Jonathan Scott has explained why his now-fiancée Zooey Deschanel thought he’d ghosted her when they first started dating.

Deschanel and Scott spoke candidly about the start of their relationship during an interview with People while appearing on the cover of the magazine’s latest issue. Scott noted that while he and his partner have communicated with each other every day since they started dating in 2019, there was one instance where he didn’t have cellphone service, so he couldn’t contact Deschanel.

“We talked or texted every single day, I think, and still have every day since we’ve met, except for the [time] I went up on a packed trip up into the middle of the Rocky Mountains, where there was no cell service,” he said.

According to The Property Brothers host, the New Girl star had then believed that she wouldn’t be hearing from him again. “She thought I was just blowing her off because I didn’t respond for, what, three days or something?​​” he said before Deschanel chimed in with “Uh-huh.”

However, Scott went on to recall when he “came out of the mountains,” the “very first text” he sent was to Deschanel. He also detailed what the context of the message was.

“I had recorded a video of a song she sent me and I showed the Rockies and everything. And then we’ve literally talked every day since,” he explained.

This isn’t the first time that the pair, who announced their engagement in August, have opened up about the unintentional ghosting experience. During a joint interview with Bustle in June 2022, Scott shared Deschanel’s reaction to him reaching out to her after the trip to the mountains, before praising their relationship.

“She was like: ‘Oh, this guy likes me.’ And we’ve literally talked every single day since. It’s been the best three years of my life,” he said.

The couple met in August 2019 while filming an episode of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, where they were joined by Deschanel’s sister Emily Deschanel and Scott’s twin brother Drew Scott. That following month, Deschanel announced that she and her then-husband of four years, Jacob Pechenik, planned to divorce.

In October 2019, Deschanel and Scott went Instagram official when they posted the same photo from a double date they’d gone on with Scott’s twin brother and his wife Linda Phan.

During their interview with People, Deschanel opened up about her blended family, as she and Pechenik shared two children, Elsie, eight, and Charlie. Scott also called himself a “bonus dad” to his fiancée’s children, before explaining: “They have even more people to love them.”

The (500) Days of Summer star agreed, adding: “Our family is very deeply rooted and very blended.”

In August, Deschanel first shared the news of her engagement on Instagram, where she posted a photo of herself and Scott. In the photo, Deschanel could be seen smiling as she held up her hand to show off her new engagement ring. “Forever starts now,” the actor captioned the post, along with heart-face emojis and an infinity symbol.

During their latest interview with People, Scott recalled how surprised his partner was by the proposal, which took place at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. “So when that started happening, Zooey, all of a sudden…You saw this: ‘What’s happening?’” he recalled.

After noting that Deschanel’s children were a big part of the proposal, Scott also shared Elsie’s candid reaction to the engagement news. “When Elsie turned around and read [the sign], that was the first time she learned,” he said. “And she immediately goes: ‘Huh, did you just get married?’”

Scott continued: “And we’re like: ‘Well, no, not yet, but we got engaged.’ And she’s like: ‘Does that mean I get to be a flower girl?’ And we’re like: ‘Yes. Yes you can.’ So it was really sweet to have them there too.”

The engagement announcement also came weeks after Deschanel and Scott celebrated their four-year anniversary. “500 days of @zooeydeschanel …actually it’s been a lot more, but who’s counting anyway?” The HGTV star captioned a photo of the couple on Instagram in August. “Four years really flies by. Happy anniversary baby!!!”