Olivia Culpo says she thought she was going to marry ex Nick Jonas: ‘My whole identity was in him’

‘I had no brand, no money, and I was in love,’ the model recalled about her relationship with Jonas

Olivia Culpo has spoken out about her previous relationship with Nick Jonas, revealing that she once thought they were going to get married.

The 30-year-old reflected on her dating history during the premiere episode of her reality show, The Culpo Sisters, which she stars in alongside her sisters, Sophia and Aurora Culpo.

After discussing how she won Miss Universe in 2012, Culpo recalled her move to Los Angeles with her boyfriend at the time. A producer then spoke up and said that this previous partner was Nick Jonas, prompting Culpo to ask: “Do I have to talk about that? What part do you want to know about?”

Culpo admitted she dated the singer and said it was a “very formative experience” for her. The pair broke up in 2015 after dating for more than two years.

“I moved to LA with him,” she said. “I had no brand, no money, and I was in love. So that was great, right.”

She shared how she lost she felt when Jonas ended their relationship since she had planned out her future with him.

“When he broke up with me, I was kind of left with no sense of identity,” Culpo continued. “My whole identity was in him, which is a very common story of a young person in love. I thought we were going to get married. I thought all the things.”

Culpo further explained that while the breakup happened at a financially difficult point for her, she also learned more about herself from it.

“And I just remember, night after night, looking up at my ceiling in my apartment that I couldn’t afford thinking, ‘How am I going to pay my rent?’” she added. “I couldn’t even afford my groceries. It was a serious, pivotal moment for me, but it was something that taught me that you can’t give up.”

During an interview with Extra TV in 2015, Jonas publicly addressed his split from Culpo and how difficult it was.

“She’s an amazing person,” he said at the time. “We had a great, beautiful few years together, but it’s been a crazy couple months and I wish the best to her for the future, but it’s tough.”

Both of the stars have since moved on to different relationships. The “Jealous” singer married Priyanka Chopra in 2018 and welcomed daughter, Malti, earlier this year. Culpo has been dating San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey since 2019. She previously dated multiple athletes, including football players Danny Amendola and Tim Tebow.

Earlier this week, the model opened up about her relationship and said she made an exception to her “no athletes ever again” dating rule when she met McCaffrey.

“He’s just the best, I feel like he is really everything that I could ever ask for,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “So I never have to worry about anything. I think that was the reason why I didn’t want to date an athlete, no offence, because there is a reputation there.

She praised her boyfriend for his “great family” and the way in which he treats them.

“We have a lot in common in that respect,” she added. “I feel like you can really tell who a person is by the people that raise them, and I just love his parents so much. They have a great relationship.”