The 20-year-old Idol 5 sixth-place finisher is dating 24-year-old Nashville Predators forward Jordin Tootoo, **Us Magazine** reported Wednesday.
“We’ve been seeing each other since January, but we kept it under wraps,” Pickler told Us.
Tootoo, who is originally from Churchill, Manitoba in Canada and has Inuit Eskimo lineage, reportedly invited the Albemarle, NC-native to one of his games and the romance began to blossom from there.
“I am this country bumpkin and he’s an Eskimo,” Pickler told Us, adding she plans to visit his hometown this summer. “I’m going to build an igloo!”
Pickler is the second in a line of American Idol blond bombshells dating rising sports stars — Carrie Underwood is romantically involved with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Tags: Kellie Pickler, Jordin Tootoo, NHL, NFL, Tony Romo, Carrie Underwood, American Idol, new couple alert