Kerry Washington Pinned Ring to Undergarments to Keep Engagement a Secret

Determined to keep her relationship status with pro football player Nnamdi Asomugha a secret, actress Kerry Washington pinned her engagement ring to her "undergarments" — for three years.

"I loved my ring so much, so I would sleep in it at night, and then in the morning, I would pin it to my undergarments so that nobody knew we were engaged," she told James Corden during a recent appearance on his SiriusXM show, This Life of Mine.

She explained that she took extreme measures to keep their three-year engagement and summer 2013 wedding hidden from the prying eyes of the paparazzi because they were both going through a "really crazy time."

"He had a groundbreaking, record-breaking contract... and he had been in three or four Pro Bowls, you know," she told Corden. "When I met him, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated (August 2011), and I was on this hit show (Scandal, 124 episodes).

When Washington finally revealed her bridal jewelry in August of 2013 during a Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills, fashion writers weren't sure if the ring was a wedding band, eternity band, engagement ring or some combination of the three.

Glamour.com contributor Kim Fusaro opined at the time, "So we finally got a glimpse at her ring finger, which is sporting a dainty diamond band stacked on top of a plain gold one. I'm not sure if the diamond band is an engagement ring {I do LOVE an eternity band engagement ring!} or if the two rings are a wedding set, but either way, I adore how gorgeously understated they are."

Prior to August 2013, however, her ring remained pinned — and out of sight.

"We kept our relationship very private when we were dating, I think mostly because we just wanted to protect ourselves and each other," the 47-year-old told Corden.

The Golden Globe winner had been previously engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007, and when they broke up, the actress was inconveniently appearing on the cover of a bridal style magazine.

"I think it's really hard when people have a lot to say about your relationship," she said during the SiriusXM interview. "I had been in a really public engagement that, when it ended, I was in the unfortunate position of being on the cover of a bridal magazine, and it was a bridal magazine that came out quarterly, so for three months I walked around and I thought: 'I think I'm done talking about my personal life in the public.'"

Washington and Asomugha tied the knot during a top-secret Idaho event in June of 2013 and honeymooned at a remote resort off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

There, she collected shells that remain among her most prized possessions. She told Corden that they represent the "happiest two weeks" of her life.

"Whenever I look at that collection of shells, it reminds me of the space that we gave ourselves to start our life together as a couple in this really sacred way," she said. "You know, having this sort of very private, secretive wedding and then just jumping off into this very remote place to really begin our lives together. I love that. I love that jar. It always makes me feel so grateful for the life that I have."

Credit: Image by Daniel Benavides from Austin, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons..