Is Bobby Flay dating January Jones?

Now that Giada de Laurentiis has a brand-new boyfriend, rumors about Bobby Flay dating are flying faster and furiouser than salty insults across a Kitchen Stadium set during an Iron Chef taping. The most prominent of these focuses on Flay and an alleged old flame–one with whom he may have had a relationship during the final years of his marriage to Stephanie March. Could Bobby Flay be dating January Jones?

It’s not as far-fetched an idea as it might seem at first. The celebrity chef has been linked with the Mad Men and Last Man On Earth star before, and in a rather salacious manner. The two were spotted having dinner together in Las Vegas several years ago; according to the eyewitness, the pair were enjoying a lot more than their meals:

When I was leaving, they were both in the booths where the fireplace was. At the Peppermill, the fireplace area is where the ‘couples’ usually sit. They were sitting very close to each other, talking, laughing, and slight touching involved. It looked a lot like they were just flirting back and forth with each other. They looked like they were an item. I thought maybe his wife and him had gotten a divorce but I checked online to my surprise that he was still married? So I don’t know what the deal is.. But I believe there is something there.

Since that initial report–and since Flay filed for divorce from Stephanie March last year–rumors about Bobby Flay dating have all involved January Jones in some form. Things got especially tense when, in the heat of the divorce (and the rumors, some allegedly substantiated, of Flay carrying on multiple affairs during his marriage), rumors stated Flay was actually the father of January Jones’ child.

Jones has kept quiet regarding the identity of son Xander’s father ever since his birth in September of 2011. Observers pointed out that Jones became pregnant shortly after her alleged Las Vegas encounter with Flay, and a Globe report from earlier this year went so far as to claim that Xander looks like Bobby.

At the same time, detractors point out that it’s unlikely such a bombshell would have escaped the notice of private detectives during March and Flay’s divorce. Furthermore, the two haven’t been seen much in public over the past year–though Flay did recently put his New York apartment up for sale, and is said to be looking at moving to Los Angeles, where Jones both lives and works.

(Photo credits: Bobby Flay dating via Rob Rich / FayesVision / WENN.com)