Rumors swirled Friday after Bryant confirmed he was engaged to marry Vanessa Laine, a student at Marina High School.

At the home in Huntington Beach where the fiancee lives with her grandparents, her grandfather confirmed the engagement.

"When you are young, you are very idealistic," the elder Laine said. "She seems happy."

Talk also centered on the seven-carat ring Bryant reportedly gave his fiancee.

Seven carats, according to Sandy Fredlund, manager of an Orange County Zales jewelry store, is the size of a nickel, maybe even a quarter, and probably cost about $100,000.

"I was thinking about that ring all the way into work this morning," Fredlund said. "The largest thing I have in my store is a two-carat. And that's big. This is huge."

The couple met when Bryant stopped by a music video shoot where Laine was working as a background model, said Marina High drama teacher Robert Rotenberry.