Tomi Lahren. (Instagram/Tomi Lahren)
Conservative pundit Tomi Lahren, who was just suspended from The Blaze days after a controversial pro-abortion rights rant on The View, was dating a Navy SEAL until recently. Jerad Christian was reportedly the inspiration for a tirade on One America News Network in 2015 that made the 24-year-old Lahren an instant conservative celebrity.
On March 20, The Daily Caller reported that Lahren was suspended for at least a week by The Blaze. There already was tension between her and her bosses because of her inflammatory style. But things became even more tense after her appearance on The View on March 17. While on the show, she suddenly showed support for pro-abortion rights and calling pro-life conservatives hypocrites.
“You know what? I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well,” Lahren said.
Here’s a look at her relationship with her former boyfriend and current relationship status.
1. Christian Was the Inspiration for Lahren’s Rant on Obama’s ISIS Policy
In July 2015, Lahren became an Internet star for her speech against President Barack Obama’s policy on ISIS. She called out the Obama administration for their “half-way, half-baked, tip-toe, be-friendly-to-Jihadis mentality.”
The Daily Mail reported that she was inspired by her boyfriend, Jerad Christian. Now 27, Christian was an active-duty Navy SEAL at the time Lahren scored her fame.
Lahren and Christian, who is from Utah, met in February 2015 when he was based at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he was serving overseas in July 2015.
“Jerad is currently on a secret mission and Tomi is very much in love with him. She’s so proud he’s fighting for America,” a friend told the Daily Mail. “Tomi believes in him and what he and all our troops are doing for his country. She said the reason she did the final thoughts segment was because the issues resonated with her because of Jared, he’s her hero.”
2. She’s Now Single
When The Daily Mail published their story two years ago, Lahren’s Instagram page was filled with photos of the two together. Today, these are all gone.
In a September 2016 Guardian profile, Christian is referred to as Lahren’s “boyfriend at the time.” She did confirm that he was the inspiration for that anti-Obama rant.
“It was something that really resonated with me, and I was very angry at the way the media was covering it,” Lahren said of the rant, which came after four U.S. Marins and an active-duty Navy reservist were shot in Tennessee by Mohammad Abdulazeez.
3. His First Deployment Was So Secretive, He Couldn’t Even Tell Lahren Where He Was Sent
Lahren’s friend told the Daily Mail that Christian’s first deployment was so secretive that he couldn’t even tell her where he was going. “Jerad isn’t aware that Tomi is the talk of America right now, they’ll have lots to catch up about,” the friend said at the time.
“His friends describe him as ‘God’s gift to Navy SEALs,’ he is very talented, but he’s a very humble guy, quietly confident,” the friend told the Mail.
One of Lahren’s now-deleted Instagram posts showed a shirtless picture of Christian, with “On this Man Crush Monday…God Bless America. Enough said,” written in the caption.
Other pictures showed them enjoying a San Diego PAdres game together and a screenshot of a FaceTime conversation.
4. Lahren Was Once Linked to ‘Bachelorette’ Star Chase McNary
Lahren was once linked to former The Bachelorette contestant Chase McNary. But McNary told Us Weekly that he’s currently single. He has been dating, but he isn’t in a serious relationship.
“I’ve been dating,” he told the magazine. “Nothing serious yet. Nothing real serious. I mean, traveling a lot, obviously a lot of attention. Just trying to figure out what’s real and what’s true.”
“We were talking for about two weeks, but we weren’t in the same place, so we went our separate ways,” McNary told Us Weekly about his relationship with Lahren. “I have nothing bad to say about her. She’s a great girl.”
5. She Wouldn’t ‘Rule Out’ Dating a Black Guy
Back in December, following her interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah went viral, TMZ caught up with Lahren in New York after she had dinner with Noah. She was asked if she had ever been with a Black guy before, in reference to her a feud she had with Chalamagne Tha God. While she refused to answer that, she did say she wouldn’t “rule out” dating a black guy.
Charlamagne claimed to TMZ that she was going to be on The Breakfast Club, but pulled out of the interview at the last moment. Lehren’s team said the interview was never scheduled, but Charlamagne thought that The Blaze made her cancel.
In a February interview with the Daily Beast, Charlamagne defended his friendship with Lahren. It started off rocky because he made her a “Donkey of the Day” in February 2016 after she went after Beyonce. But then they debated on her network and they continued communicating over email. When Noah’s interview happened, her relationship with Charlamagne came under the microscope.
“It’s honestly just one of those things where it was taken out of context. In my mind, I had every intention of saying something positive. I honestly thought I was riding for women of color. The tweet was like, ‘It would be dope if a woman of color created a platform to control our narratives the way Tomi Lahren did,'” Charlamagne told the Daily Beast. “Because let’s be real: Tomi Lahren is going to be a young voice of the conservative right for at least as long as the Trump administration is in The White House. So where are our voices on the left that can combat a lot of that bullshit? Not necessarily just from her, but in general.”