Pop star A.J McLean is engaged. The Backstreet Boys’ singer proposed to his girlfriend Rochelle Karidis onstage with a diamond ring at the Hard Rock Hotel’s Wasted Space nightclub in Las Vegas.
The 32-year-old told MTV News: “I have had this on my mind for months now, and there was talks amongst me and some of the friends of mine, and actually, I kind if brought it up to [bandmate] Howie [Dorough] once before, as well as Nick [Carter], about possibly doing it on New Year’s.”
Unique diamond engagement ring
McLean popped the big question just after midnight with a “one of a kind diamond engagement ring” he reportedly bought just a few hours before – a square head one-carat diamond surrounded by princess-cut diamonds with another 20 to 25 princess-cut diamonds on the band.
“It’s a gorgeous ring,” he said. “I [wasn't] nervous that she’d say no. I was more nervous that she wouldn’t feel comfortable in front of a crowd.”
As for proposing onstage, he revealed it to be a childhood fantasy. “That was something else that I always wanted to do,” he revealed. “I kind of had this childhood fantasy of, once I do propose, it’s just somehow got to be onstage. I just went up there and grabbed a mic.”
The couple have been dating for almost a year. About Karidis he said: “She is my true best friend. She is absolutely amazing. She’s very talented … supportive … understanding. She’s everything you can possibly want in someone, plus 10-gazllion more. That night, I looked at her, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do it tonight.’ “
