Just three weeks ago, everyone in Hollywood was buzzing about the exotic-looking black-diamond engagement ring that musician Rob Patterson gave Carmen Electra at her 36th-birthday celebration. Well, everyone except Carmen, who, says an insider, wasn’t happy to learn that her fiancé had bought the ring for only $1,650 on Mysolitaire.com.

“She seems really embarrassed,” the insider tells Life & Style. “I think the ring is a real deal breaker. She thought she’d be getting this giant rock. Instead, Rob bought it online for a bargain price!”

Rob, a former touring guitarist for Korn, popped the question in late April, but the insider is already saying the duo, who’d been dating for only a few months, won’t make it to the altar. “Rob doesn’t have a lot of money coming in,” says the insider, “and he’s been driving around in Carmen’s car while she’s working. He’s a total freeloader. Carmen’s starting to realize that Rob may not be able to hold up his end of the bargain.”

This would be marriage No. 3 for Carmen, who was previously hitched to rocker Dave Navarro and briefly to former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

Still, “they aren’t breaking up tomorrow,” the insider says, adding that Carmen’s career commitments will keep the couple apart for much of the summer. “She’s shooting the movie Goodie Two Shoes in Louisiana and has lots of appearances lined up, so she and Rob won’t be together that much. The less time they spend together, the longer the relationship will drag on, but it won’t last. She’ll come to her senses.”

Life&Style