John Mellencamp Opens Up About Engagement to Meg Ryan, the 'Funniest Woman I Ever Met'

Laughter appears to be a key component in John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan‘s relationship.

In a rare interview about their private pairing, Mellencamp opened up about his new fiancée, praising her sense of humor.

“I’m engaged at 67 to a very funny woman,” the “Jack and Diane” singer told NBC’s Today. “Funniest woman I’ve ever met.”

News broke that Mellencamp and Ryan, 57, were engaged back in November. Asked why Mellencamp was ready to walk down the aisle again after previous ups and downs in the pair’s relationship, the rocker admitted, “One can well imagine, I’m probably not the easiest guy to get along with. So let’s leave it at that.”

This will be the second marriage for Ryan, who was married to actor Dennis Quaid for 10 years (and shares a son, Jack, 26), and the fourth for Mellencamp, who has five kids from his three previous marriages.

The pair began dating in 2011 after Mellencamp ended his 18-year marriage to model Elaine Irwin, and were together for three years before calling it quits in August 2014. At the time of their split, a source told PEOPLE that “distance” had led to the relationship’s demise — with Ryan living in New York City with her daughter Daisy, 14 (whom she adopted in 2006), and Mellencamp preferring to stay in his home state of Indiana.

Though he moved on and dated Christie Brinkley for a year, there was hope of a reconciliation. “I loved Meg Ryan,” the “Jack and Diane” singer told Howard Stern in 2017. “She hates me to death. I think it’s because I’m a child. I throw fits, I gripe, I complain. I’m moody.”

By June 2017, Ryan and Mellencamp had rekindled their romance, with a source then telling PEOPLE at the time, “They have a bond.” Nearly a month ago, an excited Ryan shared the news of her engagement on Instagram. “ENGAGED!” she wrote on Nov. 8, next to a sweet and silly cartoon drawing of her and Mellencamp reaching for each other’s hands.

Throughout it all, Ryan and Mellencamp have kept their romance mostly private, with a rare public outing here and there — including a Christmas Day 2017 New York Knicks basketball game they caught with her son Jack, and Mellencamp’s son Hud, 24, from his marriage to Irwin.

“John and Meg are a great combination,” a source close to the rocker told PEOPLE in November. Added an entertainment insider: “They relate on many levels. John loves her intellect, personality and sense of humor. Meg is in awe of his talent.”