Celebrations are in order for actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, who are about to become proud parents of the bride! Stella Banderas, the former couple’s daughter (and their only child), recently got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Alex Gruszynski, an entrepreneur. The Working Girl actress shared the news on Instagram on August 20, 2024, with a series of black-and-white photos. “He asked…. On bended knee… she said yes,” Melanie wrote in the caption. “Stella and Alex are engaged to be married ♥️ Their love story began in pre-school! True love, deep love! Congratulations to the beloveds!”
In the first photo, Melanie’s future son-in-law, in a baseball cap and t-shirt, wraps his arms around his fiancée, who is wearing a ribbed white dress with a V-neck. In the second image, a solo shot, the new bride-to-be, shows off her engagement ring, which appears to be an emerald-cut diamond in a half-bezel setting. A few of Melanie’s famous friends, including Jennifer Grey and Chelsea Handler, were quick to congratulate the newly engaged couple by commenting on her post. Chelsea celebrated the news with two red heart emojis. “Mazel tov!” Jennifer added.
Antonio, Melanie’s ex-husband and the future father of the bride, also shared the exciting update on Instagram, posting a few of the same photos. “My daughter Stella del Carmen is getting married,” the Spanish actor wrote. “We cannot be happier and excited.” The Mask of Zorro star also wrote the caption in Spanish.
Of course, the soon-to-be bride shared the news on her own social account, too. “I get to hang out with my favorite person on earth forever!” she wrote under a series of photos documenting the couple’s relationship over the years. In the first picture, Stella shows off her new ring with her fiancé in the background, during what appears to be a private picnic. Stella also tagged the location of her post as Wagon Wheel School, the Los Angeles preschool where the couple’s paths first crossed, and was sure to include a few photos of her and her fiancé as children as an homage to their lifelong bond. Like her mom, Stella received her own share of congratulations. “Congratulations!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️,” Kris Jenner commented. “Stellllllaaaaa!!!!! Yay😍😍😍😍,” wrote Jamie Mizrahi, a celebrity fashion stylist.
According to Hola!, Stella and Alex, the co-founder and CEO of NOVA, a digital platform for creative professionals, started dating in 2015 before breaking up in 2019; they ultimately got back together in 2023. Stella, a filmmaker and the founder of a perfume company, may have famous parents (who are thrilled about her engagement!), but she also has an A-list sibling: She is Dakota Johnson’s half-sister (they both call Melanie mom). The sisters have even worked together: They both appeared in the 1999 film Crazy in Alabama, which was directed by Antonio and starred their mother. Antonio and Melanie were a married couple for nearly two decades before calling it quits in 2014.