After four years of dating, Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are finally taking their relationship to the next level – they're engaged! "We're excited and incredibly happy about our engagement and we look forward to a wonderful future together," the couple told UsMagazine in a statement.

Nick, 36, proposed to Vanessa, 29, with a platinum, asscher-cut diamond from Bader & Garrin. According to Sarah Pease, The Proposal Planner from Brilliant Event Planning, Nick got down on one knee in a laid-back yet intimate beachfront proposal.

Read Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's Awkward Run-In

The proposal comes just days before the couple's shared birthday (Nov. 9), and a week after an awkward run-in with Nick's ex, Jessica Simpson, who's apparently sad about the engagement news, according to Popeater's Rob Schuter.

"Even though Jessica wants to be happy for Nick, this is a very difficult time for her," one of Simpson's friends tells Schuter. "Nick was the love of her life then, man, and he was her first, so she will always have a very special place in her heart for him. She's deeply saddened."

Though it may hurt Jessica, it's clear that Nick is ready to move on and wants to do things differently this time around. As Sarah Pease points out, the proposal itself speaks volumes as to how Nick has changed.

"It's a far cry from the showy proposal to Jessica aboard a private yacht in Hawaii back in February of 2002," she says. "It's clear he didn't want an audience, this proposal is all about the two of them – a signal that this relationship is just about them – not about the cameras."

Tell us: what do you think about Nick and Vanessa's engagement?

Faye Brennan is assistant editor at BettyConfidential.