Despite a huge age gap, MLB star Pete Rose and his fiancée, Kiana Kim, built a sound relationship and were together until Rose’s passing on September 30, 2024, at age 83.
Pete Rose, the legendary MLB player nicknamed “Charlie Hustle,” died on September 30, 2024, leaving a mark with a career spanning from 1963 to 1986, amassing 4,256 hits.
At the time of his passing, he didn’t have a wife when he took his last breath; however, he left behind two ex-wives and fiancée Kiana Kim.
In addition to his career, his life off the field, particularly his relationship with fiancée Kiana Kim, a Korean-American model and reality TV star, garnered significant attention.
Kiana Kim was born on March 30, 1980, in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Los Angeles from age five.
The Korean-American model crossed paths with MLB star Pete Rose in 2009 while he was married to his second wife, Carol J. Woliung.
In a 2012 interview, Kim revealed she was unaware of Rose’s baseball fame when they first met. In fact, Kiana Kim described their first meeting as a “crazy story.”
Later, Pete Rose and Kiana’s relationship started while Rose was separated from his second wife, Carol J. Woliung, whom he had married in 1984.
With their relationship, Rose and Kiana Kim proved that age doesn’t matter in a relationship. Their chemistry went beyond their 39-year age difference and cultural backgrounds.
Kim even described them as a “modern-day family” that combined different life experiences.
It was in 2010 when their relationship became public when they appeared on The Howard Stern Show.
The couple got engaged in 2011, with Rose proposing on December 31, 2009, as noted in court documents from his divorce proceedings with Woliung.
Despite their engagement, they never married, remaining engaged until Rose’s demise in 2024.
Court documents showed that Pete Rose wanted to complete his divorce so he could marry Kiana Kim. He claimed that his ex-wife, Carol Woliung, was causing delays and being unreasonable.
The divorce was not finalized; however, it didn’t stop Rose and Kim from continuing their relationship.
Together, they raised Rose’s four children from his two prior marriages to Karolyn Englehardt and Woliung, alongside Kim’s two children, Cassie and Ashton, from her previous relationship.
Pete Rose And Kiana Kim Shared Several Public Ventures, Including A TLC Show!
Rose and Kim together starred in the 2013 TLC reality show Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs., which offered a glimpse into their lives as they planned their wedding and blended their families.
The show had six episodes, four on TLC and two on Destination America. It included Kiana Kim’s children and showed the difficulties of their long-distance life as Pete Rose lived in Las Vegas, while Kiana Kim was in Los Angeles.
The show had about 0.78 million viewers when it first aired. However, it was canceled after just one season.
Likewise, Rose and Kim also appeared in a 2014 Skechers commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII, which playfully referenced Rose’s 1989 MLB ban for gambling.
Additionally, they made joint appearances at events like the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation Gala in 2019 and the Steve Garvey Celebrity Softball Game in 2010.
Kiana Kim Went From Flight Attendant To TV Star!
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Kiana Kim moved to the United States at age five. She pursued higher education at Arizona State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing.
After graduating, Kim worked as a flight attendant for Korean Airlines, a role she later left to focus on raising her children, Cassie and Ashton, from her first marriage.
Later, she transitioned into real estate and even earned accolades for her sales volume.
Let alone flight attendant and real estate, Kim also ventured into entrepreneurship by opening a hair salon in the United States, driven by her passion for skincare.
She expressed plans to launch a skincare brand, as mentioned during Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs., though no further updates on this venture are available.
Later, Kim’s modeling career took off in 2009 when she began working with Playboy magazine.
Her association with the brand elevated her profile, particularly after her 2010 Howard Stern Show appearance with Rose.
Rose publicly supported her modeling pursuits, stating in a 2009 KGOW interview that Kim was “beautiful, young, educated” and excited about her Playboy opportunity in Houston.
Later, Kiana Kim also involved in acting with a role in the 2013 film Virtually Heroes, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and featured Mark Hamill.
She also appeared on several TV shows, including The Playboy Morning Show and The Jeff Probst Show in 2013, and an episode of Animal Planet’s Tanked in 2014 titled “Pete Rose Scores a Tank.”
Beyond modeling and acting, Kiana Kim also appeared in the 2014 Skechers Super Bowl commercial alongside Pete Rose.
