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So in Love

Originally posted Thursday July 20, 2006 12:00 PM EDT

"I've been learning to take weekends off more lately," says the workaholic James (with Bullock in '05). Photo by: BEN-RACHID / BAUER-GRIFFIN

A career-focused woman who once thought of marriage as "a death sentence" – as she told Vanity Fair – Bullock herself is a bit surprised by her change in outlook. "I feel empowered in a weird way," she said. "I can say I'm going to stay home, cut flowers, cook and bake a cake, and tomorrow I'm going to go back to the evil empire. . . . I've always been able to go back and forth – I just didn't allow myself to do it."

Credit the guy with the "Pay Up Sucker" tattoo on his palm and the unabashed admiration for Martha Stewart ("I'm this weird perfectionist, and she's that way too") for bringing out his wife's inner domestic diva. A 6'3" ex-bouncer whose great-grandfather's cousin was the notorious outlaw, James – who found fame as the host of the Discovery Channel hit Monster Garage – was revved by Bullock's no-nonsense charm when she visited his West Coast Choppers motorcycle shop with her godson in 2003.

Before Bullock had even returned to her production company office, James had called to inquire about her dating status. But despite the attraction, "I took my time and got to know her and did it right, and it was a great courtship," he says.