Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson looked like music's most romantic couple at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas this weekend – and it wasn't just for show.

"We're past the honeymoon period," Wentz told PEOPLE. "The truth is, it's crazy to be able to kiss your best friend. It's just a really awesome thing."

And Wentz gets the paternal thumbs up from Ashlee's dad, Joe Simpson. "He's a good kid," Joe told PEOPLE.

Wentz also insists that the couple's affection for each other is very real. "People like to make it seem different than it is," he said Saturday of their relationship. "People will say 'No one holds hands that much.' But I'm like 'Why would you not want to touch the person that you're in love with? '"

As well as performing with his band Fall Out Boy, Wentz was in town to an unveil a wax sculpture Saturday afternoon at Madame Tussauds at the Venetian for the Xbox game Halo.

Later Wentz and Simpson, in a short black dress that opened at the back, were spotted at a VIP table at GQ's event at Jet Nightclub.

The couple turned in early, leaving others in their party including her father and Wentz's fellow band members, well before midnight.

Las Vegas, Wentz admitted earlier, was not his favorite place.

"When I'm here for more than eight hours I feel like my soul is dwindling," he said.

While at home in Southern California, "we hang out in the Valley 90 percent of the time because nobody bugs you over there," he said. "I don't need to go out for a photo op."