Britney Spears and Charlie Ebersol: Inside Their Romance

The star tells PEOPLE she feels "really peaceful and at ease" with her boyfriend of six months

Photo: Jeff Lipsky

Britney Spears opens up about raising sons, date nights with her new man, and whether she’ll marry again. Subscribe now for an inside look at the pop star’s life, plus exclusive at-home photos, only in PEOPLE.

When Britney Spears‘s assistant first showed the singer a photo of her single friend, producer Charlie Ebersol, the superstar was immediately intrigued.

“I thought he was really adorable and she said he was good to people, so I went for it,” Spears tells PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story.

Given the green light, Ebersol, 32, asked Spears, 33, what she’d like to do for their first date. “I said, ‘Cook for me!’ ” she says. “So he made fish, mushrooms, avocado with a dressing, and tomatoes and mozzarella. It was amazing.”

That was six months ago, and they’ve been dating ever since.

Of course, there was more to Ebersol than just kitchen finesse. “There was something about him that made me feel really peaceful and at ease,” she says, adding, “And he was really hot, too. Adorably hot.”

The son of former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and actress Susan Saint James, Ebersol fit right in with Spears’s family, including Preston, 9, and Jayden, 8, the singer’s two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline. “They related to him really well and they have fun together,” she says.

While his close relationship with her sons was a priority, Spears appreciates Ebersol’s knack for romantic, sweet gestures.

“For my birthday, we made waffles on the floor, with candles, and he bought me a real beautiful cake and a beautiful gift that I have on the wall,” she says. “One of my favorite songs is ‘Thank U,’ by Alanis Morissette, and he put all the words to the song in a long frame. It was really thoughtful.”

Likewise, Ebersol is smitten with Spears and tells PEOPLE she has an “enormous heart.”

For more of Spears’s exclusive interview and to see our at-home photo shoot, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday