Jennifer Lopez Breaks Silence for First Time Since Engagement to Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez proposed to Jennifer Lopez on March 9 while the two were vacationing in the Bahamas, and the couple has now spoken out about the special milestone for the first time.

“We’re really happy,” Lopez told PEOPLE, with her fiancé adding, “We have [an] appreciation for where we are in our lives today, and that’s what we’re enjoying the most.”

“Everything that we do, we do together,” Lopez said. “He knows my dreams and I know his dreams, and together we feel like we’re stronger.”

The New York native is currently preparing for her upcoming It’s My Party Tour, and she’ll also begin shooting the upcoming film Hustlers this month, with Rodriguez by her side through it all.

“We’re constantly supporting each other in our individual endeavors and thinking about all the things that we can build together,” Lopez shared.

“I don’t have to play 162 games anymore, so I have a lot of time on my hands,” Rodriguez, who formerly played major league baseball and is now an analyst and businessman, added. “We are very grateful.”

Rodriguez proposed to Lopez with a 16-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, which is reportedly worth $1.8 million. Page Six reports that the former New York Yankee purchased the piece from overseas after “painstakingly” searching for six months.

“Alex had been shopping around for the right ring for the past seven months, he knew for a long time that he wanted to propose to Jennifer,” a source said. “He wanted to get it right. The proposal has been a long time coming, Alex knew she was the one and has been painstakingly planning everything.

“But when it came to the big moment, he didn’t tell anyone, none of his friends or family — and not even Benny [Medina, J.Lo’s long-term and trusted manager],” the insider continued. “He wanted it to be quiet and personal.”

This will be the fourth marriage for Lopez, who shares 11-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Mark Anthony, and the second for Rodriguez, who shares daughters Natasha and Ella with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis.

Lopez told Harper’s BAZAAR in January that her path to a successful partnership ultimately came down to her relationship with herself.

“For me, the relationship journey has been very up and down,” the entertainer said. “But it didn’t have to do with anybody else but me — it was about me figuring out me. Until you learn to love yourself, you can’t completely love [someone else] in a way that is pure and true. Once you do that, you can have relationships that are based on love and respect, that are supportive and nourishing. There’s an evolution there that had to happen for me. I feel like I’m in a better place now.”

Photo Credit: Getty / George Pimentel