Bret Michaels engagement details

Bret Michaels says asking Kristi Gibson, his on-and-off girlfriend of 16 years and mom to his two daughters, to marry him was the right thing to do after everything they've been through together.

"They swore I was the guy who would never," said Michaels, "And it feels awesome."

Michaels told People he had considered proposing while the couple enjoyed a romantic anniversary dinner the night before, but it wasn't the right moment. "I wasn't ready there because I felt really strange," he said. "It would've been like, I'm in the middle of proposing and oh, by the way, there's a Cobb salad coming."

Instead, Bret popped the question while the couple had a heart-to-heart on the deck of their Phoenix-area home.

"In my mind, it wasn't supposed to happen like that -- I wanted it to be a little more like the movies, where the white horse gallops up and all that stuff," he said. "But when Kristi said, 'I don't need this ring. I don't need the piece of paper. I love you no matter what.' She took the pressure off."

"She used reverse psychology on me," Michaels continued, "and it worked!" [Ladies, this is an extremely advanced technique and should not be attempted at home without in-depth training.]

No date has yet been set.

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