Chloé Lukasiak Says She Feels 'Free' After Confirming Her Relationship with Brooklinn Khoury

Chloé Lukasiak is opening up about her relationship with Brooklinn Khoury.

After months of speculation, the actress and dancer, 20, seemingly confirmed last October that she was dating the social media influencer by simply captioning a photo on Instagram with a single black heart. She later made it official by posting a tribute for their one-year anniversary in December.

Now, the Literati curator tells PEOPLE why she's ready to talk about her usually private love life, admitting, "It feels so good for people to just sort of know."

"All of my family and friends have known for quite a while, but to take away that last layer hiding was so freeing," she adds.

Lukasiak says it was "really cool to be able to post" about her relationship. "This is how I feel comfortable. This is how I'm going to do it. You can take it or leave it. I don't really think people owe the world an explanation anymore," she says. "It was more just a decision I made for myself."

Khoury opened up to PEOPLE in December about her love for her girlfriend, calling her "incredible" after losing her lip in a dog attack. "I just fell so hard," Khoury said. "She's the best."

The pro skateboarder's accident happened five days prior to the pair meeting. "I think the main thing I've learned is when someone's going through something as mentally and physically challenging as this, you sort of learn that the most important thing is communication," Lukasiak says.

"Asking what sort of support that person needs that day. If they just need a shoulder to cry on, if they need someone to listen while they rant, if they need advice, if they need encouragement. That's been a really interesting journey for me, because I feel like she is the one going through it and experiencing it, but I feel like I've grown so much as a person because of it," she continues. "It's been really life changing for me as well."

Khoury, 22, has been there for Lukasiak, too, as she navigated publicly announcing her relationship status.

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"When you're sort of exploring a new side to yourself, it's completely foreign," the Pepperdine University junior explains. "And it's like, 'Well, I don't really know what I'm doing.' It just makes everything all the more nerve-racking. But meeting her, it was indescribable, honestly. Sometimes you just look at someone and just sort of know, and that happened. I think everything happens for a reason. And I feel like our story and how we met and just everything about us is the epitome of: everything happens for a reason."

Lukasiak is staying busy balancing school with her career. She released an autobiography, is reviving her successful YouTube channel, and working with Literati, where she's picking out books to help create a reading experience through a curated club for adults which focuses on YA fantasy drama.

"I grew up in a very book-oriented family," Lukasiak says. "My whole family loves reading. Reading provided a lot of escapism for me, when I was on Dance Moms and growing up. It's just always been a really safe place for me. For a while I just had my own little mini book club on Instagram, and I was really enjoying it. Then, Literati approached me to do a real book club, and I was sold from the very beginning."

Lukasiak's Let's Escape monthly book club is available now on Literati's website.