Josie Canseco is ready to give fans a peek into her private romance with Johnny Manziel.
“He’s a sweet Texas boy,” Canseco, 27, exclusively shared with Us Weekly before kicking off MTV’s Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets. “He is close with his family and his mom and his sister and her little ones. I just went to Texas to meet them recently. Everyone was so sweet and welcoming and to see that he has such an amazing family made me feel so comfortable.”
Watching Manziel, 31, with his family also made Canseco “look forward to the future” and where their relationship could go.
“I like to take control of the narrative if possible,” the model explained to Us when asked why she tries to keep her love life off of social media. “I also think there’s a lot of beauty in keeping my relationship personal and between us. I have nothing to hide, but at the same time, I think it’s going to be healthy for us to grow together to be the people we want to be if it’s not all publicized.”
The couple confirmed their romance when they shared a snap of themselves cozying up to one another on their respective Instagram Stories during the Stagecoach Music Festival in April.
Canseco, who was previously linked to Brody Jenner and Logan Paul, says she “learned [her] lesson” when it comes to posting too much about her personal life. At the same time, she’s proof that not sharing milestones doesn’t mean there’s trouble in paradise.
“I like to make fun of him from time to time because I do get the princess treatment, and he takes such good care of me,” she gushed. “I come home for a long day, and he’ll rub my back and give me so much love. He takes such good care of me. I couldn’t have asked for any better right now.”
This summer, Canseco experienced the adventure of a lifetime when she signed up for Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets and found herself living with familiar faces like Kim Zolciak, Chet Hanks, O.T. Genasis, Tyler Posey and Ally Brooke.
While her relationship with Manziel was “relatively new” when filming kicked off, Canseco says her boyfriend is and was very supportive of anything she does in life.
“He is excited to watch with me when it airs,” she shared about the former NFL quarterback. “We haven’t seen too much yet, but he’s supportive. He’s great. No problem at all.”
One thing Manziel can expect to see is a new friendship between Canseco and Zolciak. Before the premiere, the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star gushed over her housemate.
“We definitely had some great chemistry and connection,” Zolciak, 46, told Us. “We had a lot of deep conversations as well. She’s my little buddy for sure.”
Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets premieres Tuesday, July 23, on MTV at 9 p.m. ET.