Mandy Moore Just Revealed the Most Romantic Engagement Story

I’ve never been someone who wears a lot of jewelry. It’s fun to get dressed up and wear gorgeous pieces for work, but in my real life, I usually just put on a pair of stud earrings.

When my boyfriend [musician Taylor Goldsmith] and I started talking about getting engaged last year, I told him I didn’t want a big ring. I figured we could just pick out some pretty bands together. So you can imagine how surprised I was when he proposed with this beautiful ring in the fall.

We were in the middle of moving into our new home at the time—the whole thing caught me completely off guard! Even though I thought I didn’t want an engagement ring, as soon as I saw this one, I couldn’t imagine the moment without it.

Taylor went to one of my favorite jewelers, Irene Neuwirth, and picked out every detail that he thought I’d like, from the round, faceted stone to the rose gold band. It is so me. I especially love that the diamond is flat—you can see my skin through it, which makes it even more understated.

It’s elegant and cool, and you wouldn’t even know it was an engagement ring if I didn’t wear it on my left hand. Because he put so much love and thought into it, I’ve never felt so special. And now it’s a symbol of our life together and all the excitement yet to come.

—As told to Jennifer Ferrise

Moore stars in This Is Uson NBC.

For more stories like this, pick up the April issue of InStyle, available on newsstands and for digital download now.