The Voice Winner Jake Hoot Engaged to Girlfriend Brittney Hoyt: 'So Excited!'

"She lost it!" Jake Hoot tells PEOPLE of surprising his fiancée with the proposal

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Published on September 29, 2020 10:00 AM

The Voice winner Jake Hoot is engaged!

PEOPLE exclusively reveals the singer, 32, proposed to his girlfriend Brittney Nicole Hoyt on Sept. 20 during a trip to her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. Hoot, who won season 17 with coach Kelly Clarkson in December 2019, surprised his fiancée and got down on bended knee in front of her family and his mother.

″I knew how important being around family was to Britt, and with her birthday coming up, I knew it would be the perfect time to do it!″ he tells PEOPLE. ″She's one of seven, so arranging everyone to fly in and it still be a surprise was tough, but we all coordinated how it would happen, and it went off without a hitch!″

Though he planned the proposal as a surprise, Hoyt immediately got the hint once she saw her family waiting. ″She lost it! I had to keep her moving forward because she was crying and trying to fall down on me!″ Hoot recalls. ″Then after I popped the question, we were both so emotional that I almost had to wrestle her arm to put the ring on her hand!"

Jake Hoot engagement — Brittney Hoyt and Jake Hoot. Kevin Trujillo

And the bride-to-be, 32, is over the moon with her new engagement ring. ″It is my dream ring! A striking oval diamond with small dainty diamonds all around the band. It's more than I could've ever dreamed of," says Hoyt, who is a labor and delivery nurse and runs the nonprofit The Radiant Initiative.

Their engagement comes seven years after they first met as wedding singers at their best friend's wedding. ″We went our separate ways and were brought back into each other's lives while doing missions in Nicaragua,″ they say.

″I knew from [the time] we reconnected in Nicaragua!″ Hoot says of when he knew his fiancée was the one for him. ″Her heart for others and love for God made me fall in love with her. I'm so glad God blessed the broken road that brought us back around to each other numerous times!″

″I also knew when we reconnected in Nicaragua. Jake and I had known each other for years, even though I had always loved many things about him, it always felt like the right person, wrong time. It was a love out of time,″ Hoyt explains. ″This time in Nicaragua it was as though the blinders fell off my eyes, he was the right person, right time. I love Jake's heart for the Lord, how consistent he is no matter who he is around, I love his heart for missions, the poor, I love his humility, his integrity, I knew he was someone I could build a life with."

Another special lady in Hoot's life is his 5-year-old daughter. ″Macy LOVES Brittney!″ the father of one raves, adding that he previously asked Macy ″numerous times″ about her thoughts on a proposal (″she has told me yes″).

While wedding planning will no doubt be top of mind, Hoot has been working on new music as well. ″I have been writing a lot, and working on an upcoming album that is set to release in November. Also have been spending time with Brittney and Macy!" he shares.

As for what they are most looking forward to, Hoot and Hoyt are excited about becoming a union and having children. ″Growing old with my best friend, sharing all the highs and lows, slow dancing every day, doing missions together, and expanding our family,″ he says.

″I'm so excited to spend every day with my very best friend! I love the day-to-day chores as much as the high, fun exciting moments that life brings to us. I'm excited to buy a house, build a family, travel, do missions, make music and love each other for the rest of our life," she says.