Congratulations are in order for Gypsy Rose Blanchard! The 27-year-old is engaged, In Touch can exclusively reveal. Though she’s currently living her life behind bars, she’s experiencing a lot more freedom in prison than she ever had living under the care of her mom, Dee Dee Blanchard. According to family friend Fancy Macelli, part of that freedom includes being able to fall in love and enjoy a healthy relationship. Fancy, who’s handling press for the Blanchard family in addition to working on her own TV show based on Gypsy’s story, By Proxy, revealed the news to In Touch that not only is Gypsy in a relationship, she’s actually engaged.

“She keeps him very private,” Fancy told In Touch. “We’re not going to release his name or anything like that, but she does have a fiancé. That’s something she wouldn’t have ever been able to do with her mom, be engaged!” According to the By Proxy writer, he “goes and visits her” quite often in prison and they talk “at least several times a week if not more.” But how did they meet without being able to really, well, meet? It’s actually pretty romantic.

The couple met through a pen pal program. “He started writing her and then visited her,” Fancy shared. “They just grew to have a relationship.” But despite the fact that they’re already engaged, they’re not getting ahead of themselves just yet. “They’re taking it slow. They don’t know exactly what they’re going to do when she gets out. It’s a long way down the road, obviously, so things can change.”

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The good news? Unlike how she had to keep her relationship with Nick Godejohn a secret, Gypsy’s able to be open about her romantic life with her family now. And that means her family can get to know him, too. Now, they’re able to keep an eye out for their daughter and be more involved in her life. “He does have a relationship with her step-mom [Kristy Blanchard] and her dad [Ron Blanchard]. They’re actually going to meet him next month, but they’ve been communicating with him for a long time through phone calls, emails, all of that. So he is involved in their lives, it’s not just, ‘Oh, he’s there for Gypsy.'”

But despite the fact that Gypsy’s life behind bars includes way fewer restrictions than her life with her mom, the 27-year-old’s family would still like to see her free. According to their petition asking for “relief” for Gypsy’s prison sentence, the family believes that she’s served long enough for her crime. “I’m petitioning for any relief to Gypsy’s 10 year sentence,” her father, Rod, wrote online, suggesting, “a shorter sentence” or “perhaps relocation to a mental facility where she can get the better help she needs.”

Reporting by Katie Bruno.