Back in 2010, "Trading Spaces" alum Pennington was in Canada to shoot a television show. Unbeknownst to him, he was in Merrell's home country; and though she was originally from Vancouver, Merrell just happened to be in Toronto, where the crew was stationed.
There may have immediately been sparks between the two, but Pennington couldn't see the writing on the wall just yet, he admitted in an interview with "Daily Blast Live." "We were attracted to each other ... but we certainly knew I wasn't ready," he recalled. And so, Merrell waited while the two deepened their friendship.
Fast forward a decade later, and the longtime pals reconnected through mutual friends only to discover they had a "mutual crush" on one another. This time, at 56, Pennington was finally ready to be in a relationship, and boy, was he about to go from zero to 60. He and Merrell began dating around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began taking hold in the U.S., and the pair ended up quarantining together in Pennington's home during lockdown. It was a make-or-break situation for the couple, being stuck indoors with one another for months. Fortunately, it brought them closer together than ever before. "I never thought I would get married, but she changed that. Glad I waited for the one," Pennington gushed to People. Good thing he turned down that spot on "The Bachelor"!
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