wednesday’s Watch What Happens Live, presumably to promote her upcoming LMDC Tour with Darren Criss (which kicks off in Nashville on May 30), and spent a lot of time talking Real Housewives with fellow guest Bethenny Frankel.

Talking to Andy Cohen about fiancé Zandy Reich’s “super private proposal,” Lea revealed that “I was so surprised, I kept saying, ‘Stop joking around, stop joking around!’” As for the four-carat radiant cut ring, valued at between $200 to $300K, she recalled, “I keep thinking it’s borrowed and I have to give it back at some point.”

The huge sparkler got a close up during the WWHL after show, when the most interesting part happened – a discussion of the “Lea Michele is illiterate” rumor. A caller brought up a 45-minute Facebook video that claimed Lea isn’t able to read or write. Lea squashed the conspiracy theory.

“Not only do I have to memorize pages and pages, they said that Ryan Murphy would have to read the lines to me. Ryan called me, he was like, ‘Do people think I have the time in my life to come and do this?’ I got accepted to NYU. It’s the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

I don’t know if you have the kind of time or patience to sit through the Facebook video but I peeked at the transcript and it’s the kind of rambling, nonsensical talk you get from any conspiracy video. Lea’s accusers cited a story from Glee co-star Naya Rivera’s book where Lea allegedly freaked out on set during an improvised scene with guest star Tim Conway. Her emoji abuse on social media is also supposed evidence that she can’t read or write. It’s a stretch, but it did result in some amusing tweets.

Lea not only took to Twitter to disprove the theory, she even got Ryan Murphy and the adorable Darren Criss in on the act.

My major takeaway from this story is that some people apparently have way too much time on their hands – and that Darren Criss is the best.

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8 Responses to “Lea Michele on Zandy Reich’s proposal: I thought he was joking”

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  1. Smokey says:
    May 4, 2018 at 8:09 am

    Honest question. Is she truly popular or does she just have great publicists (and Ryan Murphy) in her corner?

    • Léna says:
      May 4, 2018 at 8:25 am

      I asked myself the same. I am a lot (too much) on the Internet and I love conspiracy theories about celebrities but I’d never heard about that one… She really tried to make it into something big.
      What has she done since Glee?

    • Mia4s says:
      May 4, 2018 at 8:46 am

      Oh the Ryan Murphy and publicist factor is huge! But she has popularity with a certain demographic, and fans of shows like Glee can be oddly loyal. However, while it’s a demographic that likes to interact with a celebrity on social media, they haven’t really shown up for her projects (or are too small in number). Plus she doesn’t have much interest from the general public or other creators. So she’s popular…but also kind of stuck where she is. I mean, she’s rich, so no tears; but given her ambition I’m not sure she’s happy with the state of things.

    • NotSoSocialButterfly says:
      May 4, 2018 at 9:13 am

      She is so…just, yuck… so try-hard and annoying, it’s hard to imagine she has much popularity at all. JMO- but I even find her face annoying.

  2. Todd says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:02 am

    “Darren Criss is the best” never has a statement been less true. Call me when he stops perving on underage girls that go his new bar.

  3. Annabelle says:
    May 4, 2018 at 9:43 am

    I get why she thought he was joking but it’s not because I find her unattractive. I think that whole two boobs sticking out of the side of her chest thing is silly. But definitely not that. I can see how we would find her incredibly attractive and want to marry her. She better stick with him because one day people will get sick of her and she’ll need someone who can afford to help her buy pet food.

  4. jess1632 says:
    May 4, 2018 at 10:20 am

    3 days of lea posts in a row…must be a slow week for gossip in Tinseltown

  5. Steph says:
    May 4, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    I watched that video about her being illiterate. It didn’t convince me but I laughed at all the insane tweets lol. I always thought she was talented so I don’t really get why she isn’t in films.