Jonathan Scott always knew he wanted to be a father, but with an unlucky streak of failed romantic relationships, that dream seemed far out of reach. His first serious relationship was with Kelsy Ully, an airline-crew scheduler, who he met and married in 2007.
After tying the knot, Scott relocated from his home in Canada to Las Vegas to be with her. Unfortunately, the marriage failed after two years. The HGTV star explained, “We were young, and there was a rush going into it. She wanted to get married on 07/07/07. So it wasn’t something that naturally happened.”
Scott remembers his divorce period as being “too long” and “too dark.” However, it was not all loss. Scott chose to see the positive and came out with valuable life lessons. His moment of heartache prepared him to find true love in the future. And even though his romance had failed, he still knew he wanted to one day get married. “Being married was a huge part of my life,” he admitted.
Luckily he got another shot at love when he met Jacinta Kuznetsov, a development producer at Scott Entertainment, in 2016. In the beginning, the pair kept a low profile, but fans of their show soon began to notice. Unfortunately, they broke up in 2018 after dating for two years.
Despite feeling heartbroken for the second time, Scott had nothing but kind words. He shared that he and Jacinta respected each other fiercely and that there would be no drama or negativity following the split.
After his two relationships ended, Scott was glad he did not have children with his exes, as that would have made things more complicated for all parties involved. He shared:
“We didn’t have kids or anything. And it really helped me understand what I wanted in a relationship.”
SCOTT DESIRED TO FIND THE RIGHT WOMAN
Scott suffered anguish and heartache during divorce which would later help him appreciate his two kids and new love more. Following his split from Jacinta, he stayed single for over a year. While he found himself strongly convicted to find the right partner, he did not want to start dating for the sake of being in a relationship.
The star shared that he has been blessed a lot in life. He could buy whatever he wanted and go anywhere in the world. Even so, all that still did not feel right without someone by his side to share the beautiful life moments. He shared:
“At the end of the day, coming home to that one person that you know has your back, there’s no better feeling.”
SCOTT ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A DAD
From the onset, Scott knew he wanted to be a father. When filming his shows, he constantly interacted and got along well with kids and loved the notion of using his beliefs to shape the minds of little ones. If only he had his own!
He also knew the right woman had to reflect his desire to start a family. “I want to be a dad, so it’s important for me to have a partner who would play a key role in that,” he mused.
However, he remained open-minded that if all efforts to find the right woman proved futile, he would be ready to start a family independently. The star revealed that he would adopt because he knew that either way, alone or not, he would be a remarkable father to his future kids. He shared:
“I have said to myself that if I don’t find the right person, I think I would probably adopt on my own because I think I would be a great dad.”
When he turned 41 in 2019, the star disclosed that he’d set a deadline to start having kids by 45, even if he had not found a viable partner. He planned on following through with his plans, but fate had other plans in store for him.
FINDING “THE ONE”
Scott had, more than once, admitted he sometimes loved being single. Being in a relationship did not matter as much to him. What was important to him was finding a woman that mirrored his love and goals. And he finally found her!
Scott met his girlfriend “Yes Man” actress Zooey Deschanel when filming an episode of James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” with their siblings Emily Deschanel and Drew Scott.
While it was love at first sight for Scott, they could not start dating as Deschanel was still married to her second husband of four years, Jacob Pechenik. However, a month after the meeting, Deschanel announced she was divorcing Pechenik.
After Deschanel’s divorce became final, she and Scott took it from there. Their relationship moved fast, and in 2021, “The Happening” alum and her newfound love closed in on their dream house. Two of Scott’s long-life dreams had become a reality. He shared:
“I waited my whole life to find Zooey, and I’ve now waited my whole life to have my dream home with someone like Zooey.”
Scott had achieved so many of his life goals in such a short time. He had found his dream woman, bought his dream home, and by association, became a “step-father” to Deschanel’s two children with Pechenik.
That was, however, not the end of it. Scott, Deschanel, and the kid’s relationship deepened after spending the coronavirus quarantine period together. Over time, Deschanel has also embraced her “blended” family and included Scott in a recent Instagram appreciation photo.
In June, she posted a cute photo of Scott and her ex-husband Pechenik, carrying each of her children on their shoulders, accompanied by a sweet caption that read:
“So thankful my kids have these two awesome guys in their lives: @jonathanscott and their dad @jacobpechenik.”
He is also a loving uncle to his twin brother’s baby, Parker James. Addressing his nephew on the Instagram post, Scott wondered if James knew how lucky he was to have Drew and Linda as his mom, adding:
“Get ready… I’m gonna spoil you ?.”
In addition to being a doting father figure to Deschanel’s children and a loving uncle to Drew’s baby, Scott is also a proud fur-daddy to his dogs and wonders whether that qualifies him for Father’s Day celebrations.