Southern Hospitality's Maddie Reese's Joe Bradley started dating in April

Southern hospitality The stars Joe Bradley and Maddie Reese He gave us full details on their relationship timeline – ahead of their wedding in Las Vegas.

“I think we started hanging out around February,” Joe said exclusively. Us Weekly On December 18, while promoting the third season of Southern hospitality, Which will be shown on Thursday, January 2. “I haven't been with anyone or kissed anyone since last winter around February.”

The reality star revealed that he and Maddie “started being boyfriend and girlfriend in the middle of April,” “just before the cameras rolled.”

“We're so happy now,” Joe gushed. He added that Bravo fans will see the couple's “love story kind of unfold” next season, because it was “so fresh” when the cameras were rolling.

“We just started dating weeks before we started filming, so I feel like we're figuring everything out,” Maddie added. “I'm still uncomfortable about getting into another relationship or dating or even putting myself out there, so I feel like it's going to be really fun to watch all of that,” she admitted.

However, that worry doesn't seem to be getting in the way of Maddie and Joe's surprise plan to get married in Las Vegas. In fact, their wedding was in Venice, which Fans saw in the trailer Which was released last month, will be a big part of this season's story.

“I feel like you'll have to listen to find out (if it's real).” Maddie teased During a joint interview with Joe. “I feel like you're watching our whole journey from (when) we just started dating to talking about getting serious and taking that kind of big next step. You'll see that and I'm excited that we're in Vegas when that happens, and this journey is amazing.”

Joe described the wedding – officiated by an Elvis impersonator – as an “epic moment” on the show. He played coy about whether fans should start referring to them as husband and wife, but said Maddie is 100 percent his long-term partner.

“I think Elvis knew it too with the white cowboy hat on, and I think everyone around us finally felt it and knew it,” he explained. “This summer, you'll see who actually believes it (from) the beginning.”

Joe insisted that the Vegas gig was “serious” for him because he “wanted to show my love for it and prove all the haters wrong.”

Although Joe and Maddie are happy in their relationship, they admitted that getting hitched in Sin City was a spur-of-the-moment decision. “I think everything in our lives is spur of the moment, so it's a beautiful thing for us,” Joe said. we. “We're spontaneously crazy people in the best way possible, but it feels right.”

“I definitely had a lot of kissing to do during Thanksgiving at her house,” he joked after they spontaneously said “I do” without any family members present.

Despite raising some eyebrows with their choices, both Joe and Maddie admitted that their romance has been a long time coming.

“I've had feelings for her for years, but we were also best friends,” Joe recalls. “One day I would wake up and say, ‘I have a chance with the girl in my dreams,’ and the next I would say, ‘That will never happen.’ And most of our friends told me that would never happen.

However, his mother was always in his “corner” reminding him that “this is the thing.” Don't be a fool. This is your long term. “This is a long game, Joe.” “I just, it sounds cheesy, but I didn't give it up,” he said.

“Timing was everything to her,” Maddie noted. It was recently She broke up with her boyfriend Trevor StokesWhich fans watched unfold during the second season of Southern hospitalityso she had to “sit with that for a bit” before jumping into another relationship.

“I always had feelings for Joe, but I didn't know if it was a past friendship or not,” she said. weExplaining that it was “very scary” for her to take that leap of faith. “It was definitely worth the risk.”

When asked if Maddie ended up making the “first move” this time, she joked, “I feel like Joe made a lot of (moves).”

“I did the first 300 moves and then it got to the point where I had to give it time and space to make that safe decision, that leap of faith in ourselves,” Joe said. “But I was ready for it.”

Maddie took her time but eventually realized that Joe was more than just her best friend. “I think it's more so (with the timing) that we were in They are both out of the relationship “And it was like, 'Why not?'” she recalled. “That's kind of what happened for me.”

Season 3 of Southern hospitality Premieres Thursday, January 2 at 9pm ET.

With reporting by Cristina Garibaldi