It's a ring of love for Michaels, girlfriend

Bret Michaels finally put a "rock of love" on his longtime girlfriend's finger, and he did it on cable television.

The 47-year-old Poison frontman popped the question to 39-year-old Kristi Gibson on Monday night's finale of his VH1 reality show, "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It," Billboard.com reports.

After spending 16 years in an on-again, off-again relationship and sharing two daughters with Gibson, Michaels got down on one knee while the two were chatting in his living room during Monday's episode.

"I love you, and you've been unbelievably a big part of my life, and we have two beautiful girls together," he said. "I know we love and respect each other, and I hope that we can find that inner love that we have forever. And I want you to be my wife."

Gibson laughed after the singer continued, "Just say yes, because rejection will kill me right now," and she eventually said yes and embraced him.

Michaels placed the ring on her finger before asking the age-old question, "If it doesn't work out, and I die during the operation, will you roll my ashes and smoke me?"

The engagement puts a cap on a whirlwind year for Michaels that included a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, a new album, a win on "Celebrity Apprentice" and a naked appearance on a Billboard cover. Michaels, who shares daughters Raine Elizabeth, 10, and Jorja Bleu, 5, with Gibson, had denied being engaged to his longtime girlfriend on "The Early Show" last July.

SEE PHOTOSBret Michaels through the years