A high note for American Idol alum Kellie Pickler: She's engaged!

Last week, her boyfriend, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, popped the question on a Florida beach at sunset. "It's true!" her rep tells UsMagazine.com. "She's super excited!"

The two met through friends about 2 1/2 years ago.

Initially, she said she resisted the idea of marriage.

"I'm not ready — I'm 22, I just started out — I'm not ready to put my husband first," she said on radio show "GAC Nights: Live From Nashville" last year. "[I'll wait until] I'm to a point into my career where I can say, 'This can come in second and I'm ready to have a family.'"

But Pickler, 23, who competed on season 5 of Idol, has credited her new fiance with helping her cope with some past hardships.

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When she was younger, Pickler's mother abandoned her and her father went to jail, so she was raised by her grandmother, who has since passed away.

"I've met someone now that I'm crazy about and he's crazy about me," she said on the radio show, "and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else."

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