Cynthia Bailey Says Life's Been a 'Mess' Since Relationship News Broke

Cynthia Bailey says her life's been a mess since she went public with her relationship ... but, she says it's also nice that she and her man don't have to duck people in public anymore.

We caught up with the 'RHOA' reality television star at Better Brothers Los Angeles Truth Awards recently ... and, we had to ask her for a status report on her romance with musician LePrince since we broke the news the two stars were together.

CB jokes her relationship's been a "mess" since we broke the story ... 'cause now the two can't go anywhere in public together without catching eyes.

Bailey says she's not holed up at home hiding from the public ... but, she does admit she's not actively searching out online trolling about her relationship -- instead, going on a social media hiatus.

Cynthia wanted to get a chance to know LePrince out of the public eyesight, she says ... adding she wasn't necessarily trying to hide him from the world, but she wasn't screaming it from the rooftops.

We also asked Bailey for any tips on keeping a relationship private ... watch the clip all the way through to hear how she and her man did it.

As you know ... our cameraperson caught up with Cynthia and LePrince at LAX -- and, while Cynthia tried to stay coy on some answers, her new dude had no problem telling us all about himself.