Actor Jake Etheridge & Singer MacKenzie Porter ‘Secretly Engaged for Weeks’

Jake, 31, popped the question to MacKenzie, 29, late last month in Nashville after five years of dating.

Porter told People magazine, “Jake took me out for an eight-course dinner at a new Indian restaurant in Nashville. We walked home, and when I opened up our front door, his favorite song [James Carr's "The Dark End of the Street"] was playing. The floor was covered in candles and roses, there was champagne on ice and he instantly got down on one knee. He said all of the sweet things and asked me to do forever with him!”

She added, “So, we've been secretly engaged for a few weeks now — soaking it in with our family and friends. We've been best friends for five years and now have a 'bestie for the restie.' Surprise!!! We are getting freaking MARRIED.”

Jake got down on one knee with a 2-carat, round halo diamond ring. He admitted he was “so nervous,” revealing, “When we were walking to the restaurant, I was constantly thinking, 'How do I talk normal? What do I do with my hands?!' I knew she'd say 'Yes,' but I wanted everything to be just perfect. I can't wait to marry this woman!”

Etheridge knew she was “the one” from the moment they met. He explained, “The day I met Mack, I called my mom on the phone and told her, '[I'm] gonna marry that girl.' Believe me, I know how it sounds — straight Parmesan cheese — but it's true.”

Earlier this year, the couple celebrated their five-year anniversary. She posted a pic, gushing, “This human has been rocking my world for 5 years today. And he's the f** best thing that's ever happened to me. (He's making us coffee and toast right now, because he brings me snacks every morning to wake me up and he's heaven).”

She also featured Jake in the music video for her single “About You,” which reached the top spot on the Billboard Canadian Country Airplay chart.