Michelle Williams is engaged, and her fiancé is opening up about her fans’ deep affection.
As the pair announced exclusively with PEOPLE, pastor Chad Johnson proposed to the Destiny’s Child star in March after a year of dating. And since they took their whirlwind romance public last July, Williams’s fans have weighed in on their relationship — and Johnson says they keep him in check!
“People are very protective of her and her world,” Johnson, 40, says of his bride-to-be, 37. “All the Michelle fans, the Destiny’s Child fans, the Beyhive — all those folks are constantly like, ‘You better take care of our girl! If you hurt her, we’re coming for you.'”
Since they began dating last year, the Believe By Michelle Williams founder has introduced Johnson to both of her bandmates, as well as Beyoncé‘s husband JAY-Z. And when the girl group reunited at Coachella last weekend, Johnson was in the audience cheering her on — and waiting offstage to congratulate her.
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“It was so off the hook. Destiny’s Child was amazing, Beyoncé was amazing — the whole thing was amazing,” says Johnson, who has worked as a pro sports chaplain. “I was super proud of my girl. They just killed it!”
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But Johnson says he caught flak online for posting about the reunion.
“I got a comment because I’ve been really rejoicing with her over the Coachella performance, so I let the world know on my social stream,” he explains. “Somebody was like, ‘You act like you were up there performing.’ And I’m like, you know what, here’s the thing: I love building her up. I think some men would be insecure of that. But when she wins, I win; we win together.”
And Williams is just as protective and supportive of her man.
“He won’t tell me who said it — because he knows I’ll go on Instagram and light ’em up!” the singer says with a laugh.
For more on Michelle Williams’s engagement to Chad Johnson, pick up next week’s issue of PEOPLE.