The British comedian, broadcaster, writer, and polymath Stephen Fry has confirmed that he is to marry his 27-year-old partner, Elliott Spencer, after the Sun newspaper broke the story.

The beaming TV star and his toyboy posed for pictures together in London today, after being forced to confirm the news when the Sun picked up on a “declaration to marry” notice posted in a rural registry office. Fry had previously confirmed the news to his army of followers on Twitter.

The engagement comes less than three years after Fry tried to kill himself with a cocktail of vodka and pills as his previous long-term relationship foundered.

Fry and Spencer appeared today outside Fry’s London home, and Fry said: “We are off now to celebrate our engagement.”

Fry said the marriage would take place some time in the next year, and when asked about the engagement rings on their wedding fingers, he said, “They are very similar, both are made of Rhodium and are almost matching.”

Spencer, 27, is variously described as a writer and a stand-up comic. He says, however, in one Twitter post that before meeting Fry he suffered from low self-confidence:

He is the son of a succesful property developer, Robert Spencer, who has built homes across the U.K., according to the Daily Mail.

Spencer seems to be well-connected with London’s celebrity crowd and has posted pictures of himself with comedians such as Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell. He is a regular at London’s nightspot du jour, Chiltern Firehouse, and has tweeted about hanging out there with Kiefer Sutherland.

He is clearly a music fan, and his Twitter feed details his attendance at a seeemingly endless stream of live gigs, including Kate Bush, The Cure, and Morrissey in recent months.

He has been a guest at numerous high-profile events with Fry, such as the Hobbit premiere in London on December 1, in which Fry had a part.

In October, he traveled to Denver with Fry to support his work with LGBT rights organization The Matthew Sheppard Foundation.

A source told The Sunday Mirror: “Stephen and Elliott get on brilliantly together. It’s fantastic to see Stephen with a smile on his face again...Elliott seems to have given him the confidence to live his life again. It’s great to have the old Stephen back.”