Richie Sambora Gushes Over Daughter Ava Sambora’s Fiancé Tyler Farrar

Ava Sambora and Tyler Farrar announced their engagement in February

On the most recent episode of the Howie Mandel Does Stuff Podcast, which aired on Nov. 12, the former lead guitarist of Bon Jovi gushed over his soon-to-be son-in-law and his daughter, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Heather Locklear.

Ava Sambora and Tyler Farrar announced their engagement in a joint Instagram post back in February. Last month, the couple celebrated their engagement at an elegant party at Richie’s house with about 50 guests, which a source exclusively described to PEOPLE at the time as, “A beautiful day spent celebrating with family and loved ones.”

Tyler Farrar and Ava Sambora.Ava Sambora/Instagram

“They’ve been together for five [years]. They’re already married already,” Richie joked to host Howie Mandel. “It’s like, you know, my speech [at the engagement party] was, ‘They’re really in love.’ I love the kid.”

“I mean I’ve taken him on vacation,” he continued. “I like to put him right in the limelight so I get to know him, I get to see him, we get to talk.”

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Richie explained how Ava met her fiancé in college at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Ava graduated from LMU in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in women’s and gender studies, according to her LinkedIn. She went on to earn her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at University of Southern California.

“Ava is killing it,” Richie, who left his band in 2013 in order to raise Ava, told PEOPLE last November. He added at the time that she was “getting ready to go for a doctorate.”

Ava Sambora and Richie Sambora.Richie Sambora @therealsambora

During the podcast, Richie praised Farrar: “I mean, he’s just a gentleman and they just really love the hell out of each other. They’ve been together for five years.”

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He then said he’s glad that Ava didn’t end up with a rock star like him. Mandel said he imagines it must have been daunting for Farrar to meet his girlfriend’s rock star dad when they first started dating.

“You know what, it would be really funny because everybody seems to be somehow intimidated, right? And I’d be going, ‘Don’t worry about me, worry about her,’ ” Richie teased.

He continued: “I taught her how to be, you know, just very discretionary and also, you know, you know, respect yourself.”

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