Country superstar Carrie Underwood has gone public about her romance with football player Tony Romo after asking him to be her date at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas last night.

The couple has been romantically linked ever since Underwood gave up her Christmas plans to spend a special day with Romo as he played for the Dallas Cowboys - but both stars have refused to talk about their relationship.

Quizzed about her date at last night's country celebration, the former American Idol winner gushed, "We're really good friends and we hang out and we support each other and everything that we do and it's great to have somebody here who's got your back."

Meanwhile, Romo confessed, "We're just getting to know each other a little better and we'll see where everything goes, but it's just nice to have somebody at the end of the day to talk to who is going through similar things.

"She's got a great personality, so she's really easy to talk to... (and) she loves to talk on the phone."

Underwood revealed backstage that her awards show performance would be the first time Romo has seen his sweetheart play live.

- Carrie Underwood Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)