‘It’s Never Too Late’ to Find Love

Cher still believes in love — and is relishing it.

Since the entertainment legend and her boyfriend, music producer Alexander “A.E.” Edwards, went public with their relationship last year, their romance has fueled headlines.

But she says she’s “not surprised.”

“Alexander’s got diamond teeth, tattoos, white hair, and he’s way younger. He’s a beautiful man,” Cher, 77, says of her beau, 37. “Also, I think it’s fun to be interested in somebody else’s love life!” 

The pair met “for about 15 minutes” one year ago at a Paris Fashion Week event, she recalls, and a mutual friend gave him her number.

“It was really shocking, because people just don’t give out my number,” says Cher, who will release her first-ever holiday album, Christmas, on Oct. 20. “I had been telling all my friends, ‘We’re too old to go out with really younger men, and I will never fall in love on text.’ So I did what I said not to do!”

But Cher broke her rules for him “because he’s just so special,” she says.

“I hate when people say people are special, but lots of people say I’m special, so I can say that he’s special,” she adds. “No matter what happens, I love being with him. He makes me laugh, and we have fun. What I learned is that it’s never too late. If you wrote out all the statistics, you would go, ‘Well, this is doomed.’ But we’ve been together a year, and if it was just a year, it would’ve been worth it. I’ve had the best time.”

Indeed, despite the internet’s fascination with the pairing — and their age difference — Cher is choosing joy.

“If you have happiness, you can’t think about how long it’s going to last,” she says. “You have to think about ‘How does it feel?’ and live in the moment.”

And the couple aren’t just romantic partners — they’re collaborators, too. Edwards produced her new track “Drop Top Sleigh Ride,” which will appear on Christmas along with lead single “DJ Play a Christmas Song.”

“He’s a great producer,” Cher says of Edwards. “I let him do ‘Drop Top Sleigh.’ That’s a hard thing to do when you are in love with someone and then you say, ‘OK, here, take this record and do what you want with it.’ But I had faith. And I was so thrilled.”

For more on Cher, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.