Jonathan Scott gave his fiancée, Zooey Deschanel, the best shoutout on her 44th birthday.
On Jan. 17, Scott took to Instagram to share a romantic collage of pics of him and Deschanel over the years. He captioned the post, "Happy birthday @zooeydeschanel, something tells me that this will be the best year yet!"
Scott's post comes after he and Deschanel celebrated their first Christmas as an engaged couple in 2023.
The two posted a photo to social media clad in cozy sweaters in front of a decked-out tree on Dec. 25.
"We did it…we Christmased," the caption read. It marked the first time they celebrated the holidays together as an engaged twosome after Scott popped the question earlier in the year.
However, their presumably jubilant holiday celebrations were a far cry from the initial lukewarm fan reaction to the celebrity pairing.
Their relationship didn't initially excite some of their fans, the two recalled in a recent interview.
One of the first times that Deschanel posted a picture of them together on social media was met with mixed reviews, the couple recalled in a joint interview with People published on Oct. 4.
“I remember I looked at it and I saw the first comment right below was, ‘Why the hell is she with a Property Brother?!’" he said. "I was like, ‘Excuse me — rude!’”
Deschanel also objected to the critics: “Why wouldn’t I be with you?” she said. “Our personalities are so compatible. It’s just that we’re from different worlds.”
The couple got engaged in August, and now, fans can't get enough of their love story, ironically.
After meeting while filming an episode of "Carpool Karaoke" in 2019, the "Elf" actor and the HGTV star bought a house together in June 2020.
Speaking to TODAY, Scott said they bought the house with their prospective kids in mind. The "New Girl" actor is already mom to her two kids, Elsie, 8, and Charlie, 6, whom she shares with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik.
“We literally designed this house, so that … my hope is it will stay in the family forever, our kids will take it over, and then their kids will take it over,” Scott told TODAY in April 2022. “I waited my whole life to find Zooey, and I’ve now waited my whole life to have my dream home with someone like Zooey.”
Read on for Scott and Deschanel's relationship timeline, in their own words.
Scott flirted with Deschanel 'so bad' when they met on 'Carpool Karaoke'
In 2019, the pair filmed an episode of "Carpool Karaoke" alongside Scott's twin brother, Drew Scott, and Deschanel's sister, Emily Deschanel, also an actor.
Scott posted a selfie on Instagram of both sibling sets in the "Carpool Karaoke" car in August 2019.
In a June interview with Bustle, Scott said he "flirted" with Deschanel "so bad" that production "had to edit it down."
Scott elaborated on their meet-cute in the Winter 2022 issue of "Drew + Jonathan Reveal" magazine.
"I obviously knew about her, but the onscreen experience isn’t the same thing as in real life. From the first moment she walked over to say hello, she had a bounce in her step and an energy about her that made me immediately take notice," he wrote.
Scott said he admired how much Deschanel loves her hometown of Los Angeles. Even though the Vancouver-born developer didn't consider himself an “L.A. guy" at first, Deschanel showed him another side of their shared city.
"The more she showed me her Los Angeles — the parks she went to growing up, the neighborhoods where she made memories with her closest friends — the more I found myself in love with an Angeleno, and with L.A., too," he wrote.
Deschanel thought Scott ghosted her shortly after they met
After meeting on "Carpool Karaoke," Scott and Deschanel exchanged numbers, but she didn't hear from Scott until a few days later because he went on a horseback riding trip to the Rocky Mountains and didn't have any phone service.
Since she was left in the dark, Deschanel thought Scott had ghosted her. However, that wasn't the case.
“The very first text I sent when I came out of the mountains was a video I recorded to a Canadian country song that she had mentioned to me,” Scott told Bustle. “She was like, ‘Oh, this guy likes me.’ And we’ve literally talked every single day since. It’s been the best three years of my life.”
Their first date was at an escape room
Scott and Deschanel went to an escape room for their first date, according to People. During a visit to an escape room, a group gets locked inside a closed off area sprinkled with clues that they have to decode to eventually "escape."
“I had actually never done one, and he kept telling me how much he liked them,” Deschanel said. “It sounded very much up my alley and I loved it right away. I mean, I wasn’t good at the first one to be honest, but I’ve gotten pretty proficient.”
Deschanel added that Scott sent her the schedule for their plans ahead of time — and that got her attention.
“I was like, this is my dream. I’m a Capricorn,” she said.
Deschanel ended her marriage with Jacob Pechenik in September 2019
On Sept. 6, 2019, Deschanel and Pechenik announced that they were splitting up after four years of marriage.
“After much discussion and a long period of contemplation we have decided we are better off as friends, business partners and co-parents rather than life partners," they said in a statement provided to TODAY. "We remain committed to our business, our values and most of all our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time.”
The "500 Days of Summer" star was previously wed to Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard from 2009 to 2012.
A few days later, amid rumors of Scott and Deschanel dating, Scott told Us Weekly he was dating someone, but did not identify the person.
“I am seeing someone,” he said at the time. “I’m a very private person, so I don’t typically talk about that. It’s definitely special for me because I am the guy who raises the bar in what I’m looking for in a partner. I was caught a little off guard. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.”
