Alexis Bellino and John Janssen Are Engaged After 9 Months of Dating: 'On Cloud 9,' RHOC Star Says (Exclusive)

• Real Housewives of Orange County stars Alexis Bellino and John Janssen got engaged on Tuesday, Aug. 27, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm
• The pair first met in November 2023, and went public with their romance that December
• A rep for the couple told PEOPLE: "John & Alexis are happily engaged, and look forward to their long future together as husband and wife.”

Alexis Bellino got a very big surprise for her nine-month anniversary to John Janssen: an engagement ring.

PEOPLE can confirm that the Real Housewives of Orange County couple are engaged, with Janssen, 61, popping the question on Tuesday, Aug. 27 during a getaway to the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Fans following Bellino, 47, on social media know she's been sharing photos of the getaway to her Instagram Stories. "My boo surprised me," she said, in a video showing off their elegant room and private jacuzzi. "This is unbelievable... I'm very happy, honey. It's lovely."

But it was a post to her main feed on Wednesday, Aug. 28 that clued fans in that something bigger was afoot with the trip. In the sweet photo of Bellino and Janssen together, a brand new cushion-cut diamond ring was visible on that finger.

"On Cloud 9 🎉❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️, celebrating 9 months of love and laughter, and looking forward to my forever with you," Bellino captioned the picture. "Every moment together has been a gift. I am so in love with you and the beautiful life we’re building together. And the answer is 100000000% yes."

"#9MonthsStrong #LoveOfMyLife," she hashtagged the post, adding a verse from 1 Corinthians 13:13  in the Bible that read, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

A rep for the pair confirmed the engagement news when reached by PEOPLE. “John & Alexis are happily engaged, and look forward to their long future together as husband and wife.” 

News of Bellino and Janssen's pairing was first reported by PEOPLE exclusively in early December 2023. The duo met weeks earlier on Nov. 18, during a run-in with mutual friends at Orange County eatery The Quiet Woman.

"We tried to fight the feelings after week two, John and I knew that was it," she explained on RHOC earlier this season.

Each had recently come out of longterm relationships. Bellino and her former fiancé Andy Bohn ended their engagement in September 2023, three years after he proposed in December 2020. Janssen, meanwhile, had split from Bellino's now RHOC costar Shannon Storms Beador first in late 2022 after three and a half years of dating and again in September 2023, not long after her arrest for an alleged DUI and hit-and-run.

That shared experience helped Bellino and Janssen bond deeper. "The two have been supportive companions as they navigate newly single life," an insider previously told PEOPLE. "This common background paired with a mutual attraction has made it easy for Alexis and John to form a natural connection."

Since going public with their romance, Bellino and Janssen have made no secret about their feelings for one another, sharing peeks into time they've spent together on date nights, boat trips, holidays, romantic getaways and blended family outings with their kids (each have three from previous relationships).

Janssen even gifted her a promise ring for Christmas 2023. "Words cannot. Actions do," Bellino captioned a photo of the gold and diamond band on Instagram. "I will no longer feel guilty. I will not apologize. Love will create it's own story. I love you Johnny J. 🎄♥️."

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In March, the duo made their red carpet couple debut at the DIRECTV Streaming with the Stars Oscars viewing party, holding hands all night at Spago in Beverly Hills, California, and posing for photographers with their arms around one another.

"I tell her she's perfect all the time and she is perfect for me," Janssen said of Bellino during an interview on the Reality with The King podcast published Aug. 1. "She is confident. She is and that's a overused phrase, but she is absolutely as beautiful on the inside as on the outside and she brings out the best in me."

"I've never ever felt truly loved until Alexis and I've never felt more loved," he added, noting that Bellino has become his "true partner in life."

But not everyone has embraced their relationship.

The couple have been hit with a sea of negativity from Housewives fans over the past nine months, fueled by what Bellino has claimed are false narratives about Janssen from Storms Beador over the years. Bellino, who returned to the Bravo series after a 10-year absence, has spent season 18 trying to defend Janssen, though her passionate remarks have sometimes made things worse online and left many of her former and current RHOC stars divided.

As tough as it's been, they've remained an unbreakable pair.

"I would say it's been bad, but at some point you get numb and then you make the decision just to not look at it," Janssen told PEOPLE in March. "You have to not look at it. We're focused on each other."

"A hundred percent, I couldn't have said it better," Bellino agreed. "We did take it kind of slow, as far as wanting America to know exactly where we stood. And now we're at the point where it's like, we're focused on the future and we're moving forward. You either take us or leave us; you either accept that we're dating or you hate it. But if you don't want us to be together, then swipe left on the Instagram — don't follow my page. Turn the other way if you don't like it, because here we are."

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Thursdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.