Jesse Jo Stark on Why Yungblud Is Her Sexiest Man Alive Pick at VMAs 2025 (Exclusive)

Jesse Jo Stark has a rather unsurprising pick for PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive — her boyfriend Yungblud!

The singer and actress, 34, tells PEOPLE on the red carpet at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards that the “Zombie” singer, 28, certainly fits the bill.

“He is the sexiest man alive, and he’s got the heart as well to match the outside,” she says on Sunday, Sept. 7. “Insides match the outside.”

Yungblud (né Dominic Harrison) is set to perform a tribute to late rocker Ozzy Osbourne at the VMAs alongside Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Nuno Bettencourt. Osbourne, who died at age 76 on July 22, previously appeared alongside his wife Sharon in Yungblud’s music video for the “The Funeral” in 2022.

Stark says her “lover” is “so excited to honor” the “Crazy Train” singer.

“He’s so rock and roll to me and true and honest and he has the heart, he has the brains, and he has the f—ing voice, so I don’t know who else would’ve done it,” she says of the tribute performance. “It’s beautiful and I think Ozzy would’ve said the same thing.”

Stark — whose parents own the luxury brand Chrome Hearts — and Yungblud went Instagram official with their relationship in 2021.

“We’re really honest with each other,” she says of why their relationship works. “We always say love’s not dead, and I’m pretty intense, and he’s so open, and I think yin and yang. We have beautiful parents to look up to, and I believe in love. That’s it. We believe in love.”

Yungblud previously opened up about his love for Stark in a May episode of the We Need to Talk podcast, calling her “probably the biggest love of my life,” though he admitted at the time that the two were taking space apart.

“She’s probably the most incredible person I’ve ever met and she’s my best friend and I feel so lucky to be in her orbit,” he said. “I got to talk this through with her, and she understood, and she needed a moment. We talk every Sunday. I mean, ultimately, I think in my life, all roads lead to her because I love her. I’ve never loved anything like I love her.”

In addition to the Osbourne tribute, the 2025 MTV VMAs, hosted by LL Cool J, will also feature performances from Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr, Alex Warren, J Balvin featuring DJ Snake, Post Malone, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll, Conan Gray and Tate McRae, among others.

Additional performers will include special honorees Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin and Busta Rhymes.

The 2025 MTV VMAs air live from New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and MTV. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+.