'Bachelor' Producer Opens Up About Pilot Pete Dating Rumors

All season long on "The Bachelor," rumors were flying that Pilot Pete Weber had found love not with a contestant, but with one of the show's producers.

Now that the finale is over — and his engagement to Madison Prewett is also, surprisingly, already over — producer Julie LaPlaca has set the record straight.

People magazine reports that LaPlaca cheekily posted a cozy pic of herself with Weber from New Year's Eve, showing them having a ball in Times Square. "Yes that was @pilot_pete in the tan jacket," she wrote, "no we didn't kiss at midnight."

"But, whoever ends up as his copilot for life is one lucky lady," she continued, "because this guy has a heart of gold." She added heart and airplane emojis for effect.

The photo is a long-awaited follow-up to one she posted on January 2, in which the back of Weber's head was spotted by her followers. At the same time, Weber's dad posted a photo showing LaPlaca eating out with the Webers to celebrate the new year.

As it turned out, the rumors were false — Weber and LaPlaca did not wind up together... but the finale was one for the history books, with Weber calling things off with Hannah Ann Sluss only to rekindle things with Madison Prewett. That love match caused his mom Barb to to make it crystal-clear she didn't approve.

Days later, following a sighting of Weber and Prewett having an "intense" lunch at Granville restaurant, Madison posted on Instagram, “As Peter and I have decided to go our separate ways, I am confident that we will both move in the direction of our purpose and never forget that God has a plan in all things. I will always love and respect him.”

Hours after they announced their breakup, Madison was seen having a girls' night with Selena Gomez.

Gomez documented her run to Target with Prewett and friends as they picked out board games to pass their time during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a video, Gomez asked Prewett, who was seen smiling when the camera panned to her, “Madi, what game do you want?”