Brett Young Is Engaged to Taylor Mills

Brett Young‘s next album might feature more than a few love songs, since Young is now engaged to longtime girlfriend Taylor Mills.

“We are both more excited than we can express and looking forward to starting this chapter of our lives together,” the couple told People in a statement.

Young popped the question earlier this month, proposing to Mills in Oxford, Mississippi, at the Graduate hotel near his alma mater, Ole Miss. The “Mercy” singer explained that the two met in Arizona while Mills was attending school there, and would likely marry in the state, so he wanted to propose at a place that was so important to him.

“We were able to get a suite with a large covered patio and the hospitality staff at the hotel set it up while we were at dinner, so it was waiting for us when we got back,” Young said of the moment. He proposed with a ring he designed with David M. Kodner of David Kodner Personal Jewelers which features his and Mills’ initials.

Young shared that he and Mills, 31, met over a decade ago, and while they broke up after dating for years, they recently reconnected.

“We met a little over 10 years ago in Scottsdale while she was at ASU and dated for a little over six years,” he revealed. “After school, she and I both moved to Los Angeles together. When I moved to Nashville, we took a break for a few years, and I wrote a lot of my first record about her.”

That record was his self-titled debut, which has spawned No. 1 singles “Sleep Without You,” “In Case You Didn’t Know” and “Like I Loved You.”

“There was never any bad blood; it was just the wrong time for us,” added Young. “We recently got back in touch and realized that we were both finally in the same place and knew it was right.”

The 36-year-old used Instagram to share the news of his engagement.

“SHE SAID YES!!!!” he wrote, adding the hashtag #loveyoubabygirl.

On Valentine’s Day, Young posted a throwback photo of the couple along with a more recent shot.

“Still my best friend more than 10 years later,” he captioned the image. “Love you baby. Happy Valentines Day!”

Photo Credit: Instagram / @brettyoungmusic