Nick Carter is engaged to actress and fitness expert Lauren Kitt, popping the question on Wednesday on an island in the Florida Keys where he spent time as a child.

Carter, 33, told People Magazine that he had the engagement ring in his pocket for weeks before everything was just right for him to ask his 29-year-old girlfriend of four years to marry him.

"I had the ring in my pocket for two weeks," Nick said. "My boat was in such bad condition because I hadn't used it for, like, six years. It took me five days literally on my hands and knees, scraping up my body [to fix it]. The engine wasn't complete yet but we still decided to go out."

After several engine stalls, Carter's boat was able to transport a small group of family and friends, including Kitt's father to the destination the couple now refers to as "Engagement Island."

Once there, Carter dropped to one knee and proposed to Kitt, presenting her a seven-carat diamond ring from XIV KARATS.

"She said, 'Yes,' and I'm, like, 'I don't know what to do," said the Backstreet Boy. "She said, 'You're supposed to put it on my finger.' So I did. I was in shock."  

Kitt said she was caught off guard by Carter's proposal, although one would assume a little suspicious during the prolonged boat ride.

"I wasn't expecting it. It just felt very surreal," she said. "We both are just so happy in love right now and on cloud nine."

However, she said, now it's up to The Backstreet Boys, who are working on a new album and have signed to do a sold-out fan cruise in October.

"Our first thought was, 'We need to contact the Backstreet Boys and find out when their schedule will permit,'" Kitt said. "It's not up to us. It's up to the schedule. We're just excited and looking forward to the next chapter of our lives."