Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Engagements Dennis Quaid Is Engaged to Laura Savoie! 'It Was Very Much a Surprise,' He Says of His Proposal PEOPLE confirmed Dennis Quaid was dating Laura Savoie in June By Eric Todisco Eric Todisco Eric Todisco is a former digital news writer at PEOPLE. He left PEOPLE in 2021. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 21, 2019 11:19AM EDT Dennis Quaid is newly engaged! The Parent Trap actor, 65, proposed to girlfriend Laura Savoie, 26, after several months of dating, the actor confirmed to Extra in Hawaii, where the actor was promoting his new film Midway, over the weekend. “I had the ring in my pocket. It has been kind of a month-and-a-half plan — I wanted it to be private,” Dennis said of the “sunset” proposal. “She was actually taking a selfie of us, and I put the ring in front and said, ‘Will you marry me?’ And then she fell down.” “It happened on the very northernmost point of Oahu, at Turtle Bay. It was kind of spontaneous. It was very much a surprise,” he added. Shirtless Dennis Quaid and Bikini-Clad Girlfriend Laura Savoie Enjoy Beach Getaway in Hawaii Just days before their engagement, the couple were spotted showing off their toned bodies on the beaches of Waikiki. Quaid went shirtless as he walked the shore in bright blue swim trunks while Savoie dressed in a cream-colored bikini. The two both had the straps from their paddleboards wrapped around their ankles and each carried an oar as they made their way into the ocean. Marco Garcia/Getty The pair had been dating for a number of months, PEOPLE confirmed in June. They were previously photographed together in late August while vacationing in Lake Como, Italy. They were also seen together on May 14, after enjoying a meal at celebrity hotspot Craig’s in West Hollywood, California. What We Know About Dennis Quaid’s New Girlfriend, University of Texas PhD Student Laura Savoie Savoie, who is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, is currently working towards her Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin and expects to graduate in 2021. Dennis Quaid and Santa Auzina. Brad Barket/Getty Until recently, Quaid was dating longtime girlfriend Santa Auzina, whom he was last photographed with in December. The former pair, who were together for a little over two years, began dating after the actor split from his wife, Kimberly Buffington in 2016. Buffington, who was married to the actor for 12 years, cited irreconcilable differences and requested spousal support when she filed for divorce in Los Angeles, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time. The former pair finalized their divorce in April 2018. In the agreement, they share joint physical custody of their twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, both 11, but Buffington was awarded 75 percent of their time. The actor was also previously married to actress Meg Ryan, with whom he has a 27-year-old son Jack. Their 10-year marriage ended in divorce in 2001. Before that, the father of three was married to actress P.J. Soles from 1978-83.