Gwyneth Paltrow and her boyfriend of the past year, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, are expecting their first child next summer, a publicist for the "Shakespeare in Love" Oscar winner tells the Associated Press.

Paltrow, 31, and Martin, 26, are "pleased" to confirm the pregnancy, publicist Stephen Huvane said in a statement. He declined to say whether there were wedding plans.

In its current issue, PEOPLE reports that Paltrow hasn't been in any talks with Vera Wang to start designing a wedding dress, but the actress would at least be ready and willing to tie the knot with Martin -- as soon as he says the word.

Asked during a BBC interview Nov. 22 whether she planned to marry, Paltrow replied, "I hope so." Pressed on whether those hopes include Martin, she said: "I'm the wrong person to ask -- ask him."

The coy answer was in keeping with their relationship. Martin often refuses to mention Paltrow's name when interviewed, and the pair arrived separately at the London premiere of Paltrow's most recent film, "Sylvia," to avoid being photographed together.

But, PEOPLE adds, the couple have taken a decidedly domestic turn. In mid-November they began house hunting in the leafy, upscale Belsize Park area of north London -- home to Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Kate Moss and Helena Bonham Carter. It's also the neighborhood where Martin maintains his bachelor pad, a loftlike flat.

But observers say he now spends most of his time with Paltrow in her $3.3 million townhouse in posh Belgravia in southwest London.