The Bachelor 's Kendall Long Is Open to Dating After Joe Amabile Split: 'I'm Not Pushing It Away'
Kendall Long is ready to get back in the dating game — once the coronavirus passes, that is.
The Bachelor in Paradise star opened up to PEOPLE about dating in the months since her split from Joe Amabile, joking that she’s waiting for the health pandemic to end before she starts kissing anyone new.
“With all the viruses going around, I can’t be swapping spit, as I’ve been saying,” she joked at the Seagrams Escapes Tropical Rosé Party on Tuesday night.
Once she’s in the clear, Long, 28, said she’s open to finding to love again — but isn’t making dating a big priority in her life.
“Hey, aren’t we all romantics at heart? I feel like that’s something that I want and I’m looking for,” she said. “And I have a pretty strong idea about what I want from a relationship, so I’m not pushing it away, but I’m also not seeking it out right now.”
RELATED: Bachelor in Paradise‘s Joe Amabile and Kendall Long Split
Amabile and Long announced their split in January after over a year of dating.
“We have decided mutually to go our separate ways. Joe has made the decision to move back to Chicago while Kendall will be remaining in her hometown of Los Angeles,” they said in a joint statement. “Our family and friends have always been an extremely important element to who we are as people. We can’t imagine continuing our lives without them closer, especially when thinking of starting a family of our own one day. We both respect each others’ decision and still have a great deal of love for each other. We appreciate all the love and support everyone has given us throughout our relationship.”
They started seeing each other on Bachelor in Paradise season 5.
During a February episode of her podcast Down to Date, Long, 27 admitted she “did not see” their breakup coming.
Joe Amabile/Instagram
“Every relationship has issues, but I feel like — with Joe and I — we were best friends,” she said. “Everything was fun, we were getting a dog together. We had just moved in.”
But then, Amabile, 32, decided to move from Los Angeles back home to Chicago.
“Ultimately what happened was that Joe felt like he would have a better life in Chicago,” Long said. “He also missed his friends and family.”
