They "decided to take their relationship to the next level," a source tells Us of Theron, 39, and Penn, 54, who first stepped out together in December 2013.
This was no ordinary proposal, though. Theron, who has said in the past that she's not the kind of girl who ever dreamt of a big wedding, is also not the kind of girl who needs a big diamond engagement ring. "There's no ring, but they are committed," the insider tells Us.
Commitment has never been a problem for the mom of Jackson, 2. Speaking about the possibility of marriage in an interview with Vogue this past June, she said she wasn't afraid of long-term relationships. On the contrary, in fact. "I want the long-term relationship," she told the mag.
What she doesn't want, it seems, is a lot of fuss. "Let's put it this way: I never had the dream of the white dress. And watching other people getting married? I think it's beautiful for them, but to be quite honest, usually I'm sitting there just devastated," she admitted.
"It's supposed to be this night of celebrating love, and all you see is a couple separated all night making sure everybody else is okay," she explained. "It just looks like a lot of work. And as you get older, you start sifting through the stuff that really matters."
Penn, for his part, has been married twice before, to Madonna from 1985 to 1989, and to Robin Wright from 1996 to 2010. Wright recently reconnected with her former fiance Ben Foster, from whom she split in November. She "realized she had something good," a pal tells Us of the 48-year-old House of Cards star.
