Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagicThere are some things you should know about Maggie Q—she's an awesome actress, she has an infectious and genuine laugh, she's passionate about rescuing animals with the help of Best Friends Animal Society and she is absolutely, head over heels in love with Dylan McDermott.
Oh, sorry, with fiancé Dylan McDermott. Yes, after much speculation and being spotted with a huge (and gorgeous!) diamond sparkler on that finger, the Stalker actress confirmed to E! News that she is engaged to her co-star and even spilled some details on their engagement, wedding planning, the things she admires most about her beau and so much more.
"I don't know if he wants me to go into the details on how he proposed, but I'll tell you this much—he more told me that we were gonna be married, which I think is so funny," the celeb tells us. "Because he says, 'You can't ask Maggie because you can't take the risk of Maggie saying no.'"
LOL! Clearly, the star was a fan of his idea to take things to the next level, and added, "It felt very peaceful. You know when your spirit, your physiology, is at peace when you think about a life with somebody. I think that's most important." Sigh.
And when it comes to wedding planning, it's all being handled by those nearest and dearest to the future bride.
"I was never the person who was going to get married. It's all my wonderful friends who have experience in this, they kinda take over," she confessed.
"My day, when it comes, is going to be a mish-mosh of the love of all my friends contributing from their experience and what they want on the day for me, because I'm really, really not a wedding person. I'm surrounded by so much love and so many people who care about us in such a real way and they're kinda helping guide me through it."
So what was it about McDermott that stood out for Maggie? "I think it's important to balance your love with humor because life can be pretty absurd and I think in moments when life is difficult, you have to be with somebody that you can laugh with. And that was always at the top of my list," she says.
"This is a person that I wake up laughing with. Truly, in the first few moments of waking up in the morning. So I think the most important thing is you gotta marry your best friend at the end of the day. If they're not your best friend, I don't know what you're doing."
And sure, Dylan is a stud, but looks can only get you so far with Maggie Q.
"I work around a lot of handsome, and it doesn't matter to me. You can be handsome. Great. You can congratulate your parents. You didn't earn handsome. But there's a lot you can earn—in addition to obviously being someone you can laugh with—it has to be someone who has an extraordinary heart. That's very important to me. I was lucky to find that."
She also admits that she has no idea what their plans are for Valentine's Day, explaining that McDermott, "has everything planned. I have no idea what's going on and you gotta love that, because as a woman, I think Valentine's Day is more our day. He's a real man in that way, he takes control," but adds, "he's kind and thoughtful every day. So for me, I'm lucky to have that."
However, Dylan isn't the only man in her life.
Maggie, who is currently mama to an adorable dog named Caesar, has been a huge advocate for animal rescue and adoption for many years, and has worked closely with the Best Friends organization, a collaboration that sparked with the help of a close friend who connected the actress with the company's founders.
"I was able to sit down with two of the original founders and really talk about the movement," she tells E! News. "We just kinda fell in love with each other in that moment and that's when my work started and that was probably about 10 years ago."
Maggie continues, "Everybody talks about animals and their unconditional love, and how you rescue them but they really end up rescuing you. And I think if youre looking for an animal companion, there's a part of you or a void in you that can only be filled with with an animal's unconditional love."
But if you're someone who's considering adopting a rescue pet, the actress advises to, "find your match. It's just like your partner. They're all cute and they're all amazing but they're all designed very differently just like we are."
That's where Best Friends is really helpful, because they have a 33,000-acre, no-kill sanctuary in Utah, "and what you do there is you volunteer with the dogs. I try to do it annually, and when your 9-hour day is over, whatever dog you connected with or you had something special with, you actually sign them out and you take them home for a sleepover!
She continues, "And even if you don't end up adopting that dog, you fill out a survey about how that dog acted on a walk, on a hike, at night, is he housebroken…and when you do the survey it helps the next person who wants to adopt the dog know more about how the dog acts outside of the rescue center."
To find out more about Best Friends, visit their website here.