Rebecca Romijn

Heading to the Altar

UPDATED 10/03/2005 at 01:00 AM EDT • Originally published 10/03/2005 at 01:00 AM EDT

A few months ago, Rebecca Romijn was over the moon I about her relationship with boyfriend Jerry O'Connell. "I've had a great year," the model-actress told PEOPLE in July. "I fell in love and had a lot of romantic dinners." But when O'Connell popped the question in his parents' Manhattan apartment on Sept. 17, the bliss-o-meter must have gone off the charts. "We couldn't be happier," the newly engaged couple said in a statement, "and are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives."

Might that include midnight feedings and lullabies? Starting a family seems to be a priority for O'Connell, 31. "Next up is kids," the Crossing Jordan star told PEOPLE last November. O'Connell's rep, though, says Romijn, 32, is not pregnant. For now, O'Connell is helping to get his fiancée into combat shape for X-Men 3. He and Romijn (who split from ex-husband actor John Stamos in April '04) have yet to set a date for the altar, but O'Connell's parents have given their blessing to a wedding. "They have a similar sense of humor and get along well," says his dad, Michael. "Rebecca is strikingly beautiful and has the intelligence to match. We are very happy."