(People)

Congratulations are in order for Paris Hilton: she’s engaged!

The 36-year-old heiress is engaged to actor Chris Zylka, Hilton’s rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Zylka popped the question in Aspen, Colorado, during a ski trip over the weekend.

“I am so excited to be engaged to the love of my life and my best friend,” Hilton tells PEOPLE. “I have never felt so happy, safe and loved. He is perfect for me in every way and showed me that fairytales really do exist!”

The pair were posing for a photo on the slopes after grabbing lunch in the ski town when Zylka got down on one knee with the stunning 20-carat pear-shaped sparkler. Hilton says, “I was so excited and surprised! I immediately said yes!”

Of her new jewelry, the star tells PEOPLE, “The ring was so gorgeous and sparkling. I was shaking as I put it on. It is the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen!”

Hilton and Zylka first met an an Oscars party eight years ago, but the pair didn’t reconnect until two years back. Hilton made their relationship social media official in February of last year with a loved-up Instagram post.

For Hilton, Zylka was clearly the one from the start of their relationship. “Ever since our first date I knew there was something special about him,” she shares. “I have never in my life met a man so loyal, dedicated, and loving. I knew right from the start that I wanted to be with him forever.”

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“Paris is the most beautiful and incredible woman both inside and out,” Zylka tells PEOPLE. “I feel like the luckiest man in the world to be marrying my dream girl. I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.”

The Simple Life star often documents their relationship on social media, frequently gushing about the 32-year-old The Leftovers actor.

Just a month after she made their relationship Instagram official she wrote, “So lucky to be in love with my best friend & always have the most incredible time wherever we go!” alongside a picture of the couple at Ultra Music Festival.

And in July, Zylka made his love for Hilton permanent, when he surprised her by getting a large tattoo of her name in Disney font on his arm.

“Such a lucky girl!” Hilton wrote alongside a photo of her man’s new ink. “My love surprised me & got my name tattooed in #Disney font. And said cause I’m his most magical place on Earth & he finally found his fairytale princess. #BoyfriendGoals.”

Shortly after Christmas — which the pair celebrated together — Hilton revealed that she never thought she’d meet somebody she loved as much as Zylka.

“Never in a million years did I think I would find someone so completely perfectly for me. Someone who would make me happier than I ever dreamed I could be. Someone that would touch my life so profoundly & give me a whole new reason to breathe,” she wrote on social media.

“But then I found you & realized that everything I anticipated you to be doesn’t even compare to how incredibly amazing you are… 😍 #MyLove “ she continued.

In a separate post shared the same day she also added that after Zylka walked into her life, she realized “why it never worked out with anyone else.”

Sources close to Hilton tell PEOPLE they have never seen her so calm, happy, secure and at peace.