DANE COOK has received some mixed reviews from fans regarding his engagement to his much younger partner, Kelsi Taylor.
Dane, 50, proposed to Kelsi, 23, last month after five years of dating.
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On Tuesday, the actor revealed the happy news to PEOPLE, explaining he felt "ready" to pop the question.
"I was so ready to ask her. I was completely zen about it," Dane told the publication about his July 13 proposal.
"The evening of the proposal was incredibly beautiful, the weather was perfect, sunset was spectacular, and I was just quite simply very happy."
He added: "I was asking my best friend, the woman who I've shared some of the greatest times of my life with, to marry me so we can start the next chapter of our lives together. I was also thinking of how absolutely stunning she looked."
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Kelsi went on to tell the media outlet that she couldn't believe it was happening.
"The second he began to reach for his back pocket, my stomach flipped," she recalled.
"I couldn't have asked for the moment to have been more perfect. All that was going through my brain was, 'Wait, is this actually happening right now? Is he proposing?' "
She added: "I was also just really focused on what he was saying to me because I was trying desperately to etch the words into my brain. They were so beautiful; I really wanted to soak it in."
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While the couple has received an outpouring of congratulatory messages from fans, their relationship has not always been well-received.
In fact, the pair were highly scrutinized when they first began dating, mainly due to their 26-year age gap.
WHEN IT BEGAN
RadarOnline broke the news in January 2018 that the two were an item and had been dating since April of the previous year.
Kelsi was 18 at the time, while Dane was 45.
According to Us Weekly, the couple met in 2017 at a game night he hosted at his home.
The comic detailed how their romance began in an Instagram Q&A, telling fans: "We were friends for a while & soon after fell in like with each and then upgraded to love."
Kelsi was an aspiring singer and is now known for her career in the fitness industry.
She is also a certified pilates and TRX instructor and a certified food therapist and nutritionist.
She often posts about her life and fitness journey on Instagram to almost 40,000 followers.
Kelsi has also been open about their relationship on social media, even posting some very intimate moments between the pair.
ROMANTIC GETAWAY
In February 2018, Kelsi and Dane went on a romantic getaway to Maui for a PDA-filled trip, weeks after going public with their relationship.
Photos showed the then-19-year-old flaunting her curvy figure in a bright orange bikini, while Dane went shirtless, sporting gray and blue swim trunks.
The lovebirds were taking a stroll on the beach together - a spot they previously vacationed together the summer before.
“Waking up in paradise," Kelsi wrote, with a picture of the waves crashing on the shore.
Additionally, she posted a shot of her and Dane crossing their arms while rocking workout attire.
She captioned the pic: “Mahalooooooooh."
The socialite also documented their flight to the island, recording a video of the pair locking lips mid-air.
Another video showed the teen with two red heart emojis covering her eyes with the caption: “Whenever I see @Danecook.”
SUPPORTIVE BOYFRIEND
Dane has expressed the same sentiment towards his much-younger lover in a past birthday tribute for her on Instagram.
“My girl @itskelsitaylor is one of my favorite people on the planet. She’s a talented singer but more importantly, she’s a genuine person. Check out her music and get to know her. She’s gonna go far!” he wrote alongside a smiling photo of the couple.
Dane supported Kelsi's music career from the beginning as he directed one of her music videos.
The teenage singer appeared topless in the video for her pop song titled "Hour."
She revealed on her YouTube Channel that Dane was the mastermind behind her clothing choice.
Kelsi gave a shoutout to her boyfriend in an Instagram post promoting the video.
She wrote: "MUSIC VIDEO LINK IN BIO! Thank you so much to @danecook for his amazing vision and unwavering love and support in myself as an artist and a person. To @thetylershields for helping to bring the project to fruition and @alliemarieevans for all of her help. Lastly, thank you to @rowanglenn for your exceptional editing skills."
CLOSE FAMILY
After receiving backlash from fans, skeptical about their considerable age difference, Dane addressed the comments in August 2018.
In an Instagram Q&A, the Employee of the Year star replied to a fan who asked for advice about navigating a relationship with an extensive age range.
“The only thing you have to do is plan that your deaths will be somewhat far apart," he responded.
Despite some negative feedback surrounding their partnership, Dane assured fans that their families were on board.
"I love her family and we are pretty close and do dinner and hang," Cook explained.
"My family pretty much all died years ago but @courtneycook my sister like Kelsi a lot."
The stand-up comic also revealed the qualities he loves most about his girlfriend.
"Kelsi is smart, kind, creative, loyal & honest."
"As for me I think Kelsi would says I’m tolerable. Lol," he added.
FAN BACKLASH
Following their proposal, fans were not convinced that their union would last, with some calling Dane's actions "creepy."
"So she was 18 when they started dating? He was a 45 year old man and she was an 18 year old Senior in High School? Dane Cook is f***ing creepy," one person tweeted.
"Everyone is saying you were 'just friends' with your now fiancée until she turned 18... how creepy do you find this on a scale of 1-10?" wrote another.
"I have no idea how long 50 year old Dane Cook would have to remain together with the woman he started a relationship with when she was 18, and he was [in his] mid-40s to not be creepy but discovered today that five years is apparently not long enough for me," a third commented.
"So Danecook met his fiancée when she was 15, they became a couple when she was 18 and just got engaged while she’s 23.
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"@DaneCook creepy a** mf. Always knew there was something off about you," added a fifth.
Meanwhile, others defended their age gap, saying age is just a number.
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