Aretha Franklin Is Engaged to William Wilkerson

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is keeping busy these days with wedding plans. The singer and her longtime partner and best friend William Wilkerson are engaged, her publicist confirms for People magazine.

Rushing to prevent rumors from emerging online, a publicist for Ms. Franklin has confirmed the happy news, even revealing a possible wedding date.

According to a statement to People, Aretha and William will most likely tie the knot this summer on board a private yacht, perhaps in a bid to keep paparazzi at bay and have the ceremony as private as possible.

“The iconic singer, 69, and Wilkerson are discussing tying the knot on Miami Beach, with an exclusive reception aboard a private yacht,” People writes after speaking to Ms. Franklin's people.

Apparently, the legendary singer has already thought of some of the most important details, like the location and, of course, the wedding gown.

“Ms. Franklin is considering Donna Karan, Valentino and the queen of wedding dresses, Vera Wang, to design her gown,” says her rep for the aforementioned celebrity publication.

Whichever of these designers she chooses, she will look her best.

In the same statement, a giddy Aretha even joked that the wedding wasn't rushed because of an unexpected pregnancy. In other words, this wasn't a shotgun ceremony.

“I feel fabulous. We're looking at June or July for our date and no, I'm not pregnant, LOL!” she says.

At the beginning of the year, the singer was rushed to the hospital for a mysterious condition which some believed was pancreatic cancer – luckily, that was not the case.

However, since being released from the hospital, Ms. Franklin dropped no less than 85 pounds (approximately 38.5kg), which, in turn, generated some talk about how she actually underwent gastric bypass.

The singer never ceased to deny talk of surgery to help her lose weight, insisting that her new figure and better health was due to eating more sensibly and, basically, regular workouts.