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‘American Idol’ Final Two Maddie Poppe and Caleb Hutchinson Talk Secret Romance

Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Maddie Poppe
Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Maddie PoppeEric McCandless/ABC

The final two American Idol contestants are both winners! Maddie Poppe and Caleb Hutchinson came in first and second place, respectively, during the Monday, May 21, season finale, but they also revealed they were dating – something they had kept private all season.

Related: 'American Idol' Winners

“Watching Maddie win was the coolest thing ever, really,” Caleb, 19, told Us Weekly after the finale. “Before she was my girlfriend and all that, she really has been my best friend since we met. Through this whole thing, me and her haven’t really been apart, and I’m there for her whenever she’s worried about anything and she’s there for me. It’s been great.”

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He said that for the most part, he’s a private person, which is why he didn’t post anything on Instagram about it. However, he admitted, “a lot of people suspected it.” As for when they made it official, he noted, “If you ask me, it was January 21st, which was the first day I laid eyes on her.”

Winner Maddie, 20, stayed mum on the relationship, but did admit she’s excited to record with her new boyfriend. “We need to collab for sure. On the tour maybe,” she told Us.

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“I feel so overwhelmed. I don’t have many words to describe this, really. I can’t believe that people believed in me this much and just to make it to the top two was winning already,” she noted. “Even when I got to Top 24, I was winning. Just to have actually been named the winner of the show is incredible because I was myself. I just got to be who I wanted to be and the fact that I am here and I can tell you that I won the show doing exactly what I wanted to do and I didn’t have to change myself for anybody is incredible.”

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