David Hasselhoff announces engagement to girlfriend Hayley Roberts

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (UPI) -- David Hasselhoff and longtime girlfriend Hayley Roberts are engaged.

The actor's rep confirmed the news to Us Weekly Tuesday. The couple first met at an autograph signing in 2011.

"I knew that I was really unhappy without her," Hasselhoff, 63, noted about Roberts, 36, to Hello! magazine. "I waited to propose because I thought I was too old for her," he continued about why he had held off from popping the question before.

"We were both in tears... I genuinely had no idea he was going to do that. I'm still so overwhelmed," Roberts said of the proposal. "I thought he was just joking around at first. He's asked me before, but it was never for real. Then he pulled out the ring. I cried so hard that he didn't get around to actually asking, 'Will you marry me?' until about ten minutes later."

This will be the third marriage for Hasselhoff who was previously married to singer Catherine Hickland in 1984 and then to Pamela Bach in 1989.

Hasselhoff announced in March that he would be returning to the the lifeguard post alongside Dwayne Johnson in the upcoming film revival of Baywatch.