When Lindsay Lohan checked out of Cirque Lodge rehab center on October 5, she left with a newfound strength in her sobriety and a new boyfriend, fellow rehab graduate Riley Giles.

“We started out as friends,” explains Lindsay, who sat down for an exclusive interview with In Touch in Utah. “We met about two months ago while doing activities at Cirque. We both enjoyed rock climbing,” she says. Their romance started slowly, says Lindsay, 21. “We waited until we were both out of treatment because it made more sense.”

Riley, 25, a professional snowboarder who is remaining in Utah, had been dating a girl named Bree Tierney when he met Lindsay, but he denies that Lindsay caused their split. “I broke up with Bree a week before I started dating Lindsay,” he told In Touch. “We had dated for almost two years, but it’s not like we were engaged or anything.”

The couple plan to date long distance while Lindsay is in Los Angeles filming her new movie, Dare to Love Me. “I’ll probably go to Utah on a weekend and he will hopefully come to visit me in LA.”

For more on Lindsay and Riley — straight from their own mouths — check out the new issue of In Touch on sale now.