Rachel McRady is a Digital News Editor at PEOPLE. She has been an entertainment journalist for more than a decade, previously working for E! News, Entertainment Tonight, and Us Weekly.

She said “I love you” first!

These days Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are celebrating their engagement and their new album I Said I Love You First. And while Gomez previously admitted to being the first one of the couple to drop the “L” word, her fiancé shared more of the sweet backstory during their joint appearance on the Friday, March 21 episode of the Today show.

“When we first started dating, she had hand surgery, and she was coming out of anesthesia and she just goes, ‘I love you.’ And I said, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘I love you,’ “ Blanco shared.

Gomez noted of the milestone moment, “I don’t remember.”

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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco share a kiss in January 2025.Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty

Blanco’s response? He decided it didn’t count.

“I said, ‘Go back to bed, honey.’ She said it a few times as a mistake,” he noted.

But as their relationship progressed, the music producer decided he was ready to tell Gomez about his mutual feelings.

“I was in New York City and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to do it.’ I have this whole thing planned,” he explained. “And I was laying in bed with her and we were about to say, and then she said it before me. She steals my moment! She stole it.”

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco.Selena Gomez/Instagram

Blushing, Gomez admitted, “It was just too much. I was excited.”

While the couple announced their engagement in December 2024, Blanco claimed they haven’t necessarily been able to enjoy this time together.

“Oh my God, we haven’t even had time to enjoy it. Are you kidding me? We go from this, she’s shooting Only Murders [in the Building], we’re promoting the album. She was at the Oscars. It’s crazy.”

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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco attend the Second Annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit in October 2024.Amy Sussman/Getty

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The couple hasn’t been shy about sharing their love story. During a recent interview on Spotify’s Countdown To, Blanco admitted he knew early on that they were in it for the long haul.

“I knew right after we kissed, I was like, ‘Oh wow. I’m probably going to marry this person,’” he told his fiancée.

Then, he corrected himself. “Well, I didn’t say marry but I was like, ‘I’m probably going to have a baby with this person.’”

Gomez — who was holding her hand up to her face during the confession — responded by saying that was “so cute.”