Darius Rucker announces engagement. Here’s who he ‘only wanna be with.’

Darius Rucker, a rock and country musician with ties to Columbia, announced his engagement to Emily Deahl Wednesday on social media.

“Thank you for showing me a level of happiness I have never known,” Rucker wrote on social media Wednesday. “The day I met you I knew I didn’t want to go another one without you. Now I don’t have to.”

Rucker led popular rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which formed at the University of South Carolina in 1986. He later branched out with a solo country music career. Rucker was born in Charleston in 1966.

The musician still tours and releases music, including a planned concert in North Charleston later this week.

Deahl is a content creator living in London, according to her social media. Deahl posted the engagement on her Instagram on Wednesday.

“I never intended on keeping this part of my life from you guys for so long, but somewhere along the way of loving him I discovered how sacred love is to me,” Deahl wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “...I’m glad I don’t have to spend the time photoshopping him out of every photo now.”

Rucker’s previously announced his divorce with Beth Leonard in July 2020, more than five years ago.