The Bachelor alum Maria Georgas revealed she previously got to know Drake when she dated one of his best friends.
“We’re cool, so I don’t mind talking about this. He owned a restaurant with Drake in Toronto,” Maria, 29, said about her ex – who she did not name – while appearing on the Tuesday, May 7, episode of “The Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “Drake is a big thing in Toronto, obviously. It’s just not as crazy to think that there are ties to Drake in Toronto.”
She went on to call Drake, 37, “the most amazing person,” adding, “He is so kind and so sweet.”
Cohost Serena Pitt, who is also a Toronto native, said that she believed Maria because it’s not uncommon for people to have celebrity connections in the Canadian city.
“That’s where that tie came in. I got to meet Drake and know him through my ex. They were running a restaurant together,” Maria explained. “It was a very popular restaurant at the time called Fring’s. Now my other friend owns the new place. It’s called Marbl now.”
Bachelor Nation first got to know Maria when she competed for Joey Graziadei’s heart during season 28 of The Bachelor. While she didn’t end up finding love with Joey, 28, the Canada native has embraced her newfound fame after becoming a fan favorite.
She recently appeared on the April 30 episode of “Call Her Daddy,” where she confirmed speculation that she had been asked to star on the next season of The Bachelorette.
“It was set in stone. I was it,” Maria told host Alex Cooper about the gig. However, she revealed that she ultimately backed out after becoming overwhelmed with the process.
She continued, “When everyone around me was so supportive of me being in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I took a second. I’m like, ‘Why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?’ It took me realizing that it’s just not my time [and] I was like, ‘Respectfully, I need to decline. I need to take a step back.’”
Many fans hoped that Maria would be the franchise’s next leading lady, and were shocked when Jenn Tran was announced as the season 21 star. Despite the sad reactions to Maria not starring on the show, she insisted that Jenn, 26, is the perfect person for the job.
“Jenn, though, was the perfect pick,” she continued. “She is the most perfect bachelorette in my eyes. I couldn’t think of anyone better to do this. She was so ready for it, and that was enough for me to kind of say, ‘Yeah, it’s not my time.’”
