Olivia Culpo Reveals What She Told Fiancé Christian McCaffrey After Super Bowl Loss (Exclusive)

The model tells PEOPLE, "I think as time passes, you just become grateful for the opportunity of having made it as far as you did"

Olivia Culpo is endlessly proud of her fiancé, San Francisco 49ers' running back Christian McCaffrey.

Despite the 49ers' defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, Culpo, 31, tells PEOPLE she told McCaffrey, 27, to appreciate his team making it to the NFL's biggest stage.

When asked if she recalls the conversation with her fiancé after the loss, Culpo says, "There was so much. There's so much that leads to that moment and you have to be proud of the work that got you to where you ended up."

"At the same time, the flip side is if you lose, it's really devastating and it takes a while for that to really settle in," says Culpo. "I think as time passes, you just become grateful for the opportunity of having made it as far as you did and hopeful for the future."

The model says she "struggled" during the media frenzy around this year's Super Bowl, which was especially challenging for her and McCaffrey's relationship in the public eye.

"Around the Super Bowl, I definitely struggled with just trying to stay grounded and just not distracted by the noise, and I think one of the things about being in a public relationship that can be really difficult is knowing how to turn off the noise and how overwhelming it can be with the opinions and the eyeballs of others."

Culpo says she and McCaffrey, who have been dating since 2019, have learned that they "just have to continue to turn to each other and really stay grounded, really stay rooted," she says.

Related: Olivia Culpo Says It's a 'Thrill' to Be Engaged to Fiancé Christian McCaffrey (Exclusive)

The couple, who partnered with BODYARMOR for their first joint campaign, "Zero to Hide," to promote the brand's zero sugar, zero carbohydrate beverage, "pray together a lot," says Culpo.

"We try to do what we can to really armor ourselves from the world and create a boundary. And that's where, I know it sounds cheesy, but if your relationship is rooted in God, you do have that armor and it's not about what other people think."

Instead, "It's really about nurturing the relationship, and I feel like unfortunately not every relationship in the limelight is about that and that's why they're really hard to make work," says Culpo.

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For their BODYARMOR campaign, McCaffrey and Culpo filmed a fun promotional video that allowed them to show off their "very playful relationship," according to Culpo. "We make each other laugh a lot. We keep things light, so I definitely think that people are going to get a sense of that," she says of the spot.

Related: Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey's Relationship Timeline

"It's our first-ever campaign together, so it is new for our relationship. Obviously, we've been a fan of BODYARMOR for a long time and he's worked with them for a really long time, so I'm glad that we got to do something together with a brand that we really love."

McCaffrey isn't as experienced as Culpo when it comes to being in front of the camera, but the model says she's "always floored" by his responses to interview questions.

"I have to say Christian is great at speaking. He's a phenomenal interviewee," she adds. "He's so eloquent, he's so well-spoken, but obviously posing and that type of stuff, that's not really... To be honest with you, if he was great at it, we'd all be a little concerned."

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