Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo split in June, but beginning in late August, sightings began cropping up of them together at nightclubs across the country – and in some instances they were engaged in some heavy PDA.
At the time, sources told PEOPLE that Lachey, 35, and Minnillo, 25, were merely “hanging out” and they were not officially back together.
Well, things have changed. “I am happy in a relationship,” Lachey told Good Day Philadelphia on Thursday. “I was single for a minute, there, and then we’ve kind of patched things up.” Lachey also described Minnillo as “a very smart girl. She’s far smarter than I!”
A source tells PEOPLE that the relationship remains a work in progress. “They’ve always had a lot of love for each other, but they took a little break, and now they’re working on their relationship,” says the source.
Lachey is currently touring the country in a bus for reverse auction site Winnit.com, which he co-founded as part of its “Everybody Wins Tour,” benefiting Feeding America. Minnillo has yet to join him on the road, as she works on her own projects, says the source.