ET spoke with the 18-year-old reality star via Zoom this week, where she opened up about her recent engagement.
Bella Robertson is sharing more details about her future with fiancé Jacob Mayo.
While speaking with ET via Zoom this week, the 18-year-old Duck Dynasty star -- who became engaged to Jacob in November after six months of dating -- responded to all the haters who've been telling her she's too young to get married.
"First off, we've been friends for a long time," Bella told ET's Cassie DiLaura. "I think a lot of people want to say, like, 'Oh my gosh, they've only been dating for six months.' But we have known each other for so long. And since quarantine is like dog years, we've been in quarantine the whole time we've been dating and we're together all the time."
"We started dating because he came home from college to be here for quarantine, and that's been a big factor," she continued. "I don't know if normally I would have gotten engaged to someone after six months, if we would have just met and started dating, you know? But on top of that, in the south so many people get married so young. Like, my parents got married at 18, my brother got married at 18, my grandparents married at 18. It's very common around here so it didn't really shock me too much about my age."
Criticism aside, Bella couldn't be happier about the thought of getting to spend the rest of her life with Jacob. She told ET that while she had "no clue" about the ring he picked out -- "it definitely was a surprise!" -- she did "have an idea" that a proposal was happening.
"I kind of saw it coming. I knew it was coming at some time soon, but I didn't know exactly when," she confessed. "He asked both my parents together [for my hand in marriage]. Jacob didn't tell me that he asked them at all, he was keeping it such secret."
"The next day, my mom was like, 'So did Jacob talk to you about our talk?' And I was like, 'No,'" she continued. "My mom thought that Jacob must have told me, so she ended up spilling the beans to me. I ended up finding out that way."
As for Bella's reaction to the proposal?
"Jacob says I was just, like, laughing uncontrollably," she shared. "I was laughing so hard just because of happiness I guess. And then I didn't cry, actually. I just was so excited."
Bella added that she and Jacob have done a "little bit" of wedding planning so far, but not much.
"I'm kind of living in the moment right now until Christmas I guess," she explained. "Kind of been saying, like, after Christmas I'll really get on it. But we've been doing a little bit of planning. Just like ideas and stuff like that, but nothing set in stone yet."
As ET previously reported, Bella announced the news that she was engaged via Instagram on Nov. 27.
"I was thankful for you yesterday, i am thankful for you today, and now i get to be thankful for you for the rest of my life!" Bella wrote alongside a photo from the pair's engagement party. "I am blown away by Gods goodness and grace. @jacobdmayo lets get married!! i love you forever."
Meanwhile, Jacob shared a series of pics from the moment he popped the question, writing, "Engaged!:
"Bella is many things to me. She is my best friend. She is the person I can lean on in any problem with no judgment. But with the honest truth when I’m acting out," he gushed. "She loves Jesus. She holds me to a higher standard that she doesn’t let waver. She unconditionally loves me whether I’m doing what she likes or the opposite side of the spectrum."
"She’s the one for me forever," he added. "She's my everything. I thank God for her. #tothemayos."
Hear more on from Bella and her family in the video below.
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