In his quest for romance as the leading man on reality TV show The Bachelor NZ, Jordan Mauger endured more dates with eager candidates than he cares to remember. The nation watched as he waded through 23 potential girlfriends, eventually emerging from the experience still single and more than a little bruised. But in the end, all it took was a trip halfway across the world and a chance encounter with an old friend’s sister that led him to “the one”.
“It’s pretty crazy the way it’s turned out,” he tells as he cosies up on the sofa with his gorgeous girlfriend Gina Middleton by his side. “If it weren’t for The Bachelor, I probably wouldn’t have hopped on that plane and headed off. And then I wouldn’t have met this amazing person. So I guess things happen for a reason.”
Jordan, 33, can hardly contain his excitement as he introduces us to his new lady love. Los Angeles-based Gina – who describes herself as “a little bit Kiwi, a lot Canadian and a California girl too” – has captured Jordan’s heart in a way he never knew possible and the smitten film director can’t believe his luck.
“If Gina had hopped out of the car on that first night of The Bachelor, it would have been a very short series,” laughs Jordan. “My feelings for her are just incomparable to anything else. It’s amazing.”
See more photos of Jordan and Gina in the gallery, and click here to read the full story of how they fell for each other. Plus, see all new photos of the loved-up pair only in this week’s issue of Woman’s Day!
Jordan, 33, can hardly contain his excitement as he introduces us to his new lady love. Los Angeles-based Gina – who describes herself as “a little bit Kiwi, a lot Canadian and a California girl too” – has captured Jordan’s heart in a way he never knew possible and the smitten film director can’t believe his luck.
“If Gina had hopped out of the car on that first night of The Bachelor, it would have been a very short series,” laughs Jordan. “My feelings for her are just incomparable to anything else. It’s amazing.”
Gina, 30, was born in Christchurch but left for Canada at age two with her American mum and Kiwi dad.
Yet her ties to New Zealand have always been strong – she spent Christmases with her Auckland grandparents as a child and even has a tattoo of a silver fern on her calf.
And professional DJ Gina, whose dad now lives permanently in Auckland, laughingly admits that falling in love with a Kiwi boy has always been the dream!
The couple’s love story begins many years ago, when Jordan became friends with Gina’s brother Douglas, who was spending a year at high school in Christchurch. Over the following years, Jordan often heard about his friend’s “intriguing” sister, who travelled the world and performed as a DJ at amazing events.
The pair came face to face at Gisborne music festival Rhythm and Vines in 2012, where Gina was DJing, then again two years later when she spent time living in Auckland. While each of them now admits that they harboured a secret crush on the other, it would take another few years for sparks to fly.
After Jordan’s time on The Bachelor, he headed to the US and Canada for some breathing space, where he arranged to stay with his old friend Doug and his fiancee Joanne – and he was pleasantly surprised to learn that Gina would also be there.
And when Jordan walked in the door of her brother’s house in August, her feelings were instant. “I almost fell over when I saw him! I knew he was coming, but when I saw him, it was really incredible. I had such a crush.”
The duo had instant chemistry and Jordan’s two-day stay soon turned into a week, with the reality star even joining the family at a wedding, where he admits the sparks finally flew. “It was a great night because of Gina. It’s when we realised it was definitely more than a friendship.”
Before he left, Jordan gifted Gina his beloved pounamu. Over the next 10 weeks, they talked on the phone every day, sometimes twice a day. Within weeks, Jordan had already booked flights to return to LA in November, where he’s been staying ever since.
Jordan smiles, “We talk about running away together and leaving everything behind all the time. We have lots of ideas, but it doesn’t really matter where we end up. I’ll be happy just as long as I’m with Gina.”
Jordan Mauger Christmas Quick Fire
