Glossy, sexy and sophisticated are just some of the words Jordan Mauger uses to describe a special someone in his life. “Her name’s Lucy,” he says, running a hand down the polished chassis of his 1965 Mustang. “Lucy as in loose wheel!”
As the ruggedly handsome new star of The Bachelor NZ lounges on his classic automobile at our exclusive photo shoot, it’s clear Jordan has found love – but he insists he’s got a lot more to go around.
“I’m 32 years old, I’ve done a lot of travelling, I’ve met a lot of people and I’ve found a job I absolutely love – one that never feels like work,” tells the Christchurch-raised assistant film director.
“But one day, I woke up and thought to myself, ‘I’ve done all these amazing things and made all these memories, but I don’t have anyone to share them with.’ Now I’m ready!
“I want to meet that somebody. Someone I can be spontaneous with. Someone I can do the chores with, or go to samba dancing or papier-mâché classes with – whatever! I want to meet that someone who I can’t wait to see tomorrow and if that’s a thought that keeps on going, well, that tomorrow is going to be the next day and the next day and the next day.”
After years of searching, this old-fashioned Kiwi bloke longs to find everlasting happiness –and with 23 beautiful women all vying for his affection on the TV3 show, which starts on March 7, he’ll certainly have no shortage of admirers. But while Jordan doesn’t like to paint a picture of his perfect woman, when it comes to love, there is one thing he refuses to settle on – the romance must feel nothing short of magic.
“People say to me there are punk chicks, rock chicks and Barbies, or ask me if I’m into redheads or brunettes. Well, I don’t know. Maybe I’m into highlighter green? I don’t want to get tunnel vision. I can see myself being with anyone, so long as there’s a spark.
“Like that tingling, over-whelming feeling you get when you watch romantic movies – that’s what love is to me. With dating apps and texting, I feel like the poetry of love is being lost.
“Don’t get me wrong – the magic isn’t gone completely, but it feels a bit like an average card trick instead of a David Copperfield extravaganza. Life’s too short. We deserve the big- screen movie treatment.”
Golden boy
Jordan’s fascination with film can be traced back to his childhood. As a young boy, born and bred near Christchurch’s Brighton Beach, some of his earliest memories are watching kids’ classics Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Sound of Music.
As a teen, he miraculously convinced his school teachers he could submit short movies instead of essays, and one of his enduring claims to fame will be his successful campaign to add a film studies course to the curriculum at St Andrew’s College. But despite how it may sound, the budding filmmaker didn’t spend all his youth glued to a screen.
“I had a brilliant upbringing,” tells Jordan, a big brother to Clark, 30, and Brittany, 28. “Not only did we have the beach and a golf course at our disposal, but we also had a lifestyle block, where me, my brother and sister would have paddock races, and build rafts and tree huts.
“Our dad is mechanically very savvy. He used to race and build his own antique cars, so there was always a tool, a plank of wood or a screw handy. And Mum was very sporty, so she would always encourage us kids to get outdoors and get active.
“I look at children these days with their iPads and PlayStations, and I’m always so grateful that we were able to explore, get bruised and get dirty.”
Early heartbreak
The year Jordan turned 20 will always be significant to him. Not only was it the first time he fell in love, but also the year his parents separated. Speaking of his first serious girlfriend, he says, “In a way, she taught me what it meant to love because what we had together was something way different to anything I had experienced with other girls beforehand.”
Although things didn’t work out, he tells, “I was at a point in my life where I was quite independent. I was living away from home, which is why I think our parents’ separation was probably harder on my siblings. My sister was just about to move out and my brother still had two or three years of school to get through.
“It’s tough to see your parents act in a way towards each other that you never expect they would, but the whole experience definitely brought us kids closer. Seeing Mum and Dad get back into the dating scene and fall in love again was difficult, but they’ve found great new partners now and it’s really quite cool to be at an age when you can appreciate how awesome that is.”