Scott and Deschanel went Instagram official in October 2019
Deschanel and Scott went Instagram official in October 2019, posting the same picture of themselves at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
In the snap, Scott holds Deschanel in his arms. They're surrounded by a group of people in Halloween costumes. Next to them are Drew Scott and his wife, Linda Phan.
"So much fun last night," Scott captioned the photo. "That high pitched scream totally wasn’t me!"
A few days later, the pair attended older Scott brother JD Scott and celebrity makeup artist Annalee Belle’s Halloween-themed wedding dressed as Batman and Catwoman.
Some fans initially objected to their relationship
Scott told People that the early stages of his relationship with Deschanel did not garner a lot of public support.
“When we first started dating, Zooey posted a picture of us together. It might’ve been the very first time we ever posted anything on social media. And I remember I looked at it and I saw the first comment right below was, ‘Why the hell is she with a Property Brother?!’ I was like, ‘Excuse me—rude!’” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I be with you?” Deschanel added. “Our personalities are so compatible. It’s just that we’re from different worlds.”
Scott and Deschanel comment on their 'first red carpet together'
In November 2019, Deschanel and Scott made their red carpet debut as a couple when they attended the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards in Brooklyn, New York.
At the event, they confirmed to People that this was the first time they walked the red carpet together.
Scott said he spent quarantine with the 'perfect person'
Deschanel and Scott quarantined together at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to People about the experience, Scott said he was "quarantined with the perfect person." According to Scott, Deschanel is an "amazing cook" who kept their house "constantly filled with music."
Deschanel also proved that she's quite the hairdresser when she tended to Scott's tresses in quarantine. “She cut and colored my hair and did an incredible job,” Scott told People. “Better than I think the salon could do it.”
“I’m blown away, it’s really been wonderful,” he continued.
“I think we’re just taking it one day at a time here and it’s a crazy thing nobody would have predicted,” he said. “But I’m glad that I’m with somebody that I love, and somebody who’s so talented.”
Scott and Deschanel bought a house together in 2020
In June 2020, Deschanel finalized her divorce from Pechenik, per People. In December of 2021, she and Scott announced that they bought a home together.
On Instagram, Scott called it their “forever” home. He shared more details about how they came to find the house in an issue of Drew + Jonathan Reveal magazine.
“It sat on a little over an acre, and with its lush lawn and massive California sycamores, it looked like a park. Which is why when we first brought the kids by the property they dubbed it the Park House. And you know what happens when you name something, whether it’s a mangy stray dog or a beautiful home of your dreams? You keep it. The next thing you know, Zooey and I owned the Park House," he wrote.
The HGTV star revealed the 1938 Georgian-style house was designed by Gerard Colcord, a popular California architect.
Since then, they've embarked on a renovation process, including building a playful green-themed kitchen. “Our tastes are very similar, so I knew that it would actually be pretty straightforward for us to work together on (the renovation),” Scott told TODAY.
They celebrated their third anniversary at a magic castle
For their third anniversary, Scott and Deschanel headed to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, a place where magicians and magic-lovers gather for performances.
The location has sentimental value as it's where Scott told Deschanel "I love you" for the first time, according to People.
Scott posted photos from the couple's Magic Castle visit on Instagram in August 2022. In one picture, the two are joined by "Saved By the Bell" alum and professional magician Ed Alonzo.
“Hard to believe…scratch that…Easy to believe it’s already been 3 years with this beautiful soul in my life. @zooeydeschanel you make everything better 🥰 and what a fitting way to celebrate at the @magiccastlehollywood 😉,” Scott captioned the gallery.
Scott and Deschanel get engaged in August 2023
The two announced Aug. 14 that they were engaged, sharing a selfie with the stunning ring on Instagram and writing, "Forever starts now!!!"
Before their engagement, Scott told TODAY that fans would constantly ask him when he'd pop the question to Deschanel.
“No matter what I post (on Instagram), I could post a picture of a delicious meal on social media, the first comment will always be, ‘When you putting a ring on that?’” Scott said.
'Basking in engaged bliss'
Scott and Deschanel are still taking in their engagement — and how their relationship turned into lasting love.
“I’m not gonna lie, this I did not see coming,” Scott said to People, adding Deschanel is "somebody who cares to make sure you get through the hard moments as well.”
Deschanel previously donned her partner as a "bonus daddy" to her two children, a sentiment Scott repeated to People.
“They have even more people to love them,” he said. And his fiancée agreed: “Our family is very deeply rooted and very blended."
At the same time, there's a wedding to plan!
“We’ve just been basking in engaged bliss and haven’t really figured out anything,” Deschanel said, adding: “We do love to throw a party.”
Jonathan Scott celebrates Zooey Deschanel's 44th birthday
On Jan. 17, 2024, Scott took to Instagram to give his sweetheart a shoutout on her 44th birthday.
The "Property Brothers" star shared a collage of photos of them over the years and wrote, "Happy birthday @zooeydeschanel, something tells me that this will be the best year yet!"
CORRECTION (Oct. 4, 2023, 11:43 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated the couple who married in 2019. The couple was JD Scott and Annalee Belle, not Drew Scott and Linda Phan.