‘My Mom, Your Dad’: Karen Larrea Reveals Love Connection With Troy (Exclusive)
Karen Larrea embarked upon the HBO Max My Mom, Your Dad experience with no expectations, so finding love almost instantaneously took her off guard.
“I truly wanted to keep my options open when I got to the house,” Larrea told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Troy [Petrick] was kind of tucked away like in the corner of the patio. I didn’t spot him at first. And then when I saw him, obviously there was an initial attraction. And I said to him that it was a little like a slot machine bell went off in my head.”
Karen had an instant connection with Troy on ‘My Mom, Your Dad’
Larrea and daughter Breana Symone both knew the instant connection was undeniably electric. “The second we saw the monitors go on, they were together,” Symone said. “It’s like you’re watching your parents, they turn on a monitor and Karen and Troy are right there and make garlic bread together. And I’m like, ‘That’s it, my job is done!’ I’m just going to sit here and have fun now.”
Larrea tried to remain open to dating anyone in the house but just wanted to be with Petrick. Unfortunately, Larrea couldn’t explore her relationship with Petrick or anyone in the house because her time was cut short when she was exposed to coronavirus (Covid-19). “That’s really unfortunate,” she said about her sudden departure from the dating show. “I was the only one, but it was for production safety. So when I left the show, I didn’t leave with Covid. But it was for safety. And I understood why.”
Leaving early didn’t break the love connection
Leaving early didn’t break the bond she had quickly formed with Petrick on My Mom, Your Dad. “We weren’t allowed really to say anything about couples,” she said. “And last week, Troy and I were allowed to say that we’re together. We’ve been together since we left the show. So it’s been really great. That was kind of like a weight off our shoulders, like, OK we can be together.”
She sees this love connection as a long-term relationship. “If that man wasn’t made for me, then I don’t know who was, because that’s what really surprises me,” she said. “Like everything, we have so much compatibility, which is kind of cool, because he was raised on a small Iowa farm. And I was raised in South Florida. Miami is right there. Metropolitan city, Latin family. And it’s just amazing how much in common we have because of how we were raised. And just our values and our morals and our core beliefs and how we have raised our children and how we see our future.”
The fuure looks bright for the couple
Symone seems to be as happy as her mom about Petrick. “Troy is an amazing, guy,” she said. “I’m so happy. As long as he is a great guy, I’m happy. I think that’s all that really matters. He’s an amazing dad.”
The couple currently splits their time between Petrick’s home in Atlanta or in South Florida with Larrea. Larrea said the flights are easy and convenient. But eventually, she envisions perhaps Petrick could move south.”There have been conversations, but we’ve just been together for six months so we’re enjoying the beginning and kind of seeing how to blend our families and to blend our lives,” she said.
Larrea hopes My Mom, Your Dad gets a reunion so viewers can see where the cast is today. The series is currently streaming on HBO Max.
