Surprise We're Getting Married

Start your engines. Motorcycle king Jesse James and tattoo artist Kat Von D are going to be married.


"You know sometimes the public and press gets it wrong. This is one of those times. 2010 was actually the best year of my life because I fell in love with my best friend. An amazing woman who stood behind me when the world turned their backs," James tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I have never met anyone so kind and loving and committed to making the world a better place every day. My love for her is beyond description. So honored that she said 'yes.' Growing old with her is going to be a f----n' blast!"

The pair have been dating since last summer, following the collapse of James's marriage to Oscar winner Sandra Bullock. Their divorce was finalized last June.

"There is no one else for me. He's the one," The LA Ink star tells PEOPLE.

Asked if she will move from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, to be with her fiancé, Von D replied, "If only it were that easy. Having two places we call home will be good for now. In the end, home is where the heart is, and my heart's with him."

James, 41, and Von D, 28, have been engaged in Twitter PDA in recent weeks. On Jan. 13, James Tweeted: "They say True love will always shine through. The only reason I started Twitter again? so I could publicly profess my love for @thekatvond."

She responded: "Thank you always supporting me and believing in everything I do. But most of all, thanks for being my best friend."

Gross. Vom.

Jesse James has a New GF with LOTS of Tramp Stamps

The connection between Kat Von D and Jesse James isn't only skin deep. "Just because I have tattoos doesn't mean, 'Oh, you guys are a perfect match,' " the star of TLC's LA Ink, 28, tells the Kevin & Bean radio show on L.A.'s KROQ-FM. "I think that I'm his type on a different level than people would assume."

She and James, 41, may be newly involved romantically – Kat admitted they were dating in a short-lived tweet on Wednesday, following a dinner together in Las Vegas on Saturday – but their history goes back a lot further.

"I've known Jesse since I was 22, actually. We've always been friends, you know?" the tattoo artist said in the Wednesday interview. "He had his show on Discovery, that's how we met. I was looking for some advice when I first started on Miami Ink."

When it comes to James's cheating scandal and the collapse of his marriage to Sandra Bullock, Kat says she can relate to his crisis. "I am a believer that we're all human and we're all capable of making mistakes," she says. "I think if I were to be crucified for my drug addiction three years ago now, it would be hard to live with that. I'm sober now, and it's awesome. But I have made mistakes, too. … I've got a lot of respect for Jesse and how he handled it."