Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are engaged!

Nicole Richie has announced that the loved-up couple plan to wed in the summer

Nicole Richie has announced that she's set to wed long-term beau Joel Madden in the summer.

It will come as no surprise to some that the couple who started dating in December 2006 and have had two children together, are now to be married.

The news came as a fan spotted the loved-up twosome having dinner at a New York restaurant just after Valentine's Day. They were in town for Nicole's appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman.

NICOLE RICHIE'S STYLE

Wearing a tight-fitting black bandage dress and killer heels, Richie proudly showed off her very large and very sparkly engagement ring. Letterman's audience was first to hear the good news and later it was confirmed by Madden who replied to congratulations on Twitter saying:

'Yep, I'm engaged. Very happy.

'Yeah we've been engaged for a while so your all kind of late on that. But thanks for the hoopla all the same.'

The couple are planning to wed this summer and a friend of Nicole's has told Us Magazine, 'Nicole and Joel are in the process of planning the wedding. She's very involved in every detail. She's thrilled.'

Their engagement comes five months after Richie gave birth to their second child, son Sparrow James Midnight Madden. They also have a two-year-old daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden.

Last year, Richie said there was no rush to wed, saying: 'I think for both of us, we are going to do it because we want to, not because that's what you do. We're going to do it when the time's right.'

We're glad that the time has finally come! Congratulations to the both of them.

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