NEED TO KNOW
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Jesse Metcalfe revealed how girlfriend Helene Immel reacted to Scheana Shay detailing their brief relationship in her recent memoir
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The Desperate Housewives alum told PEOPLE exclusively that Immel, whom he has been dating since 2023, “wasn’t even affected by it”
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My Good Side, released earlier this month, saw Shay recounting her brief romance with Metcalfe in 2007, calling it a “real-life fantasy”
Jesse Metcalfe is revealing how his girlfriend Helene Immel reacted to Scheana Shay detailing their brief relationship in her memoir, My Good Side.
“She wasn’t even affected by it,” the Passions actor said of how Immel, whom he has been dating since 2023, reacted to his previous fling when speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the 12th annual Luxury Luncheon hosted by Jill Zarin, Brian Kelly and Sean Koski on July 26 in Southampton, New York.
When asked how he felt about the Vanderpump Rules alum writing positively of their time together, Metcalfe said, “That’s very sweet.”
“It’s nice to have people say nice things about you,” he added.
Sonia Moskowitz/Getty
Helene Immel and Jesse Metcalfe attend the 12th Annual Luxury Luncheon hosted by Jill Zarin, Brian Kelly and Sean Koski on July 26, 2025 in Southampton, New York
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Shay detailed her short-lived romance with Metcalfe in her memoir, which was released on July 22.
The reality star said she and Metcalfe — whom she called “the sexy gardener from Desperate Housewives” and had been crushing on ever since seeing him in John Tucker Must Die — began dating in “early 2007,” with their first date being the Cloverfield red carpet movie premiere.
Shay called him an “awesome guy,” recounting how they spent her 22nd birthday together, with Metcalfe taking her to dinner and karaoke as well as buying her a pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses, which she said she still has to this day.
“Overall, Jesse and I had a great time together,” she wrote, recalling how he would “play the guitar and serenade me with songs like ‘Hey There Delilah'” by Plain White T’s.
“It felt like I was living a real-life fantasy with this guy I’d watched on TV and in movies for years,” she continued.
The “Good as Gold” singer wrote that she and Metcalfe “eventually grew apart” and their relationship “faded out later that summer.”
Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Jason Mendez/Getty
Jesse Metcalfe (L); Scheana Shay (R)
Metcalfe first reacted to news that he was included in Shay’s memoir last week on Tori Spelling’s podcast.
On the July 16 episode of Tori Spelling’s podcast, misSPELLING, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum brought up Shay’s book and that he was mentioned in it.
“I know. She spoke highly of me, which was nice,” he said, remembering that their time together was “pretty brief” and happened a “long time ago, 20 years ago.”
Spelling initially thought she might be “breaking that news” to Immel, who was listening to the podcast recording, as the actor said he “tried to keep that from her.”
Metcalfe recalled that he and Shay “met through a mutual friend who happened to be her boss,” who went to the same gym as him.
“He had mentioned that she thought I was handsome, and we ended up going out, and the rest is history,” he explained.
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My Good Side is available now.
Read the original article on People
