Whitney Leavitt Helps Woman Get Engaged During Surprise Valentine’s Day Proposal at “Chicago” on Broadway (Exclusive)
- - Whitney Leavitt Helps Woman Get Engaged During Surprise Valentine’s Day Proposal at “Chicago” on Broadway (Exclusive)
Luke ChinmanFebruary 18, 2026 at 12:17 AM
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Whitney Leavitt helps fan get engaged at Chicago
Kayla Beardsley
After a performance of Chicago on Broadway, Kayla Beardsley was called to the stage by the show’s lead, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt
Beardsley tells PEOPLE she was completely surprised when her boyfriend, Josh Reichert, got down on one knee behind her (she said yes!)
“I basically blacked out from there,” says the bride-to-be. “Thank goodness there is video!”
Love was in the air for one special couple in the audience of Broadway’s Chicago over the weekend!
Kayla Beardsley, a 34-year-old from Warrenton, Va., thought her Valentine’s Day couldn’t get any more special. On top of the romantic holiday, the date coincided with the fourth anniversary of her first date with Josh Reichert, 43, whom she met through work in the hospitality industry.
After Beardsley was unable to snag them fast enough, Reichert had surprised her last Christmas with Feb. 14 tickets to see Chicago, starring The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt in the iconic role of Roxie Hart. As a self-described “theater-kid-turned-theater-adult” and major fan of the Hulu reality TV series, Beardsley tells PEOPLE, she was over the moon.
But after the cast delivered their final bows at New York City's Ambassador Theatre, Leavitt herself helped orchestrate a surprise that made it that much better.
Whitney Leavitt and Kayla Beardsley
Kayla Beardsley
“We have a very, very special fan of Chicago in the audience,” Leavitt said from the stage, captured in videos later shared online. “Kayla Beardsley, where are you at?”
The audience erupted into cheers as Beardsley made her way to the stage, where the reality TV star personally thanked her for coming, hugged her and then told her there was someone who had a question for her. That someone, she learned as she turned her head, was Reichert on one knee in the aisle of the theater. (She said yes!)
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“I basically blacked out from there,” Beardsley tells PEOPLE. “Thank goodness there is video!”
Reichert — as well as a rep for the Broadway musical — tells PEOPLE that preparations for the proposal began weeks before Valentine’s Day.
Kayla Beardsley and Josh Reichert
Kayla Beardsley
Reichert first started by DMing Leavitt on Instagram, but never got a response (he acknowledges that she probably receives hundreds of messages a day). He then found a mailing address for a producer on the show, whom he mailed a physical letter with his proposition for the engagement. About a week later, he got an email back saying that the production team would love to bring his plans to life, and after several Zoom meetings, they were ready for their big moment.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for this,” Reichert tells PEOPLE. “[The show’s production] could have simply not answered or said no, but they also chose love, and I’m so thankful. Kayla deserves the very best, and on this special day, the best is what she got!”
After seeing the reaction on social media, Beardsley feels the same: her comments have been flooded with messages that her proposal reinforced the dating axiom “if he wanted to, he would.”
Josh Reichert and Kayla Beardsley
Kayla Beardsley
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“Josh has spent four years making me feel like an absolute queen,” says the bride-to-be. “I hope women see that video and expect nothing but that kind of treatment!”
As for the wedding, the couple — each of whom have teenaged children from previous marriages — are planning to elope with “an epic honeymoon,” says Beardsley, though they’re first focused on their move from Virginia to Florida this summer.
And, of course, Beardsley says they’re still “basking” in the post-engagement glow.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
