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STAR MAGAZINE 2005

THE NEW BACHELOR SCANDAL
IS HE REALLY SINGLE?

Who Is Charlie O'Connell?
He's appeared in a handful of TV shows and movies but is best known for co-starring with brother Jerry in the Sci Fi Channel series Sliders in the late '90s. Born and raised in New York City, Charlie was a champion fencer at New York University. "The most annoying thing Charlie does is play a lot of video games," says longtime girlfriend Dana Cole Minutoli. "And one of his aspirations is to open a miniature golf course."
Charlie is 6'4" (Jerry is 6'2") -- but he's no hoops star. "I beat him in basketball," says 5'5" Dana. "That illustrates how bad Charlie is!"

There are two rumors running rampant across Internet reality TV fan sites about Charlie O'Connell, the actor/model starring in the latest installment of ABC's The Bachelor. One is that he ditched a longtime girlfriend in order to appear on the show. The other is that he may actually still be secretly involved with her!

What's the story? To find out, Star nabbed an exclusive interview with the woman in question, retired Wall Street trader, entrepreneur and aspiring actress Dana Cole Minutoli--who still lives across the street from Charlie in L.A.!

GOOD-TIME CHARLIE?
"Charlie and I were still in a relationship in recent months," Minutoli, 27, tells Star somewhat cryptically. "I don't want to say any more, because I don't know what his show's contract says." An ABC rep wouldn't comment on the girlfriend rumors but this could be the last go-round for The Bachelor, which has seen sharply declining ratings --and no lasting romances The Bachelorette's Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter made it to the altar). If O'Connell, 29, (younger brother of Crossing Jordan star Jerry O'Connell) was already involved with a brainy, beautiful woman, why would he sign on to The Bachelor? "Ask any struggling actor to go on TV with 25 female models and beauty pageant winners, and they'd have a hard time saying no," says Minutoli. "It's sex, publicity and money. But the show looks like it'll be portraying Charlie as a big playboy; I would have preferred to see him the way his friends see him, as a sweet guy."

MEET MARKET
New York natives Charlie and Dana first met in June 2003 at a bar in the seaside resort town of Montauk (where both their families have homes) on New York's Long Island. Dana recalls: "I had just retired from my Wall Street job. Charlie came up to me and said, 'I'm your stalker! Can I talk to you?' Within a week, we were attached at the hip."

O'Connell, who was visiting his family for the summer, was living in an apartment in Los Angeles. "I was already planning to move to L.A. in the fall when we met," says Minutoli, who now owns a designer jewelry business (kismetjewelry.com), and will be hosting an L.A.-based music video series for cable TV. "So Charlie found me an apartment right across the street from his own! He would do wonderful little things for me like my laundry and grocery shopping. And he'd hand draw romantic little cards for me on special occasions; he's more the 'lovable and cute' type than 'hot romantic.'"

WILL HE GO ALL THE WAY?
Does Minutoli think there's a chance O'Connell will find a mate for life on The Bachelor? "Falling in love is always a possibility, but I -- and most of Charlie's friends -- don't believe the show will end in his marriage," says Dana. So back to the original rumor: Is there still anything between Minutoli and her closer-than-close neighbor? "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" she winks.

-- JENNIFER BIRN & ALEX BURTON

© 2005