Though his parents might’ve found their happily ever after, for Jordan, Cupid’s arrow has been hit and miss. Soon after the divorce, the intrepid traveller left New Zealand for a stint working on superyachts abroad, where he found but struggled to maintain relationships.
“I wouldn’t say I had given up on the dating scene, but it became less of a priority,” he confesses. “After my most recent relationship ended, which was about two years ago, I did what most single guys would probably do, and threw myself into work and travel. I kept myself busy.
“For a while, I loved the lifestyle. In my line of work, jobs on location pop up quite frequently and when they did, I had the freedom to travel to them. In my downtime, I could up and go wherever, whenever. I didn’t have a girlfriend. I didn’t have to answer to anyone.
“But I’ve learnt that’s not the life for me any more. I don’t want to be some tragic 50-year-old in the Mediterranean, with a pot belly hanging over my Speedos, who still can’t find somebody to love.”
So with his mind set firmly on finally finding Ms Right, the film buff is ready to indulge the old Jordan – the ultimate romantic who’s been known to book out entire restaurants for intimate date nights, or hire pianists to accompany him as he sings to his sweetheart. He’s the nice guy who sends flowers, makes photo collages and labours over meaningful mix tapes. But what’s the catch, you say? He insists there isn’t one.
“I’m single, I’ve had a good crack at meeting someone, but it hasn’t worked out one way or another. The dating scene is crazy out there at the moment. There are apps, speed-dating events, websites, blind dating, parents trying to hook up their sons and daughters with a partner … It’s mental.
“If you told me a year ago that I’d be on this show, I would have laughed in your face, but when you think about it, there are 20-plus women who are all committed to finding love and then there’s me committed to finding love. I’m looking for a real connection where when you find it, you can’t help what happens.”
“I’m 32 years old, I’ve done a lot of travelling, I’ve met a lot of people and I’ve found a job I absolutely love – one that
never feels like work,” tells Jordan, a Christchurch-raised assistant film director.
“But one day, I woke up and thought to myself, ‘I’ve done all these amazing things and made all these memories, but I don’t have anyone to share them with.’ Now I’m ready,” he told us.
Jordan will have his work cut out for him when The Bachelor airs on March 7, with 23 beautiful Bachelorettes all vying for his affections.
He’s committed to the idea of finding love on The Bachelor now, but it wasn’t always that way for Jordan.
“If you told me a year ago that I’d be on this show, I would have laughed in your face, but when you think about it, there are 20-plus women who are all committed to finding love and then there’s me committed to finding love,” he says.
“I’m looking for a real connection where when you find it, you can’t help what happens.”
Jordan’s first experience with love – and heartbreak – came the year he turned 20.
He fell in love with his first serious girlfriend, but it was also the year his parents separated.
“In a way, she taught me what it meant to love because what we had together was something way different to anything I had experienced with other girls beforehand,” Jordan says of his first girlfriend.
Although things didn’t work out, he tells, “I was at a point in my life where I was quite independent. I was living away from home, which is why I think our parents’ separation was probably harder on my siblings. My sister was just about to move out and my brother still had two or three years of school to get through.”
“It’s tough to see your parents act in a way towards each other that you never expect they would, but the whole experience definitely brought us kids closer. Seeing Mum and Dad get back into the dating scene and fall in love again was difficult, but they’ve found great new partners now and it’s really quite cool to be at an age when you can appreciate how awesome that is,” he reveals.
Shortly after his parents’ divorce, the intrepid traveller left NZ for a stint working on superyachts abroad. “I wouldn’t say I had given up on the dating scene, but it became less of a priority,” he confesses, saying that he threw himself into work and travel to keep himself busy.
While the single life agreed with him at first, the 32-year-old says he’s ready to settle down now. “I’ve learnt that’s not the life for me any more. I don’t want to be some tragic 50-year-old in the Mediterranean, with a pot belly hanging over my Speedos, who still can’t find somebody to love.”
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