Leva Bonaparte reveals the incredible story behind the SIX-FIGURE engagement ring her husband purchased at Costco - suong

Leva Bonaparte and her husband, Lamar Bonaparte, put the power in "power couple." The Southern Hospitality boss and her private husband are the powerhouses behind Republic Garden & Lounge and many other Charleston businesses. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Lamar and Leva have great taste in jewelry, including engagement and wedding rings.

Before the Southern Charm cast member tied the knot with her restauranteur husband in 2013 after three years of dating, she was traveling for work and met Lamar on her 29th birthday. They went from friends to business partners, to actual partners. "We bought a building together," she told The Daily Dish in an interview in December 2024. "All my friends were like, you're crazy. We fell in love with what we were creating. He helped me a lot. He taught me a lot about real estate, it was business and love and challenging each other."

But, getting married was a bit spur-of-the-moment. Leva said, "Eventually, one day, he was just like, let's just go get married. And we were at Costco, and he just grabbed a ring."

"I still have it, I'll never give it up. It's like the most special ring," she explained.

A close up of Leva Bonaparte's engagement ring in Southern Hospitality Season 3.

Photo: Stephanie Diani/Bravo

Details on Leva Bonaparte's spontaneous wedding to Lamar Bonaparte

Their wedding ceremony was just as spontaneous as their engagement ring buying. "Two weeks later, we just went to a park on Tuesday," she explained. "I wore like a $60 maxi dress and we just got married."

Leva and Lamar, who were opening Republic at the time, kept it a secret from their parents, choosing to tell them in the following weeks. "It was too overwhelming to do a big wedding," she said. "So we just did what we want to do. Friends were mad, family was mad, you know."

Leva Bonaparte with her husband, Lamar Bonaparte, and Southern Charm alum, Cameran Eubanks.

Details on Leva Bonaparte's upgraded ring from Lamar Bonaparte

Lamar, however, did gift Leva an upgraded cushion cut ring from Tiffany & Co. a year later. "I got the big, beautiful Tiffany diamond," she explained. "But it wasn't about that. Not that I even wanted the big ring, or I wanted any of that stuff, but that just all came with time."

The story behind how she got the ring is super sweet. Lamar and Leva took a trip to Charlotte at the time of their anniversary when Lamar told Leva to go into the store and pick out her own ring. He "stood outside" of the store letting her pick the ring in privacy before paying for it. Leva said, "The lady [helping us] was like, 'You guys are so weird.' She was so confused. And I was like, 'Yeah, we're weird.'"

Leva Bonaparte has "sentimental rings" from husband, Lamar Bonaparte

 

Leva then ended up getting another upgraded ring Lamar for their 10-year wedding anniversary in 2023, as well as jewelry for other meaningful moments in their lives, like when they were trying to get pregnant with their son, Lamar "Little" Bonaparte Jr. "My Tiffany ring and the ring I have now are all beautiful little sentiments," she explained. "He got me a ring when I was struggling to get pregnant because I struggled to get pregnant for five years...Maybe diamonds have healing powers," she joked.

"He's a great gift giver," she continued. "I will say that about my husband. He's a fantastic gift-giver. It's his love language."

-reporting by Stephanie Gomulka