MLB Player Cole Tucker Opens Up About His Relationship with Vanessa Hudgens: 'I Love Her'

Getty Images Cole Tucker Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens' boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Cole Tucker, has nothing but sweet things to say about their relationship.

The 24-year-old athlete opened up about their romance to reporters during a spring training session on Friday, saying, "I got a girlfriend and she's cool," according to KDKA.

"She's awesome," he continued.

Tucker went on to say that the High School Musical alum may be visiting him at the Pirates' training facility in Florida soon, but he hopes that she'll be given the same attention as when other players' partners to stop by.

"I love her, but I don't want it to be like, 'Oh, Cole's dating Vanessa,'" he explained. "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."

Tucker added of Hudgens, "She's great. She'll be around."

RELATED: Vanessa Hudgens Spotted Holding Hands with MLB Player Cole Tucker After Posting About 'Date Night'

The MLB star and the actress were first linked in November when they were spotted holding hands and hugging one another during an outing in Los Angeles.

At the time, Hudgens seemingly hinted that she had a new man in her life and shared a photo of herself dressed up and holding a rose. "Date night," she captioned the snap.

On Valentine's Day, The Princess Switch star confirmed her relationship with Tucker by posting a sweet image of the pair sharing a kiss on the lips on her Instagram.

"It's you, it's me, it's us. @cotuck ❤️💋🤟🏽," she wrote in the caption of the post, to which Tucker replied in the comments, "Big love."

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Prior to Tucker, Hudgens dated Austin Butler for nearly nine years before splitting in January 2020.

A source told PEOPLE at the time 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."

"Vanessa and Austin's relationship had been slowly fading — it was one of those things where you don't even realize it's happening," an insider told PEOPLE following Hudgens and Butler's split.

"The breakup isn't easy, but she's not one to sit around and mope. She's living it up and having fun," the insider added. "She seems really happy and excited about life, honestly."