Chelsea Clinton Engaged to Marc Mezvinsky

Nov. 30, 2009— -- It won't be a White House wedding, but former first daughter Chelsea Clinton is ready to tie the knot.

Clinton is engaged to her longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, a spokesman for former President Clinton confirmed to ABC News.

Clinton, 29, is the only child of the former president and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She and Mezvinsky -- the son of former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky and former Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinksy -- became friends in Washington, D.C., and became closer friends when they both attended Stanford University.

The couple sent out an e-mail the Friday morning, Nov. 27, saying: "We're sorry for the mass e-mail but we wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving! We also wanted to share that we are engaged! We didn't get married this past summer despite the stories to the contrary, but we are looking toward next summer and hope you all will be there to celebrate with us. Happy Holidays! Chelsea & Marc."

Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said he believed the engagement happened "before Thanksgiving." Others close to Clinton also indicated the engagement happened earlier and was only announced Friday.

Rumors swirled this past summer that the two were getting married in a grand celebrity-laden wedding on Martha's Vineyard, but those proved to be false.

Clinton and Mezvinsky were childhood friends in Washington and attended Stanford University but didn't start dating until 2005. The future groom works with 3G Capital Management and Clinton is attending graduate school at Columbia University's School of Public Health.

Chelsea Clinton Announces Engagement

The daughter of political royalty, Chelsea Clinton grew up in the fishbowl of Arkansas and Washington politics. She was literally what held her parents together during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and emerged all grown up, campaigning for her mother during her bid for the presidency.

Mezvinsky also has a political pedigree and is no stranger to political scandal. His father, former Iowa Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, was released from federal prison last April after serving a sentence for his role in a Nigerian fraud scheme.

The Mezvinkskys were also close to Bill and Hillary Clinton and were frequent guests at White House state dinners. Prosecutors said Mezvinsky used his connections to the Clintons and his son's social relationship with Chelsea to persuade people to give him money for the scams. His mother-in-law was among those he cheated.

Clinton and Mezvinsky, while a reported staple on the social circuit, keep a low profile.

"Chelsea and Marc lead a pretty quiet life," said New York Magazine's Lloyd Grove, who wrote a cover story profiling Clinton last year. "The one thing Chelsea does here is she is on the board of the American Ballet school, couple of galas ... she is involved in -- Marc will come to those, but he is careful when the paparazzi is there to keep his distance. The two of them don't like to pose for pictures together."

During her father's presidency, Clinton kept a low profile.

"I don't think Chelsea is one of those people, that she has ever wanted to be the center of attention," said Hollywood film director Harry Thomason, who is a close friend to the Clintons. "We can all see that over the following years, she had plenty of chances to be the center of attention in the White House and in her college years, and she's just always chosen not to. I think that speaks well of the people who raised her."

Chelsea Clinton Announces Engagement

In 2008, she broke her code of silence and hit the campaign trail with her mother, speaking at events and college campuses all over the country.

She spent hours arguing passionately for her mother, speaking of the senator in the way only a daughter could.

Although Hillary Clinton failed in her bid for the presidency, supporters came away impressed with Chelsea, asking her again and again if she would ever consider a career in politics. She has insisted that she would not.

Lindsay Goldwert and ABC News' Jake Tapper and Brian Ross contributed to this report.