Southern Charm's Love Story: Rodrigo Reyes and Tyler Dugas' 9-Year Journey Culminates in Engagement, Proclaiming Him as 'The Best Guy' - lulu

Rodrigo Reyes and Tyler Dugas. Photo: 

Rodrigo Reyes/Instagram

Rodrigo Reyes celebrated his 40th birthday last month on a luxurious trip with friends to Greece. But though the getaway was all about his milestone, there was another the Southern Charm star wound up celebrating: his engagement.

The interior designer popped the question to his longtime boyfriend, Tyler Dugas, as the sun set in Santorini.

"It was beautiful," Reyes tells PEOPLE of the location. "We're friendly with the owners of this spot known for being the No. 1 cocktail bar in Europe, so they gave us our own private area were we could watch the sunset. And while we were there, my friend passed me the ring she had been carrying for me in her purse."

For the ring, Reyes kept it classic. "I went to this jewelry store on King Street," he says. "And I just wanted something simple and timeless. I'm a traditional, gay southern. You can't go wrong with a solid gold band, so that's what I picked."

Dugas, 36, didn't see it coming whatsoever, Reyes says.

"Oh, Tyler was completely oblivious," he jokes. "It's funny because, the weekend before, we went out to brunch with Taylor [Ann Green] and she kind of brought it up the idea of us getting married. And I was thinking to myself, 'Can you shut up? I don't need him getting any hints!' But even then, he had no idea it was happening."

Case in point? Dugas' initial reaction after one of their friends asked Reyes to say a few words about the trip, and he turned the speech around to a proposal.

"I asked Tyler if he would marry me and his is response was solid gold," Reyes recalls, laughing. "He said, 'Sure, let's do it.' "

"He was completely, completely in shock. He was just kind of dumbstruck," Reyes says of Dugas, a physical therapist. "Eventually I was like, 'Well... you never said yes.' And then he proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes crying about how happy he was."

Afterwards, the two spent the night FaceTiming family "nonstop" and celebrating with their fellow travelers.

"We were there with our closest friends in the world, so it meant a lot," he says.

Rodrigo Reyes and Tyler Dugas. 

Rodrigo Reyes/Instagram

Reyes and Dugas first met nearly a decade ago, after a night out at what the Bravo star calls "the only gay bar in Charleston."

"I saw him from across the way and we never spoke to each other," Reyes remembers. "But then one of my friends was like, 'We're going to this afterparty at someone's apartment" and it was his place; his roommate was having people over."

They talked there but didn't start dating until "4 or 5 months later." They've been inseparable since.

"Tyler is the best guy," Reyes tells PEOPLE. "He probably the sweetest, most considerate person that I've ever met. He literally puts himself last for everybody else; just a very kind, selfless person in like all aspects of life — work, personal life, his family, his friends. He's one of the greatest people anyone will ever meet."