La Toya was surprised with a 17.5 carat diamond ring during a romantic dinner in Hawaii before her business partner dropped to his knee.
- Jun 4, 2014
AceShowbiz - La Toya Jackson is engaged. Her longtime business partner Jeffre Phillips proposed to her while they were on a vacation in Hawaii last August. Her answer was a yes but "it wasn't a fast yes," she told People, because she was caught off guard by the proposal.
Before Phillips, 46, popped the question, he treated 58-year-old Jackson to a romantic dinner. She followed a path of white rose petals and gardenias out to their hotel balcony before he surprised her with a 17.5 carat diamond ring, hidden under her dessert tray.
"I had no clue," the singer said. "I couldn't understand why he was so nervous." And when Phillips bended on his knee, "my heart just stopped," she recalled.
"I was in total shock," she explained. "We're best friends and we've been business partners forever. It was always professional - no one really crossed those boundaries."
When asked about the wedding date, Jackson played coy. "You have to wait to see the show," she said, referring to her reality series "Life with La Toya" which will premiere June 7 on OWN. It will include footage of Phillips asking her father Joe Jackson for her hand in marriage.
As an effort to promote the show, she dropped by "Good Morning America" where she showed off her new gigantic rock. "I've always wanted to be a mother, all my life," she said of her desire to start a family, adding that she's considered adoption.
It will be her second marriage. She was previously married to her then-manager Jack Gordon. They got divorced after years of abusive relationship.
