 |
| Jesse James |
"We have something special that I've never felt with anyone I've ever been with," James, 42, tells PEOPLE of the L.A. Inkstar, whom he got engaged to in January. "She loves me like no woman ever has, 100 percent. Man, she has my back."
In fact, when James was at his lowest point last year after news of an affair imploded his marriageto Sandra Bullock and upended his life, it was Von D, 29, who stood by his side.
"We fell in love at the worst possible time. I'm being chased around [by paparazzi] like a dog and here comes this angel," he says. "Not only does she love me, but she loves me so much that she was willing to subject herself to everything that I was going through and [endure] all the ridicule that she got for being with me."
He adds, "She fell in love with me when I was being called Satan. If that's not a testament to what kind of a person she is and where her intentions are, I think nothing is."
While James has relocated his family to Texas and Von D currently lives in L.A., the couple still make their relationship work.
"She's going to eventually move [to Texas]," says James, who is building Von D, an acclaimed tattoo artist, a studio on his sprawling Texas property outside of Austin.
"What would you rather have – a perfect partner and be logistically challenged or a half-assed partner who lives next door?" James asks. "We didn't plan any of this. We didn't look for each other. It happened the way it was supposed to happen."
James says he simply can't "spot any flaws" in Von D and that the two share many common interests.
"We like the same music, we like tattoos, we like art, everything," he says. "I believe 100 percent that she loves me and you know what? I've never believed that about anybody."
