Bill & Giuliana Rancic's On-Air Meeting Was A Classic Meet-Cute Moment
Giuliana Rancic and Bill Rancic's relationship timeline started around 2004. Speaking to Us Weekly in 2018, the former E! anchor shared that she laid eyes on her future husband when she attended an NBC party with her then-boyfriend. At the time, Bill had been crowned the winner of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice," and like most people, Giuliana was in awe of him. So, her beau at the time helped her meet him and made a foretelling remark: "I'm afraid the two of you would run off together."
A little while later, Giuliana got to interview Bill for E!, and the two had off-the-charts chemistry. It certainly seemed like they realized they were meant to be together as Bill jokingly asked her, "Do you want to get married?" While Giuliana laughed, she leaned into him and said, "Do we make a good couple?" Throughout the interview, it appeared as though Giuliana was sneakily using the questions to determine if he would be a good match for her.
She asked him some important life questions like his thoughts about having kids and inquisitive ones such as his ideal qualities in a partner. After the interviewer learned he was a Taurus, she noted that they would be compatible because she was a Leo but admitted that she didn't know that for a fact. Bill gave off an equally flirtatious vibe. When the anchor told him she was still single because of her packed schedule, he replied they could easily make time for each other.
Bill Rancic asked Giuliana Rancic out after their first encounter
When Giuliana Rancic interviewed Bill Rancic for E!, she asked him if he had ever seen the movie "Closer." When he replied in the negative, she told him they should watch it together. "The Apprentice" winner jumped at the opportunity and told her he would swing by later. It may have sounded like nothing more than a flirty exchange, a behind-the-scenes clip (via YouTube) from the chat showed Bill genuinely asking Giuliana out to an NBC party later that night.
It appears that the entrepreneur was on a rather tight schedule and had a flight to catch shortly after the interview, but he wanted to make time to meet Giuliana before leaving. However, it doesn't seem like the pair hit up the movie after all. Speaking to Us Weekly, Bill revealed that they ended up going to Nobu for their first date. In a 2014 ABC interview, the reality TV star shared some sweet details from the special night, reflecting, "We knew instantly. We were having dinner in Malibu and we were making plans for three, four months out."
He continued, "That was on our first date. We had our phones out and we were like, 'In July, I gotta go here, maybe you can meet me,' and this was in March, two hours into the first date." Their relationship unsurprisingly moved at breakneck speed from there. During a 2013 appearance on "Today," Bill recalled that they both realized they would spend the rest of their lives together on their magical third date in his home city of Chicago.
Their proposal story is as adorable as their first meeting
Speaking on "Today," Bill Rancic recalled his perfect third date with Giuliana Rancic, which made him realize she was the one. "I rolled out the red carpet in Chicago: Cubs game, Giordano's pizza and a gift basket waiting in her hotel when she arrived. I cooked her dinner," he shared. After that night, Bill happily accepted that he would never date anyone other than Giuliana, so he started planning a romantic proposal and executed it in December 2006.
During the pair's ABC chat, the former E! anchor remembered how her partner surprised her with a limo ride that would eventually lead her to a helicopter. Since Bill wanted the proposal to be a surprise, he simply told her that they would fly over Chicago to witness the beautiful Christmas lights. At some point in the helicopter ride, Bill got down on one knee to propose but ended up kneeling on a champagne glass, which immediately smashed to pieces.
Nonetheless, he wasn't deterred and asked his significant other to marry him with some unique words. "'Life together is going to be an adventure, just like tonight,' I told her. That was it. She said, 'Yes.'" The simple words seemed to be a callback to their first interview, where Bill informed her he was looking for an adventurous partner. Bill and Giuliana tied the knot in Italy in September 2007 and welcomed their son, Edward Duke Rancic, in 2012, following a difficult infertility journey.