Cher and Alexander 'AE' Edwards Are 'Not Talking Marriage' but Are 'Very Much in Love': Source

Love is in the air for Cher and her new beau, Alexander "AE" Edwards.

The music legend, 76, and the music executive, 31, have been romantically linked since November, when they were first spotted holding hands. Since then, romance has blossomed between the two — with Edwards even gifting Cher a diamond ring recently.

"They are very much in love," a source tells PEOPLE of the pair, noting that the two were inseparable at a pre-Grammys party over the weekend.

"They held hands all night and were very lovey-dovey and kissing often," the source adds. "They're not talking marriage or anything like that, but they are exclusive and serious."

The insider shares that "Cher was smiling the entire time" as she enjoyed a night out with her beau, who "stayed by her side" throughout the night.

The age gap between the two is an added appeal for the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star.

"Cher likes that he's young," the source says. "It's exciting for her."

Though she's not complaining about the nearly 40-year age gap — "the age difference for Cher is a plus and not an issue," another music industry insider told PEOPLE in January — Cher has admitted she's aware of how it looks from the outside.

"On paper, it's kind of ridiculous," she said of the pairing during an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show in December 2022. "But in real life, we get along great. He's fabulous. And I don't give men qualities that they don't deserve."

The new love has been a comfort for the singer, too, as she's navigated the painful loss of her mother, Georgia Holt, who died at 96 at the end of last year. "[It] "has helped ease the pain of the loss," a music industry source recently told PEOPLE.

As for that ring, which Edwards gifted Cher for Christmas, the dazzling, engagement-like diamond rock was the "perfect present to help her get through this bittersweet time," the source added.

Cher is no stranger to dating younger men. Before Edwards, she dated several men that were decades her junior, including Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise.

She told Kelly Clarkson that "older men just didn't like me all that much," and she finds the opposite is true with younger partners.

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Before being linked to Cher, Edwards dated Amber Rose for three years, with whom he shares 3-year-old son Slash Electric. Their relationship ended in August 2021, with Rose accusing him of cheating on her with at least 12 different people. Edwards later confirmed the accusation, saying he knew that he "could stop" cheating, but that would be to "deprive" himself of his "true nature."

"I don't want to live like that," he said at the time.

With that in mind, many of Cher's fans tweeted her back in November 2022, warning the music icon of his past history of cheating. But Cher made it clear she wasn't going into this with her eyes closed.

"BABE ENGLISH IS MY FIRST LANGUAGE," she told one follower, in a deleted tweet captured by the Shade Room. "I'M IN ❤️ NOT BLINDED BY IT. KNOW WHAT I KNOW ... SMOKE DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN 🔥."

"As we all know … I WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY," Cher wrote to another fan who said they were suspicious of Edwards's intentions. "What I know for sure, there are no guarantees. Anytime you make a choice, you take a chance. I've always taken chances ... it's who I am."

"I'm not defending us," she wrote in a follow-up tweet. "Haters are gonna hate … Doesn't matter that we're happy and not bothering anyone."