HGTV's Jonathan Scott & His Ex-Girlfriend Had A Bigger Age Gap Than We Knew

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that Jonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel got engaged. Before they found each other, the "Property Brothers" co-host was married to a former flight coordinator, Kelsy Ully, though their marriage lasted only two years. Between his first marriage and engagement to the "New Girl" star, Scott was in a relationship with television producer Jacinta Kuznetsov (pictured above right), with whom he shared a much larger age gap than most HGTV fans might have realized. According to Kuznetsov, she and Scott were at a charity event in 2015 when he came up and introduced himself to her after spotting her across the room.

While Scott and Deschanel seemed pretty smitten after their sweet first encounter on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" late-night segment in 2019, it wasn't love at first sight for Kuznetsov. "I was just kind of taking a breather to the side, and he said something along the lines of, 'Oh is this where they stick the troublemakers?'" the Canadian beauty, who is 10 years Scott's junior, recalled to People. "I just sort of, like, shrugged him off, and was like, 'Yeah, I guess.'" But after Scott found her on social media, where they kept in touch for four months, Kuznetsov eventually came around and agreed to give the HGTV star a chance. "It turned out to be the beginning of something truly special," gushed Scott to People. 

The two made no secret of wanting to tie the knot and start their own family. "We definitely want to get married and have kids, but we're just finding joy in our relationship and still learning about each other as well," Scott told the magazine in 2017. They'd only been seeing each other for over a year, after all, but Scott stressed he didn't want to delay the inevitable. But alas, life had other plans for the couple.

More than a year after they opened up about wanting to settle down, Jonathan Scott and Jacinta Kuznetsov sadly called it quits. The "Chasing the West" co-host confirmed their split in a statement he shared on Instagram, saying they decided to separate after coming to the realization they wanted different things in life. "When I met Jacinta in the fall of 2015, I met somebody kind and courageous and a champion for human/animal rights," Scott began (via Extra). "We grew to respect each other fiercely and know that will remain unchanged for the rest of our lives." Unfortunately, "Sometimes life takes you on unexpected paths and those paths aren't always in the same direction." However, it wasn't a bitter breakup by any means. "There's no drama or negativity; no jealousy or hate," he added. "Not even sadness or sorrow."

Kuznetsov also confirmed the sad news and thanked her former beau for the time they shared. "[It] has been a beautiful and rewarding time of my life," she gushed in her own statement. "However, life is funny and sometimes chapters change and this one has." Despite the circumstances, she's able to look back on their relationship with nothing but appreciation. "I lovingly reflect on everything we accomplished together and am so proud of who he is and the love we gave each other," said the producer, while vowing to move forward as friends. 

It's unclear whether their age gap ever became a source of tension in the relationship, as neither of the two elaborated on what exactly led to their split. But whatever their reason, kudos to these two for handling their breakup with the utmost grace!