Photo: stuart okeeffe/ instagram
Jeff Lewishas a new man in his life.
The formerFlipping Outstar revealed on Monday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio showJeff LewisLive that he’s datingStuart O’Keeffe— an Irish chef, cookbook author, and fellow co-host on the show.
Their romance comes weeks after Lewis and his longtimeon-again, off-again boyfriend Scott Andersonfinally called it quits. The two first started dating in May 2019. It was Lewis’s first public relationship sincehe and ex Gage Edward spit after 10 years togetherearlier that year.
O’Keeffe and Lewis met back in November during the promotion ofCook It, Spill It, Throw It: The Not-So-Real Housewives Parody Cookbook,O’Keeffe’s book with comedian and fellow SiriusXM host Amy Phillips. O’Keeffe followed it up with a visit toLewis’s self-proclaimed “superspreader” holiday party, and has gone on to appear onJeff LewisLiveas a regular contributor.
Speculation of their pairing has followed over the weeks, the two insisting on air they were just friends despite their affectionate appearances on social media (likeat a Super Bowl gathering in February).
On Sunday, they appeared cozy during a group dinner with their fellowJeff LewisLivehosts, according to photos shared to both of their pages. And on Monday, Lewis confirmed that there is in fact a romance between them.
“Just so you guys know, we are now dating,” Lewis, 51, said on the show of him and O’Keeffe, 40. “We don’t need to bulls— anymore, we are dating.”
He also praised O’Keeffe for his communication skills. “What’s nice about Chef Stu is he’s always texting, he’s always sending pictures, he’s always calling,” Lewis said. “I don’t worry about him, he’s always including me in whatever he’s doing, which, I appreciate that. I’m not anxious, I’m not stressed, I don’t worry, I’m not insecure — none of that.”
However, those O’Keeffe’s communication skills did get the chef in trouble over the weekend. According to Lewis, the two got into one of their first arguments when O’Keeffe nearly canceled plans for their Sunday dinner.
“He went away for the weekend to Palm Springs for some tennis tournament,” Lewis explained. “He said, ‘I’m going to go Friday. I’m going to go Saturday. … And the whole weekend he said nice things like, ‘Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, can’t wait, wish you were here, blah blah blah.’ … But then what happened was, [he called me and said], ‘Hey I might be getting another ticket for tennis on Sunday…I probably would stay another night and come back on Monday…You’re cool with that, right?’ "
The situation was problematic for Lewis, he said, because he doesn’t like when other people answer for him. And though O’Keeffe wound up not getting the tickets, the two still exchanged tense text messages, Lewis expressing that his feelings were hurt and questioning whether O’Keeffe’s affections were “disingenuous.”
“I understand it didn’t happen, because you didn’t get the ticket, but there will be a next time with you. There will be. So I’m just f—ing setting boundaries with you,” Lewis recalled texting O’Keeffe.
“I just feel like there’s compromise,” Lewis told to his co-hosts. “He’s already been there for two days and we had plans that he was going to potentially cancel. If he had done that, I would feel like less than a priority to him.”
O’Keeffe then called in to Lewis’s radio show, seemingly trying to make light of the situation. But Lewis didn’t appear to find it funny.
“You were testing me. You were testing my temperature!” Lewis told O’Keeffe, who laughed at an accidental “LOL” text he said he sent Lewis. “That was not a mistake. You typed it and sent it, it was not a mistake. … It’s not funny. Stop laughing. You’re making it worse.”
Cindy Ord/Getty
In addition to the relationship snag, Lewis had an emotion-filled week on another front.
Also on Monday’s episode of his Radio Andy show, Lewis revealed that his weekend began with the sad news that his journey to expand his family hit a bump.
“Embryo No. 9, Jeff Jr., did not make it,” Lewis said. “It was very, very disappointing.”
Lewis, who is already dad to 5-year-old daughterMonroe Christinewith his ex partner Gage Edward, said he was “100 percent convinced” the embryo was going to take. “When they said to me it didn’t take, I was like, stunned,” Lewis said. “I was stunned because I was so convinced this was happening.”
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This was Lewis’s only male embryo. He still has another embryo, a female, though doctors told him that embryo “only has a 45 percent chance of taking.”
“I will say, I’ve had a lot, in the last three to four weeks, I’ve had a lot of disappointment, sadness and hurt,” Lewis said, referencing his breakup with Anderson among them. “I had to come to the realization this weekend that Monroe just might be it. … It was hard.”
source: people.com
