Tyler Farr is engaged to Hannah Freeman, his girlfriend of two and a-half years, after proposing Sunday (May 10) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Known as the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. It served as the fulltime home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 until 1974.

“Yes, I'm a sucker for heartbreak songs,” Farr said. “But with every heartache you learn, and that coincides with my music career; which all the times and trials led me to find my best friend, a woman that truly makes me a better person. And I am now so very blessed and proud to call her my fianceé,” Farr says.

“Truly the best moment of my life! And I honestly couldn't think of a better church than the Mother Church of Country Music.”

Farr, a native of Garden City, Missouri, arranged special access to the Ryman for the proposal. Freeman is a native of Florence, South Carolina.

Farr released his second album, Suffer in Peace, on April 28.