AceShowbiz - LeAnn Rimes will ring in the New Year as a bride-to-be. Her actor boyfriend Eddie Cibrian proposed to her over Christmas.

The couple has been at the center of marriage speculation after posting a joke proposal picture, taken at a Halloween party, online in October. But Rimes went public in November to dismiss the engagement rumors.

Now the country singer has confirmed she has agreed to become the second Mrs. Cibrian. The "Blue" singer was snapped wearing her engagement ring on Monday, December 27 as she took a stroll on a Malibu, California beach with Cibrian - and Rimes could not contain her excitement, revealing the happy news on her Twitter.com page.

In a blog post to fans, she writes, "Eddie and I got engaged over the holidays. That's the news. It's for real this time and the first time EVER! Thank you for all your well wishes!! We are extremely excited and look forward to a beautiful future. It's been an incredible last few days, I was shocked!!! We are blessed, our families are so happy and our lives are filled with love."

"It was nice to have our little secret for us our families and friend's a few days! So excited to now share the wonderful news with our fans."

Cibrian and Rimes were married to other people when they began dating after they were paired as lovers in TV movie "Northern Lights" in 2008. They have since ended their respective marriages.