"Dancing With The Stars" Professionals Get Engaged

January 5, 2009 8:57 a.m. EST

Los Angeles ,CA (CNS) - The news on "Dancing with the Stars" has been announced and the reaction from fans is very mixed. We aren't talking about the upcoming season eight of the hit dancing reality show, but the fact that two of the professional dancers -- Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff -- are engaged.

Celebrity News Service was just as surprised as the fans to learn that the dancing duo will waltz down the aisle. "I didn't even know they were dating. Last I heard she was dating Mario Lopez," a fan of the show told CNS.

Apparently the couple have been dating for about six months and Maksim proposed to Karina just before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. The proposal came with a Harry Winston rock, just for good measure.

Karina, 30, and Maksim, 28, are in the midst of the "Dancing with the Stars" tour. The new season will return March 6 so fans will be able to check out Karina's bling as she cha cha's and jive's her way across the dance floor.

"I'm happy for them but I never expected them to be a couple," another fan said. "It is a totally strange pairing."

"Dancing with the Stars" will return for its eighth season March 6 on ABC.