How Maddie Poppe found love on 'American Idol'

By Andrea Dresdale

Maddie Poppe knew she had won the "American Idol" crown even before Ryan Seacrest announced the winner to the world.

"Every week ... I [could] see the card, but I [didn't] ever look," she told ABC News. "But this week ... I knew I was gonna be able to see whose name it was. And I looked over at Caleb [Lee Hutchinson, the runner-up] and I couldn't help but look down at the card, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh! It's my name!'"

She added, "You can see Caleb wink at me and he kinda looks at me and in that moment, I knew that we both had seen the card."

I don’t even know what to say. I couldn’t have dreamt of a more perfect night. Thank you to all of America for believing in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. A year ago I was lost and uncertain how I would be able to make this happen for myself. I cried and worried and wondered if this dream would ever pan out for me. So many times I contemplated giving up, but at the last second my saving grace came through when @americanidol dropped into my life. Not only has this show given me a platform to build my career on, but it has given me countless lifelong friends who I’ll love and cherish forever. All of these things and so much more, but one of the best gifts it’s given me is Caleb Hutchinson. This guy captured my heart from the start and showed me what love truly means. I’ve never cared for or adored another person so much, @calebleemusic you mean so much to me and I’m so blessed to be able to have had you alongside me throughout this journey and hopefully for many more moons to come, xo. Thank you everyone, this is truly everything I’ve ever wanted and I absolutely CANNOT believe this is my life. So blessed, so grateful. Thank you. ??

A post shared by Maddie Poppe (@maddiepoppe) on May 22, 2018 at 11:25am PDT

Hutchinson didn't mind losing to Maddie and revealed they've been a couple since January.

"I was not looking for a relationship," Poppe said. "I've just been burned a lot. But he captured my heart pretty quickly. I mean, his personality just shines, and he makes me laugh more than anybody else in the whole world, so it didn't take long!"

So how did Poppe, who described herself as an "underdog," end up winning? She stayed true to herself. In fact, she was surprised that the show's producers "truly let me be exactly who I wanted to be."

Caption this.. #americanidol

A post shared by Maddie Poppe (@maddiepoppe) on May 2, 2018 at 8:25am PDT

She believes having judge Katy Perry on her side didn't hurt either.

"Early on she was saying, 'Oh, this girl reminds me of myself,' and was tweeting super nice things," Poppe recalled. "To have her support ... to have her say that to the world ... was pretty awesome."