During his time on American Idol, Paul McDonald met actor Nikki Reed at a movie premiere (via Billboard). They began dating, going on to marry in 2011. They also released a five-song alternative country EP in 2012 (via MTV) under their own record label. The track "All I've Ever Needed" was featured on the Breaking Dawn Part 2 soundtrack (via YouTube), the last film in the Twilight Saga which Reed starred in as vampire Rosalie Cullen. The couple announced their separation in 2014, "citing irreconcilable differences," per Billboard.
McDonald briefly dated actor Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead, The Flash) from 2017 to 2020 (via US Weekly), forming a music duo called the Sweethearts Deal in 2018 (via Yahoo! Entertainment). It's not clear when McDonald and Kinney parted ways, but on Jan. 11, 2021, McDonald revealed on Instagram that he proposed to girlfriend Leah Blevins, who he had been close friends with for "almost a decade."
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