Demi Lovato isn't holding back when it comes to publicly declaring her love for Joe Jonas.
"Every time that I've started to date someone, I've had private relationships, and there's just so much stress trying to hide it and keep it quiet, that if you just come out and say. 'Ok, we're together,' you don't have to worry about keeping it such a secret," she gushed to Us Saturday at a press junket in Burbank, CA.
Lovato, 17, and Jonas, 20, met in 2007 on the set of the Disney channel series Camp Rock and denied dating rumors until a radio interview by Access Hollywood's Billy Bush in March.
"It was not only scary coming out to the public eye, but also the people who we work with, the people who are going to be on tour with us all summer, who are obviously nervous – because you never know what can happen," Lovato tells Us. "But, I think ultimately, everyone who knows us knows that we'll always be best friends, no matter what happens."
The singer says she and Jonas began their relationship as best friends. "We've always had an incredible bond, an incredible friendship," she says. "He knows me better than I know myself, and I know him better than he knows himself."
PHOTO: See a cute pic of Demi and Joe on the beach!
Lovato, who was last linked with Miley Cyrus' brother Trace Cyrus, also attributes the first stirrings of attraction for Jonas to fans. "There's been so many times where if it wasn't for our fans, I don't know if we'd be together, because they've opened up my eyes to seeing – because I thought I was the only one who had a crush," she says. "And then I would see Jimmy videos online, and feel like, 'Oh my gosh! Maybe there is something.'"
The couple recently recorded the duet "Make A Wave" for the Disney Channel movie Oceans and are slated to tour together again this summer.
