CINEMA NOW: HOT CELEBRITIES: Elisha Cuthbert, The Happy Endings actress, 29, is engaged to hockey player Dion Phaneuf, 27

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

HOT CELEBRITIES: Elisha Cuthbert, The Happy Endings actress, 29, is engaged to hockey player Dion Phaneuf, 27

Elisha Cuthbert is getting her happily ever after!

The Happy Endings actress, 29, is engaged to hockey player Dion Phaneuf, 27.
PHOTOS: Celebrities dating athletes
The couple, who began dating in May 2008, celebrated at New Glasgow Lobster in Prince Edward Island, Canada, later that night. "Last night we had the privilege of hosting a surprise engagement party for Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert," the restaurant tweeted September 3. "Congrats to them both."
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Announcing their engagement at the venue was "a nice surprise for all their guests," according to the restaurant's Facebook page. "Congrats to them both and LOVE the ring!"
Phaneuf "made the reservation about a week ago but never said it was for an engagement party," a source tells Us exclusively. "They invited 40 friends and family to celebrate at the restaurant."
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The group feasted on lobster in the restaurant's downstairs dining area. "Elisha looked very happy and pleased. She was showing off her ring to her family and the wait staff," the source adds. "The female wait staff were gushing about the ring saying it was 'quite impressive' and 'huge.' At one point, Dion and Elisha both got up an gave a speech and thanked everyone for being there and celebrating this exciting time with them."
Phaneuf, who is captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, made his NHL debut in 2005. Cuthbert's other TV and film credits include 24, Old School, The Girl Next Door, Love Actually and House of Wax.
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Cuthbert, a native of Alberta, Canada, evidently has a thing for hockey hunks: She dated NHL star Sean Avery, 32, from 2005 to 2007.
The third season of Happy Endings -- also starring Damon Wayans, Jr., Casey Wilson, Zachary Knighton, Eliza Coupe and Adam Pally -- premieres October 23 at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

Elisha Cuthbert is engaged to Toronto Maple Leaf Dion Phaneuf. (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
Elisha Cuthbert is one of Canada's most versatile actresses, but when it comes to love, she certainly has a type. A big, burly, hockey-playing type. And that has led to some foul play in the past.
On Monday night, at a seafood restaurant in Prince Edward Island with 40 friends and family, the 29-year-old actress announced her engagement to boyfriend Dion Phaneuf, 27, captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The pair has been dating since May of 2008.

Avery and Cuthbert in 2006. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
But back in the mid-aughts, Cuthbert was dating then-L.A. Kings player Sean Avery. And after Cuthbert ended her two-year relationship with the Pickering, Ont. native in 2007, things got nasty.
Not only did Avery quickly turn to Cuthbert's friend Paris Hilton for comfort, but in a 2008 press conference before Avery was to play Calgary Flames defenceman Phaneuf, he made the following remark: "I'm really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight."
See also: Elisha Cuthbert's 'Conan' interview has her vomiting, slurping, and dancing her way into O'Brien's heart
The comment did not go over well with the NHL commissioner, understandably. Avery was quickly handed a six-game suspension from the League for making "inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game." He was also banished from the Dallas Stars, the team he had left the Kings to play for.
Avery later apologized in a statement to People magazine, saying, "I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate ... It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were."
Since then, Avery and Cuthbert have gone their separate ways. Cuthbert, who got her start as a perky geek-girl on the TV show "Popular Mechanics for Kids," is now starring in the comedy hit "Happy Endings."
See also: Elisha Cuthbert mocks Kiefer Sutherland over '24' movie rumours
Avery returned to play for the New York Rangers, but in August 2011, he was arrested for allegedly shoving a police officer. According to reports, Avery was hosting a party at his house in L.A. when the cops were called after a neighbour made a noise complaint. Avery allegedly pushed an officer aside and slammed the door, but when the police knocked a second time, he cooperated and went with them willingly. He was released on $20,000 bail, and the charges were later dropped, with the official report saying that the police officer's foot actually just got caught in the door.
Earlier this year, Avery claimed he was retiring from hockey, though his agent says his future with the NHL is still up in the air.
This isn't the only dating drama in Elisha's past. Shortly before she began dating Avery, she called off her engagement to Trace Ayala, Justin Timberlake's business partner. Rumour is, that breakup allegedly inspired Timberlake's song "What Goes Around... Comes Around."

Here's hoping this time around, the engagement ends in its own happy ending!