Jake Pavelka has met his best copilot yet.
The former Bachelor, 46, recently revealed on the “Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous” podcast he met his girlfriend, Amy, on the dating app Bumble in January.
“We matched in, like, the 15 minutes I turned it on,” he gushed of swiping right after a flight from his Dallas home base to Santa Barbara, California. “I said, ‘I’m not looking for a long-distance relationship’ and she said something kind of fun, like, ‘Well, you couldn’t handle it anyway.’ I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ This is probably the girl. She’s so wonderful.”
While Pavelka didn’t offer much details about his romance, he revealed that they are “six years apart” and that his 40-year-old girlfriend “did not watch” any of his Bachelor Nation seasons.
Pavelka first appeared on Jillian Harris’ season of The Bachelorette, which aired in 2009. After Harris, 44, sent him home, he was named the next Bachelor lead. Pavelka notably proposed to Vienna Girardi during the 2010 finale, but they broke up seven months later amid cheating allegations.
“Jake and Vienna have split and appreciate the respect for their privacy at this time,” a rep for the pair told Luxury Handbag Shopping at the time.
Pavelka and Girardi, now 38, rehashed their breakup during an infamously awkward interview with former show host Chris Harrison.
“When we were at home [it was] lonely,” Girardi said during the July 2010 episode of the next season’s Bachelorette. “I just wanted him to be around me and talk to me and kiss me like a normal relationship. My impression was that you were a pilot and we would go back to Dallas and live a normal life. All of a sudden, you were in LA and you were pursuing an acting career.”
While Girardi alleged that Pavelka consistently ignored her, he rebuffed her claims.
“She was excited because I put her on TV,” Pavelka added, adding that he was “disgusted” by Girardi allegedly selling their breakup to a magazine for $90,000, which she denied.
That August, Pavelka spoke to Us about his dream partner.
“I like blondes, brunettes, redheads or any combination,” he joked. “I’m just looking for a sweetheart. That’s the biggest thing. I’m looking for a girl that has a really big heart.”
Pavelka and Girardi later came face-to-face during season 2 of Bachelor Pad in 2011 with their new partners. She later married race car driver Todd Allen in 2017.
