The Bachelor Season 14 - Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi

‘The Bachelor’ is an American competitive reality show broadcast on ABC in which a supposedly highly eligible single man makes his choice of the ideal partner from a number of female contestants. Season 14 was subtitled On The Wings of Love, presumably because it featured Jake Pavelka, a commercial pilot whose final decision rested with Vienna Girardi, a twenty-three year old marketing representative from Geneva, Florida. Season 14 of ‘The Bachelor’ was the first to be telecast in high definition and ran from January 4, 2010 – March 1, 2010.

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‘The Bachelor’ Jake Pavelka

Born as Jacob Lynn Pavelka on January 27, 1978 in Dallas, Texas, Jake began taking flying lessons when he was just twelve. By 23 years of age, Pavelka was already an airline captain flight instructor and working with American Southeast Airlines. Pavelka’s stint in the entertainment industry began with a few television commercials and programs produced locally in which he appeared under the name of Jake Landrum.

Pavelka’s first major break in the world of showbiz came in May 2009 when he was called as one of the contestants of yet another ABC dating reality show, ‘The Bachelorette’, Season Five. In this show he vied with another twenty-nine men for the hand of Jillian Harris, an interior designer from Peace River, Alberta, Canada but was eliminated in the sixth episode. Pavelka was brought back by the ABC network to star in the title role of Season fourteen of ‘The Bachelor’ and this time he had twenty-five women competing for his affections.

The winner Vienna Girardi

Calling herself, “a huge daddy’s little girl”, Vienna Girardi looked set to conquer another guy’s heart as sparks flew between her and ‘The Bachelor’ Jake Pavelka in Season 14 of the dating reality show. Born in Orlando, Florida, Girardi claimed on the show to be spoilt rotten by her father – wrecking the five cars he has given her - and have a great playmate in her pup Chloe. Girardi is apparently a graduate of the University of Central Florida  and has a Bachelor's degree in Interpersonal Organizational Communications. However this attractive blonde came with more than her adequate share of past relationships. Girardi was engaged to her pastor’s son when she was a senior in high school but broke off later. However when her former fiancé got married to someone else within a month, Girardi admitted eloping with another guy, Joshua William Riley, who she barely knew. The two ended up getting married but were quickly divorced four months later.

Apparently Girardi’s colorful past did not bother Pavelka too much and rather he was attracted to this bubbly and cheerful young woman, one who has had her share of fun and games and is not averse to doing more.

The winning couple’s interaction on the show

One of the first indications of the crackling chemistry between Pavelka and Girardi on the reality show was when the two went bungee jumping. This was also the occasion they shared their first kiss, hanging upside down, literally on top of the world. Pavelka expressed anxiety over bungee jumping, saying he and Vienna had "conquered a fear" together. That bungee jumping date was Girardi's ticket to Pavelka's heart and gave her an edge over other contestants in the early weeks of the show.

The fifth episode of the show saw Girardi going on a two-on-one date with Pavelka and another close contestant Gia to the Napa Valley. Here she got a little lost as she tried to find Jake when he went off to talk to Gia in private. Later Girardi did her best to live up to her naughty girl image as she appeared in Pavelka’s room late at night with a bottle of wine. However Pavelka sent her away, rightly thinking that it would not be fair to the other girls.

Also when the couple took the cruise down Florida’s waterway, it was quite evident that The Bachelor was fascinated by Girardi’s playful ways. Once Jake and Vienna got the boat going, he grabbed her legs and hauled them up on his lap. In fact Jake couldn't seem to keep his hands off from her and looked delighted to be with Vienna. Girardi responded by trying every trick in the flirting manual, including asking him if he knew how to pilot a boat.

That Pavelka would finally choose Girardi as his partner was also anticipated by his successful visit to Girardi’s hometown where he had a good time meeting her parents. Later as Pavelka’s parents flew down to St Lucia, the contest was narrowed between Girardi and 25 year old Tenley Molzhan. Girardi seemed to slip momentarily because of the reputation she had of being difficult to get along with the other contestants on the show. However soon Girardi stole a march over her rival by cavorting in a live volcano with Pavelka. The chemistry between the two was undeniable and it hardly came as a surprise when in the season finale Pavelka gifted the final rose to Girardi and proposed marriage to her.

After the show

However barely a few months after becoming America’s favorite couple, Pavelka and Girardi had a messy break up in July last year which was aired in a television special during Season 6 of The Bachelorette. While Pavelka accused Girardi of cheating on him, the latter hinted that he was more interested in fame than in working at a relationship.

Whatever the reason for their breakup, both seemed to have moved on with their lives. Following the end of The Bachelor, Pavelka was named as one of the celebrity contestants for the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars though he and his partner Chelsie Hightower were the fifth to be eliminated. However Pavelka and then fiancée Girardi made a surprise appearance in a special episode on the dance show. On January 14, 2011, Pavelka made a guest-appearance on the long running soap series The Bold and the Beautiful. Girardi on the other hand has been linked to a series of men - from John Sala and Matt Nordgren to Bachelorette bad boy Wes Hayden - following her break up with Pavelka. Currently she is believed to be single and living in Los Angeles.