Avril Lavigne & Mod Sun’s Engagement: How Travis Barker & MGK Inspired Him To Propose

Mod Sun got down on one knee to pop the question to Avril Lavigne, and HL has EXCLUSIVELY learned how Mod’s close friends, Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, were ‘supportive from the jump.’

They say that things come in threes. First, Travis Barker popped the question to Kourtney Kardashian in October 2021. Then, at the start of 2022,  Machine Gun Kelly proposed to his girlfriend, Megan Fox. Now, Mod Sun followed suit by asking his girlfriend, Avril Lavigne, to spend the rest of his life with him. It turns out that Mod, 35, decided to take the plunge came after watching his friends do it first. “Mod had spoken with his friends, including Travis (Barker) and Colson (MGK), who were so supportive from the jump,” a source tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “And seeing how happy Travis and Colson are in their engagements only helped confirm what Mod already knew and that he was doing the right thing.”

Mod (b. Derek Smith) “can’t wait for the next part of his journey with Avril by his side,” the source tells HollywoodLife. “Mod had a really rough time moving past his relationship with Bella [Thorne], and at the time, he never imagined he would love anybody again. But when Avril came into his life, she was such a breath of fresh air, and he knew that she was exactly what he’s been looking for his whole life. Avril has shown Mod what real, genuine love is, and he can’t believe he totally scored with the love of his life.”

This engagement is a burst of happiness for Avril, 37. The “Bite Me” singer was previously married to Deryck Whibley of SUM-41 and Chad Kroeger of Nickleback. The third time’s the charm for this punk princess. “Avril felt like she would never find love again after her split from Chad,” a source close to the singer tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, “and she was certain she would never be married again. She was wrong, and she knew the moment that she met Derek that he was her soulmate.”

“Derek writing songs for her was just a small part of why she fell for him,” the insider tells HollywoodLife. “When the quarantine hit, they were both forced into quarantine and, while this broke so many couples, it did the complete opposite for them.” The source says that MGK, 31, and Megan, 35, were huge in helping Avril and Mod through the pandemic since the “My Bloody Valentine” couple was “part of their bubble.” While Avril and Mod haven’t talked about their wedding plans yet, the insider says that “there is no doubt that MGK and Megan will both be there.

“During the quarantine, Avril and Derek created music and wrote songs as they spent every day and night together for over a year,” the insider adds. “Derek being a songwriter, Avril tells her friends that they are literally writing their own love song, and she finally will have her happy ending after all.”