April 30, 2024
Provided Image/TLC
Jami Amaro, a reading specialist and fitness instructor from Newtown, is a contestant on Season 2 of the TLC reality dating show 'MILF Manor.'
The Philly region has had its share of reality TV representation lately — with Sapphira Cristál on "RuPaul's Drag Race," Montgomery County's Joey Graziadei on "The Bachelor," Delco's Susan Noles on "The Golden Bachelor" and Sweetwater's Sydney Errera on "Farmer Wants a Wife." This week, a Bucks County woman joined the ranks of local reality stars.
Jami Amaro, a 51-year-old reading specialist and fitness instructor who lives in Newtown, is a contestant on Season 2 of TLC's "MILF Manor." In the dating show, which airs Sundays at 10 p.m., "mature hot single moms are looking to find love with younger men."
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"I think that at this stage in my life, I have older kids, I'm an empty nester," Amaro said Tuesday. "And I was finding that traditional ways of finding love might not be working. So I decided to try something completely different and take a shot and see how it worked."
Amaro was born in Northeast Philly. She then lived in New York before moving to Newtown when she had her daughter about 25 years ago. She works as a reading specialist and also teaches one dance class a week at the Newtown Athletic Club, or NAC — an upscale fitness center that refers to itself as "a lifestyle." According to her TLC bio, Amaro "has a reputation for being positive, dancing her heart out, and bringing light wherever she goes."
Amaro has been married and divorced twice, according to TLC. One of her former husbands is Rubén Amaro Jr. — a former Phillies player and executive and current color commentator for the team — but she declined to comment on her previous marriages. She has three adult children.
She'd never heard of the show before, as she "was not a big reality TV watcher." But she said a friend in the entertainment industry had encouraged Amaro for years to be on a reality TV.
"(My friend) said to me 20 years ago, 'I think you'd be great on a reality show,' and for 20 years, she's been throwing things my way," Amaro said. "And I said, you know what, now my kids are older, and I said yes."
Amaro is one of six women on the show — which gets its title from a slang term popularized by the 1999 film "American Pie" — who range in age from 45 to 59.
"I don't judge a book by its cover, but I've always been judged by my cover," Amaro said. "And I know there's so much behind what people see. So when I got to meet each woman, I just enjoyed talking to them, hearing their background and what their reasons were for being here. ... It takes a lot of guts to do this, and we all put ourselves out there."
In the first episode, which premiered Sunday, the ladies began to form connections with the five 20-something suitors vying for their hearts at a scenic Canadian mansion.
After a messy maple syrup challenge, dinner dates and dips in the hot tub, the contestants all received a shock at the end of the episode when the male contestants' fathers showed up. It turns out that the dads, who are all in their 50s, were also there to date the women. The first season of "MILF Manor," which aired last year, also featured a twist: the dating pool included women between 40-60 years old and their sons, who were ages 20-30.
"Initially when I saw the sons, it took a little while to get romantically interested in the young guys," Amaro said. "When the dads walked in, I was like, 'OK, this is where I'm at' and I was extremely happy."
Amaro said to expect more twists as the season goes on. She also said there was definitely some drama between contestants, but that she considers them all her friends after the experience.
"It brought me back to a college experience when I was like 21 living with roommates," Amaro said. "It was so fun."
Amaro hosted a watch party for the premiere at Green Parrot, an Irish pub in Newtown which blasted the reality show on all its screens Sunday night as Amaro and her friends watched the episode. Amaro said she's received support from friends and family, who've told her they're proud of her and are "not surprised" to see her on TV, and also has seen positive comments from "MILF Manor" viewers on social media. On the other hand, she's also seen her share of negative feedback.
"There's a lot of people that are dissing me, dissing the show, because the word MILF is a derogatory term," Amaro said. "But the reality is I am a wonderful mother. My three children and their friends respect me. I have done everything for my three children to be the best mom that they can count on in every facet of their life. And I'm a professional, I work with children. I help children learn how to read, write, spell, speak, comprehend. ...
"I had a lot of fun (on the show) and I went for it and a lot of people maybe don't. But you have one life and you want to make it your best. If you're not hurting someone else and your family and friends love you and they're on board and you feel good about what you're doing, then what else is there to say?"
Amaro did have one last thing to say, though, some advice for the internet trolls. (And an alternate meaning for a certain slang term.)
"We're all looking to be loved and for love and maybe people are doing it in different ways," Amaro said. "Maybe try to just be a little less judgmental and kinder. There are stories behind everybody and I am a respected, hard-working mother, who happens to be considered a MILF. It is what it is, I didn't make it up. My version of MILF is 'Mother I'd Like to Friend.'"
Watch a trailer for Season 2 of "MILF Manor" below:
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