RHOC Stars Jennifer Pedranti and Ryan Boyajian Are Engaged! Inside His Surprise Bahamas Proposal (Exclusive)

Jennifer Pedranti and Ryan Boyajian had a trip to the Bahamas they'll never forget!

The Real Housewives of Orange County couple got engaged last week while vacationing at the Baha Mar resort, they exclusively tell PEOPLE.

"We're both super stoked and couldn't be happier," says Pedranti, 46. "We always say that our love is a gift, and this just feels like the icing on the cake."

"This is a magical time for us," she adds. "I really am the luckiest girl in the world."

Boyajian, 46, popped the question on Thursday, April 11, while walking with Pedranti on the beach.

The property, he notes, is one of their "favorite spots" to go with their blended family. "We take all the kids there, typically the first week of summer, so it was important for me to do it in a spot that means something to us," says Boyajian. "Now we'll always be able to go right there in the little perch of sand by the staircase and remember this milestone together."

"It feels so special that this happened while we were in our happy place," Pedranti says.

Pedranti, who had flown to meet Boyajian in the Bahamas directly from filming RHOC's upcoming season 18 cast trip, said she didn't see the engagement coming at all.

"I was shocked," Pedranti recalls of the moment, explaining that they were on their way to lunch when Boyajian walked her past the restaurant and down to the beach. "He was like, 'Come here for a second' and we walked down on the beach. And he pulled me in, and I said to him, 'Are you doing something?' And the second he got down in the sand, I don't even remember what he said because I was so surprised."

The location gave guests from one of Baha Mar's infinity edge pools a perfect view of the proposal. "There were probably a hundred people lined up in the pool, and out of nowhere we just heard a roar of people cheering and clapping," says Pedranti. "It was absolutely amazing."

Also absolutely amazing? The cushion cut diamond ring Boyajian proposed with. Custom made by Enalie Jewelers in Mission Viejo, California, Boyajian designed the piece himself and purchased it two years ago, while he and Pedranti were filming their first season of RHOC.

The stunning sparkler features over 5-carats of diamonds with a center stone framed by a row of smaller diamonds, all set on a band of — you guessed it — more diamonds.

It was a piece of jewelry that Pedranti, like the proposal itself, also didn't see coming. "This is the second marriage for Ryan and I, so we would talk about, 'Oh, maybe if we get married one day, we'll just do a small tattoo on our left ring finger where only we know what it means,' " she shares. "And then this guy proposes with a ring that just knocks my socks off."

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Pedranti and Boyajian have been dating since September 2020. As they revealed on RHOC, the two met while she was still married (Pedranti and her now estranged husband are still in ongoing legal proceedings for their divorce).

Between them, Pedranti and Boyajian share seven kids from their respective first marriages: Cole, 20, Harrison, 20, Tyler, 18, Dawson, 17, Greyson, 15, Everleigh, 13, and Dominic, 10.

Before he proposed, Boyajian called Pedranti's parents and her two brothers to ask for their blessings. "That for me was a super special day because the conversations are something that I'll never forget with the four of them," he says.

It's thoughtfulness like that that helped Pedranti fall in love with Boyajian. "I say this all the time. I am so prioritized," she tells PEOPLE. "He communicates everything with me. And he is my best friend. I get to do life with my best friend."

"We do life together," he says. "She is a combination of not only the strongest woman I've ever met, not only the most loving woman I've ever met, but an absolutely amazing mom and a lover of not just people in her own circle, but of people in general. I've never met someone who radiates so much love and true, genuine care for everyone."

As for their wedding, Pedranti says they've talked about returning to Baha Mar for the special occasion.

"I don't think Ryan nor myself are looking for some big celebration," she shares. "We just got engaged, so obviously we're just enjoying that and not planning anything concrete, but I can see us doing it on one of these trips where all of our kids are with us on the sand. Something small, just family and friends."

"If I had my way, it would be same way you saw the proposal picture: it'd be a bikini and board shorts and all of our kids," says Boyajian, Pedranti teasing, "I don't know about that..."

The Real Housewives of Orange County can be streamed on Peacock.