Hart popped the question in Oahu after picking out the ring months ago

Hannah Hart is serving up some romance!

The popular foodie, who has taken her viewers on culinary adventures since launching her popular YouTube channel in 2011, is engaged to Buzzfeed executive producer Ella Mielniczenko, she confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

“It’s so exciting to share our engagement story. There is just not enough positive queer representation out there of the realities of being in queer relationships,” says the entertainer, 31, who’s best known as the creator and star of the award-winning series My Drunk Kitchen. “It means all the same things as heterosexual relationships. We cry when we get engaged and fall in love and find people we want to spend the rest of our lives with.”

Despite meticulously organizing an elaborate beach proposal in Hawaii, Hart reveals the day almost didn’t happen as planned for a number of reasons due to unexpected rain and a mix-up with Mielniczenko’s ring.

Image zoom Hannah Hart and Ella Mielniczenko Harto Media

Image zoom Hannah Hart and Ella Mielniczenko Harto Media

While Hart picked out the ring in December, she left it behind ahead of a vacation to Japan because she knew she only wanted to propose in Hawaii.

But when the couple’s Japan trip got cut short due to terrible flooding, their vacation was rerouted to Oahu, where Hart first said ‘I love you’ to her future bride.

“When I think of the epitome of our relationship, it’s sitting on the beach at night without judgment,” says Hart on choosing the special location.

Image zoom Hannah Hart Harto Media

The content creator credits her fiancée’s love for vacation to helping her stay oblivious to the upcoming surprise. While Mielniczenko remained “sun-drunk and happy-go-lucky,” Hart and the managers of their hotel were buzzing with excitement and some nerves.

After hiding the ring — which arrived just in time — in a sand castle bucket under two mini bottles of champagne and a souvenir shot glass, Hart proposed during sunset.

Image zoom Engagement ring Harto Media

“I thought she was pranking me because we fake propose to each other in bad situations — like at the line at IKEA on a Saturday — until she pulled out the box,” says Mielniczenko.

“I saw the ring and it was not what was described at all, but it is something I feel so comfortable wearing,” Mielniczenko adds of her stunning Catbird engagement ring, which features a pear-shaped diamond nestled between two smaller stones.

In April, Ellen Degeneres’ digital network announced Hart would be starring in an as-yet-to-be-titled show helping people propose to their loved ones.

“We have so many improvement shows, but what if all you need is just help showing someone how much someone means to you,” Hart says of the upcoming series.

Over the years, Hart has found success in the viral food space from amassing over a million YouTube subscribers to her own show on the Food Network.

The New York Times bestseller and content creator and her fiancé first sparked dating rumors in November 2016, after the pair spent Thanksgiving together and fans dubbed them with the couple’s name “Hella.”