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Michael Jackson's sister, La Toya Jackson, confirmed her engagement today to her BFF and business partner Jeffré Phillips.
The 58-year-old singer-turned-reality star (she has her own show Life with La Toya on Oprah's OWN network) had the surprise of her life when enjoying a romantic dinner with her man, who is 12 years her junior, in Hawaii. In the middle of the meal, Phillips dropped down on one knee, and asked Jackson for her hand in marriage, according to People.
But that wasn't the only surprise for his future bride: To throw her off course, Philips reportedly said "I don't have a ring for you," Jackson tells People of the proposal. "I said, 'Well, that's okay. I don't care about a ring.'"
It's too bad, then, that when dessert came around, upon lifting the lid, there was a ridiculous dose of bling sitting on the plate. The engagement ring, designed by Phillips himself, is literally dripping in diamonds. Beating out Kim Kardashian's monster cushion cut diamond and Ciara's gigantic engagement rock, Jackson's sparkler weighs in at 17.5 carats. Yes, you read that correctly: 17.5 carats.
I'm SO HAPPY to share my engagement with you all!!! pic.twitter.com/pYKQdqt13P
— La Toya Jackson (@latoyajackson) June 4, 2014And it's easy to see how this behemoth diamond burst Kim and Ciara's 15 carat ceiling — the center stone is a brilliant 10 carat round-cut diamond surrounded by 7.5 carats-worth of round-cut diamonds. Plus, the platinum band is also adorned with plenty of the precious stones. We can only imagine how many millions Jackson's now-fiancé dropped on the spectacle.
"Jeffré goes over the top with a lot of things," Jackson says. "He found exactly what I would like or want. It's really beautiful."
She also added a remark about its size: "It's very, very big," she admits. "It's a heavy one too." (Um, ya think?!)
The over-the-top proposal will be shown on her show when it returns June 7.