Inside John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's Opposites Attract Romance: 'She's Brought Me Out of My Shell'

By all appearances John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have always been a perfect match. But the adorable pair who inspire daily #couplegoals didn’t actually start out that way.

“We were always different,” Legend tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I was always a little bit more buttoned up, and she was always more brash and free.” The Ivy League educated musician, 38, hails from Springfield, Ohio while the spirited supermodel, 31, moved around throughout her adolescence before her parents settled in California when she was a teen. It’s there she was discovered while working in a surf shop.

The pair first began dating in 2007, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “I would get a little nervous at first with some of the things she would say, because I didn’t know how people would react,” admits Legend, “I usually played it more safely.”

But Teigen’s bold infectious spirit quickly had him head over heels, and changing for the better. “I think she’s brought me out of my shell a bit, and made me enjoy life a little bit more,” says Legend. “It’s been fun to grow together in that.”

For more on how John Legend balances fame, family and first-time fatherhood, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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It’s a great time for the singer, who is currently executive producing the hit WGN America series Underground. On top of the couple welcoming daughter Luna in 2016, he’s recently picked up multiple Grammys and an Oscar and delved into acting. He credits his latest successes to the love of his life.

“I had quite a bit of success before, but it elevated to a new level after I got married and introduced All of Me,'” Legend says of his 2013 smash hit, a heartfelt ode to Teigen. Since then things have only gotten sweeter. Says Legend, “I’m just grateful and trying to enjoy every moment.”

  • Reporting by SCOTT HUVER

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com