'' But Young had his eye on DeGarmo before that moment . `` I was already interested in her as a person before I got to see her with no clothes on , '' he said . `` But -LSB- that -RSB- sealed the deal . '' After the musical closed in June 2010 , Young , 31 , returned to L.A. while DeGarmo , 24 , went on tour with the musical `` 9 to 5 . '' The time apart was difficult , Young says : `` If you love somebody , whenever they 're not around , it sucks . '' So when DeGarmo 's tour ended last summer , Young found a way to keep her close . `` She came to California and kept saying , ` I 'm looking -LSB- at -RSB- apartments , ' '' he recalls . `` And I was like , ` Why do n't you just stay with me ? ' The moment she got here , she realized I was n't going to let her get an apartment . It was like , either we 're doing this or we 're not . And , thankfully , she
-LRB- PEOPLE.com -RRB- -- Nearly two years after falling in love , `` American Idol '' alumni Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo are opening up about their relationship . Season 5 heartthrob Young , 31 , and season 3 's runner-up DeGarmo , 24 , met in the spring of 2010 when both signed on to costar in the Broadway revival of the musical `` Hair . '' `` We became best friends through ` Hair , ' ironically not through ` Idol , ' '' says DeGarmo , who now plays as a New Jersey Mob boss 's daughter on the CBS soap `` The Young and the Restless . '' `` It just blossomed into a beautiful relationship . '' The attraction was immediate for Young , who , along with DeGarmo , had to get naked onstage for each performance of `` Hair . '' `` She said , ` You 're not looking , right ? ' '' Young says of the first time they disrobed in rehearsals . `` And I was like , ` Oh no , not at all . ' But I was looking , and I was like -- sold !