Amanda Kloots and Justin Gimelstob Debut Relationship, and Say It Has ‘Been Absolutely Lovely’ (Exclusive)

Amanda Kloots and retired tennis pro Justin Gimelstob just made their red carpet debut.

On Monday, April 28, the TV personality, 43, and tennis champion, 48, appeared at the Unforgettable Evening at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Women’s Cancer Research Fund hosts events in support of the advancement of breast cancer research.

Kloots and Gimelstob arrived at the event, marking their first public appearance together. Kloots exclusively tells PEOPLE that their relationship is “very new.”

“It’s been absolutely lovely,” she says before noting they’re still in the “courting” phase.

“I hope to never leave that stage,” Gimelstob tells PEOPLE. “I was admiring her, well before she gave me a shot,” he says. He jokingly refers to the first time he saw her at a Formula 1 race in Las Vegas as their first date, but Kloots confirms they didn’t go on their first date around a year and a half later.

Gimelstob adds that, although he is “persistent,” timing is everything, and they had mutual friends who helped facilitate their relationship. Kloots notes that because they met as friends, her 5-year-old son, Elvis, met Gimelstob as one of her friends. Kloots welcomed Elvis in June 2019 with her late husband Nick Cordero.

“It kind of happened very naturally, which is great,” she says.

When asked what they love about each other, Gimelstob says he could list things “all night,” and they would “never get into the event.”

“She’s just an incredibly special person. Obviously, she’s physically beautiful, but the way she handles everything. She’s so classy and has so much grace and is an amazing mother,” he says. “She cares about people. She’s generous in spirit. She has a beautiful energy and is an amazing athlete. I mean, I could keep going and going.”

“He’s a wonderful man, [and] wonderful father,” she says. “I love how he takes care of me.”

Gimelstob won the 1998 Australian Open and French Open mixed doubles with Venus Williams. He retired from professional tennis in 2007. Since the end of his tennis career, he welcomed a son, Brandon, in August 2013. He also tells PEOPLE that he has a foundation, the Justin Gimelstob Children’s Fund, which helps raise money for pediatric cancer and blood diseases.

Kloots told PEOPLE in October 2024 that Cordero “definitely” gave her “his blessing” to find love again through readings with mediums. Cordero died in July 2020 due to COVID-19 complications. He was 41.

“He always says it’s coming. That’s one of the running themes from readings that I’ve had, that it’s coming. I know you’re lonely. It’s coming. I don’t know. We’ll see,” she told PEOPLE.

At that time, she had been dating “for almost three years” and was learning a lot throughout the process, Kloots said.

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More recently, Kloots told PEOPLE in February that she decided to create “something beautiful” with the ashes of her late husband. She is transforming his ashes into a one-of-a-kind diamond ring, which she’ll keep on her finger “every day.”