Chad Ochocinco may have gone from the Cinicinnati Bengals to “Dancing with the Stars,” but he is hoping his time in Hollywood will bring him within close proximity of a lady he has the hots for – “Modern Family’s” Sofia Vergara.
When Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson asked the NFL star if he had an interest in going from “Dancing” to a dating show, Chad spoke about his Sofia crush – a crush he’s been using Twitter to make public.
“I’m single. I’ve struggled with the dating life,” he said. “I haven’t been able to find the right one, so with the help of a show like [that], as long as it’s classy… it has to be classy because there’s a way to do a show like this and be classy… and very tasteful and I would like it… unless you can get Sofia Vergara to date me.”
Chad revealed he still hasn’t met the latin beauty, but he had a message for her, which he delivered to Access Hollywood’s cameras.
“Girl, Sofia… Call me!” he said. “Feel free at any time. Thank you.”
His “Dancing” partner Cheryl Burke also pointed out that Chad has a little crush on one of his fellow “Stars” — mom of eight Kate Gosselin.
“Kate, she’s beautiful to me,” he said.
But, he added, Sofia is the lady he’s most interested in.
“Sofia, call me. Te amo mi amore!” he said.
Should Sofia need any proof of the kind of guy Chad is, Cheryl revealed she’s been enjoying getting to know her latest ballroom buddy.
“His personality… it’s very outgoing. He’s funny. He’s getting more comfortable with me so he’s opening up,” she said.
And the two even joked about getting married.
“I’m not taking his last name… No, I told him no already. I said, ‘Ochocinco is not going to be my last name. I’m keeping my last name,’” she laughed.
“It’d help with the divorce,” he added.
In fact, Cheryl wasn’t aware of how the wide receiver, who was originally known as Chad Johnson, got his numeric-inspired moniker.
“Can you just explain to her in a nutshell why you changed your name?” Shaun asked.
“Nutshell, the name change, I dare to be different at all that I do. The name change was something different,” Chad — who wears #85 on the field — began.
“Why didn’t you say it in French? Why Spanish?” Cheryl asked.
“Because I am of Spanish decent — growing up in Miami. In a nutshell: it’s different, it’s daring, it’s marking – a little bit of marking, a little bit of genius behind it also for those who don’t know.”
And Shaun also cleared up some rumors about Chad’s name, including that he planned to opt for a Japanese version of Ochocinco.
“I wouldn’t do that… the NFL wouldn’t stand for it,” he said. “I had to fight with them to do the Ochocinco and I think really pushing it again, they would toss me out the NFL. Enough is enough.”
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