TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- As eager as Gov. Charlie Crist is to talk about cutting property taxes, he is equally loath to discuss his relationship with a former beauty queen he met earlier this year at a charity benefit on Jupiter Island.

Kelly Crosby Heyniger, 36, of West Palm Beach, confirmed during a television interview that she has been dating Crist, who is divorced, since February.

Heyniger told WPBF, the ABC affiliate in Palm Beach County, that they see each other about every two weeks "just hanging out, enjoying each other's company."

"She's a lovely person," Crist said Tuesday, but that's all he would say.

Heyniger, a divorced mother of two, said in the TV interview that she is a part-time model, actress and hairstylist.

She won the Mrs. South Carolina title in 2001 and starred in a "Dawson's Creek" episode as Pacey's troublesome girlfriend. She also auditioned for the NBC reality show "Fear Factor" by eating a live earthwork and hiding four lizards in her mouth.

After Crist used "fear factor" to describe the tactics of local government officials who argue tax cuts will force them to lay off police and firefighters, he was asked if that also might have been a veiled reference to his romantic interest.

"Oh no, I'm not going there," Crist replied.