Magnolia Network Star Gray Benko Announces Surprise Engagement After Quietly Separating from Husband and Co-Star
Magnolia Network Star Gray Benko Announces Surprise Engagement After Quietly Separating from Husband and Co-Star
Natalia SenanayakeTue, March 17, 2026 at 10:18 PM UTC
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Gray Benko and Bobby McCulloughCredit: Gray Benko/instagram -
Gray Benko announced her surprise engagement to Bobby McCullough in a sweet Instagram post on Tuesday, March 17
The news comes after the designer quietly separated from her ex-husband Mike Benko in 2023
The exes previously starred on the Magnolia Network show Happy to Be Home with the Benkos together
Gray Benko is engaged!
The Magnolia Network star announced the happy news of her engagement to Bobby McCullough in an Instagram post on Tuesday, March 17. Alongside a carousel of sweet photos of her and her new fiance taken throughout their relationship, Benko also described how the “major life update” came to be.
“I know people talk about getting engaged to their best friend but, in this case, I mean it literally. I have never gotten to experience falling in love with someone who, at one point, was just my best friend. But let me tell you, it is magical,” she wrote.
The designer added, “The way he makes me laugh harder than anyone else can make me laugh. The way he makes life feel light for my children. The way he supports me and takes care of me and always lifts me up, no matter how hard the day is.”
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life laughing with you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving you and being loved by you. I love you doesn’t even cut it,” she concluded the caption, tagging her fiance’s Instagram handle.
Benko’s engagement news comes after she and her ex-husband Mike Benko quietly separated in 2023, per TMZ. The pair share two children together, daughter Farris and son Charlie.
Gray and Mike Benko with their kidsCredit: Gray Benko/Instagram
According to court documents obtained by the outlet in 2024, their date of separation was listed as April 2023, with Mike reportedly leaving the home they shared that same month.
Per the documents, Gray was hopeful the parties would be able to negotiate a settlement agreement to resolve the issues of their marriage and separation, TMZ reported at the time. Neither Gray or Mike appear to have publicly addressed their separation after news of their split broke.
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The former couple previously starred on their Magnolia Network series, Happy to be Home with the Benkos, together.
In March 2023, PEOPLE shared a sneak peek of the home design series, which debuted the following month.
"Summerville is filled with historic homes and we are committed to preserving that charm," Gray said in the clip while discussing their South Carolina hometown. "Some of my ideas are crazy," she added while smiling as the video cut to shots of vibrant pink, purple and blue rooms.
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Gray handled all things design in the homes, while Mike tackled tasks such as painting and woodwork.
She now stars in a new show for the network, Anything But Gray, alongside design partner Chelcie Eastman and her dad "Grumpy." The series premiered in October 2025 and is set in Charleston, S.C.
PEOPLE has reached out to a representative for Gray and Magnolia Network for comment.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
