Cole Tucker opens up about relationship with Vanessa Hudgens

 Vanessa Hudgens  and her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Cole Tucker, finally went public with their relationship on Valentine’s Day after being spotted together on several dates throughout Los Angeles.

Now, the baseball star is opening up about their union. Tucker spoke about their romance during a spring training session on Friday, according to KDKA.

“I got a girlfriend and she’s cool,” he said. “She’s awesome.”

The 24-year-old went on to say that his new love interest might be visiting him at the Pirates’ training facility in Florida soon, but he hopes that she’ll be given the same attention as other players’ partners when they stop by.

“I love her, but I don’t want it to be like, ‘Oh, Cole’s dating Vanessa,’” he continued. “I don’t want to be treated any differently than Mitch [Keller] having his wife come down or Ke’Bryan [Hayes] having his girlfriend come down.”

Regardless of the media attention, Tucker has no intention of letting this one go. “She’s great. She’ll be around,” he assured reporters.

The High School Musical alum and the baseball star were first linked back in November, when they were spotted holding hands and hugging one another following a romantic dinner in Los Angeles.

At the time, fans were already suspicious that Hudgens had a new man in her life, as she shared a photo of herself dressed up and holding a rose along with the caption, “Date night.”

Fast forward a few months, on Valentine’s Day, the couple confirmed their relationship, with Hudgens posting a sweet image of herself sharing a kiss on the lips with Tucker on her Instagram.

“It‘s you, it’s me, it’s us. @cotuck ❤️💋🤟🏽,” she wrote in the caption. Tucker replied in the comments section, writing, “Big love.”

The MLB player also shared a snap on Valentine’s Day, posting a photo of the pair wearing some bright outfits while cuddled on the couch. He wrote, “Happy V day ❤️ @vanessahudgens” to which she replied, “Melted 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍😝😝😝😝😝💋💕🤟🏽”

This is Vanessa’s first public relationship since breaking things off with Austin Butler, who she dated for nearly nine years before splitting in January 2020.

At the time, a source told PEOPLE that the two had discussed getting engaged prior to the split, and that they “really loved each other and have been through some of their toughest life moments together.”