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He's putting a ring on it, once and for all.
By Maria Lianos-Carbone and Samantha Maffucci — Written on Jun 16, 2020
Throughout the Real Housewives of New York City, we’ve watched socialite Tinsley Mortimer navigate her life post-jail, and recover from her breakup and arrest that shook the city. But for the last few seasons, we’ve seen her relationship with her boyfriend blossom, then turn sour, and then pick right back up where it left off.
Who is Scott Kluth, Tinsley Mortimer's fiancé?
We were first introduced to Kluth when Mortimer and Carole Radziwill went on a double date. Well, it was a blind date for Mortimer, who took an instant liking to Kluth. Or, maybe it was the alcohol. Either way, the two hit it off.
Fast forward to November 2019 and Mortimer announced that she will be tying the knot with Kluth after a surprise proposal!
And in an even more recent and more shocking twist, on the latest episode of the current season, Mortimer announced that she would be permanently leaving the series so she can move to Chicago and start a life with Kluth.
So, here are all the details about Kluth’s career, personal life, what brought he and Mortimer together, how he popped the question to his now-fiance, and Mortimer's shocking exit from RHONY.
He’s from Ohio.
Kluth grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, which is “not a place that has a whole lot of view,” he said in an interview back in 2013 on A Drink With. “I never expected to live downtown full-time because my business was in the ‘burbs, but I bought in this building and just fell in love with it. It’s not even a view, it’s a picture."
After completing his high school in his hometown, he attended and graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1999, according to his LinkedIn.
Kluth is an entrepreneur.
He founded CouponCabin.com in March 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. CouponCabin, "provides online coupon codes from several thousand American retailers, including Target, Sears, 1-800-Flowers, and Home Depot." The site also, "provides printable coupons for local businesses and groceries, daily deal aggregation and product recommendations."
And he started it all by borrowing money from his mom. After graduation, he borrowed $5,000 from his mother to start Coupon Cabin.
“I was 25 years old with the philosophy of, ‘build it and they will come.’ I had $30,000 when I started the site, and that was all of the money in the world to me at the time. That only lasted about four months! So then you’re trying to figure it out, you’re selling your car and taking loans from mom. No one tells you just how hard it is but if it were easy then everyone would do it,” he revealed.
His net worth is in the millions.
In 2011, Kluth secured a $54 million investment from growth equity firm JMI Equity, becoming a very successful IT start-up. But he enjoys giving back!
In addition to his businesses, Kluth serves as the Executive Director of The Kluth Family Foundation, which was conceived in 2009 to improve the lives of Chicagoans in need and the communities in which they live.
Carole Radziwill introduced Mortimer to Kluth.
They were introduced by her former costar Carole Radziwill during season nine of the reality series, which aired in 2017. The two sat next to one another on a double date, and immediately hit it off, with Mortimer kissing Kluth after just meeting!
Their relationship took off, with the two becoming almost inseparable while they were in the same town.
But they broke up a few times.
Back in June 2018, she revealed to Andy Cohen, “It’s so hard to be in a relationship, particularly when we don’t live in the same town... We’re broken up right now. But I’ll tell you this: We break up all the time.”
She later revealed the duo had reconciled during the season 10 RHONY reunion, which aired in August 2018. “They got back together while Tinsley was filming. The distance was tough on them... and they picked up right where they left off,” an insider had said at the time.
During BravoCon, Mortimer revealed that she and Kluth were back together after seemingly splitting up again after reconciling, telling the audience, “Scott and I did get back together. I’m more excited than anybody is, but I’m just so happy.”
He proposed to her in Chicago.
While Kluth and Mortimer were visiting Chicago in November 2019, where Kluth grew up, he popped the question in front of the Chicago Water Tower. On the steps were Christmas carolers, distracting Mortimer until Kluth got down on one knee and presented the ring.
According to a source, "Scott’s apartment is close to where the carolers were. They were walking to dinner and they saw these carolers, and they broke into Christina Perri’s 'A Thousand Years,' which is their song. It took Tinsley a few seconds to figure out what was going on, but then Scott got down on one knee. He’d organized the whole thing with the carolers in advance."
That same night, the two celebrated at TAO Chicago, where the crowd held up a neon sign that said, "Welcome to Chicago Tinz." How exciting for the newly engaged couple!
Their wedding is on hold for now.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the couple had to change their wedding plans.
In an interview from earlier this year, Mortimer explained, "We were thinking about doing something in Japan. And clearly, anything in Asia was then all of a sudden, completely off limits. You know, when you're planning anything and you have to think ahead, we're at a time in our lives right now that we really just don't know what's going on and where we can travel and what we can do. And so it's definitely difficult in this time to plan something and really nail it down.
So we're kind of just waiting to see what's going to happen with the world. But we have some really good ideas that we can sort of put [in place] once we know really officially when we're going to be able to travel again and be out.
We definitely want to do destination in some way. You know [having it] in New York or having it in Chicago, we would have to make it very big and we really both want to have it smaller so we think that doing destination we'd be able to make it more intimate and smaller. So that's our plan.
But you never know, we might have to go into like court or something here in Chicago or do it at the home because we can't leave so God knows. We'll see."
Mortimer shocked viewers after revealing that she will be exiting the show.
Fans of the franchise's popular New York installment, which is now in its 12th season, received a shock during the latest episode when Mortimer annnounced that she was leaving the show. And we're only halfway through the new season!
In the episode, Mortimer was seen making the decision to pack up and move to Chicago to start her brand new life with Kluth.
She said, "Is there physically like a ring or something right now? No. Is that definitely happening, are we getting married? I just know it. I will be moving to Chicago, I'm not sure exactly when but I know that we are going to be together and I know we are going to make this work."
The other housewives didn't take to the news that lightly, due to the nature of Mortimer and Kluth's on-and-off relationship. However, Leah McSweeney came to Mortimer's defense, adding, "Just give Tinsley this one little moment. This one moment she's been waiting for, fighting for. But no, they can't."
Mortimer revealed, "With Scott, so much has happened so fast. I know that if I don't take this moment right now, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I have to listen to myself and what I want and nobody else. It's been a great ride and I'm just so happy for where I am right now and for my future."
Mortimer also took to Instagram, where she said goodbye, both to the housewives series and to New York.
The caption read, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my fans and friends who supported me and are happy for my fairy tale ending. Without #RHONY, I would never have met my prince charming, Scott. Being a Housewife was such a fun experience, and I thank @bravoandy and all the wonderful people at Shed Media and @bravotv. I love you all so much!!!"
Maria Lianos-Carbone is author of "Oh Baby! A Mom's Self-Care Survival Guide for the First Year" and publisher of AMotherWorld.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in February 2019 and was updated with the latest information.