Lady Gaga stuns on avant-garde Vogue cover, talks Michael Polansky engagement

Lady Gaga is a cover girl once again.

The "Die with a Smile" singer, who stars on the October cover of Vogue magazine, opened up for her cover story about meeting now-fiancé Michael Polansky in 2019 through Gaga's mom Cynthia Germanotta.

"My mom met him and she said to me, 'I think I just met your husband,' and I said, 'I'm not ready to meet my husband!' I could never have imagined that my mom…found the most perfect person for me?" she told Vogue.

They met at a 40th birthday party for mutual friend and Napster founder Sean Parker at his house in Los Angeles, with her telling Vogue she and Polansky "talked for three hours." He added that he took three steps into the party before someone let him know Gaga was looking for him.

"I didn't know much about her and honestly wasn't sure what to expect," he told the outlet. "I was struck immediately by her warmth and openness — she was so genuinely curious about what my life was like growing up in Minnesota."

Lady Gaga, Michael Polansky got close during the pandemic

The couple opened up to the fashion magazine about finding love during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I had never met anyone like Michael. He's so smart and so kind. And his life and my life are very different. He's a very private guy and he's not with me for any other reason than that we are right for each other. But I think what I want my fans to know is that I’m just, like, so happy. I'm healthy," Gaga said.

She continued, referring to her May 2020 album "Chromatica" released at the pandemic's peak: "I feel like the last time they heard from me — in this way — was Chromatica, and that album was about an absolutely horrible time for me with my mental health. I was in a really dark place. I struggled for, like, many years before that."

Meeting Polansky, she says, is when "everything started to change. Because I had a real friend who saw the ways in which I was unhappy and why. And he wasn't afraid to truly hold my hand. And get to know me. On a very deep level."

The pair got engaged in April after spending a day rock climbing. And it turns out he's the reason why the "Applause" singer is recording new pop music.

"Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record. He was like, 'Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music," Gaga, 38, told the fashion magazine, with Polansky, 46, adding that "like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean in to the joy of it. On the Chromatica tour, I saw a fire in her; I wanted to help her keep that alive all the time and just start making music that made her happy."

Lady Gaga's Vogue cover comes as she stars in 'Joker: Folie à Deux'

Now, Gaga and Polansky are living with a smile.

This week, she stunned on the red carpet alongside Polansky to attend the premiere of "Joker: Folie à Deux" at the Venice International Film Festival. The much-anticipated follow-up film to 2019's "Joker" received at least an 11-minute standing ovation, according to Deadline and Variety.

On the red carpet, Gaga turned heads in a black Christian Dior gown with a Philip Treacy headpiece as Polansky paired well in a simple matching suit. The couple posed on the carpet as Polansky held Gaga's left hand, which was adorned with a massive engagement ring.

Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars team up on love song 'Die with a Smile': See the retro music video

The pair have been spending the summer overseas. While in France for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in late July, the pop star introduced her partner as her "fiancé" during a conversation with French Prime Minster Gabriel Attal.

As seen in a TikTok video shared by Attal on July 28, the "Bad Romance" singer introduced her partner of at least four years to the French dignitary during a swimming event.

Gaga also ruffled a few feathers at the Paris Olympics during a performance at the games' opening ceremony and lit up the City of Lights. Alongside a fleet of dancers, the Grammy favorite performed a French-inspired set alongside the Seine river with a tribute to Zizi Jeanmaire's presentation of "Mon Truc En Plumes," translated to "My Thing with Feathers."

Polansky and Gaga have been romantically linked publicly since New Year's Eve 2019.

She was previously engaged to actor Taylor Kinney in 2015, but the engagement was called off. The singer was also previously engaged to talent agent Christian Carino. That engagement was called off as well, with the pair reportedly splitting in 2019.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lady Gaga reveals Michael Polansky engagement timeline: 'So happy'