Lauren and David Gray – The X Factor

On a Friday evening after a home-cooked dinner, David and Lauren Gray sit down to reminisce about their action-packed year. A proposal, a wedding, purchasing their first fixer-upper—they’re living a busy newlywed life. But for these two Baton Rougeans, life together started differently than most.

“Not in ten thousand million billion years did I think I would get proposed to on national TV,” says Lauren Gray (née Waguespack) of her now-husband David’s proposal during her televised audition on The X Factor last year.

Though the couple had only been together for six months, neither had any hesitations about the engagement. David even jokes that it would have been a “win-win” even if Lauren had rejected him.

“I knew that if she said no [on TV] I’d be the most eligible bachelor in the history of the USA,” David says. Since then, both have seen a flood of support and encouragement from people around the country, and especially from the Baton Rouge community. Though Lauren didn’t make it past the judges, her music and YouTube channel saw a boost in popularity, while David, an engineer and technical sales account manager, starting fielding calls for modeling gigs.

After marrying in June, Mr. and Mrs. Gray have focused on starting a “normal family life” together. Lauren has shelved her music career in favor of pursuing professional photography with her own studio, Beyond Gray Photography, which she says better suits her married lifestyle.

The pair still get recognized on the street—not surprisingly, considering the video of their engagement has racked up more than 4.5 million views on YouTube. Both look forward to sharing the clip with their children one day.

“It is really amazing,” David says, “what 10 minutes of being on TV can do for you.” facebook.com/Beyond-Gray-Photography-DJ