Michelle Williams Is Engaged to Pastor Chad Johnson

Michelle Williams says yes. The Destiny’s Child alum has announced her engagement to pastor Chad Johnson.

“We could not contain this any longer,” an overjoyed Williams tells PEOPLE of the month-long private engagement.

The couple met in March of 2017 during one of Johnson’s spiritual retreats. “I was in a horrible, dark place,” she said, referring to her previous relationship, which ended with her infidelity. “I just needed to go somewhere where I could get a message of hope and restoration, rejuvenation — get connected to God.”

After exchanging text messages and DMs, Johnson and Williams began courting one another through FaceTime for about three months. “I didn’t even tell any people I was talking to Chad,” she explained. “I wanted to treat this relationship differently because obviously, all my past relationships have failed. I didn’t want to talk about another relationship that possibly wasn’t gonna go anywhere.”

Williams said she dropped her guard around Johnson. “What kept drawing me and drawing me at first was I felt like I could be myself,” she explained. “My first name is Tenitra; my middle name is Michelle. I felt like I could be Tenitra: just ratchet, I didn’t have to have on any makeup, if I had to have on my hair bonnet — he just made me feel very safe in being myself.”

Johnson asked for Williams’ family’s blessing and videotaped the experience. He then shared the video with his bride-to-be before getting on one knee about a month ago. “I started weeping and wailing when I see all these special people,” she added. “Towards the end of the video, something in my head said, ‘Pull yourself together! He’s about to propose! Stop all this crying!'”

Williams and Johnson are eyeing a summer wedding. “We do wanna get married very, very soon,” she said. “We’ve been moving very quickly and planning. Why wait? I want to get married now, but he wants a wedding!”