The Curse of George ClooneyA life with Hollywood's hottest bachelor promises riches, fame and excitement beyond any woman's wildest dreams. Until you're dumped.

Photo: Joel Ryan/AP

George Clooney's latest babe is former WWE wrestler Stacy Keibler (right), who he parades on red carpets, appearing blissfully in love—for the moment.

A slender, tanned brunette dressed in a short black cocktail dress by designer Karolina Zmarlak smiles coyly as she weaves her way around the VIP tables at Midtown's Lavo, where she will spend the evening uncorking bottle after bottle of Champagne. As she walks by, a few of her patrons show a flicker of recognition. They think they know her, but they can't place her. Was she a college classmate? Maybe a girl from the gym?

It's rare that a stranger correctly identifies her as Sarah Larson, 32, whose face was plastered across countless glossy magazines in 2008 after she locked up George Clooney's heart.

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A one-time Fear Factor contestant, Larson was working as a cocktail waitress at Whiskey at the Green Valley Ranch resort in Las Vegas when she met the Oscar-winning actor. She eventually quit her job and moved to Los Angeles to start a new life with her leading man.

She accompanied Clooney to the Oscars in 2008—the first time he brought a date—and people took notice. Larson was quickly scooped up by Nous Model Management's celebrity roster, which also represents Paris Hilton. That year she walked the L.A. Fashion Week runway in swimsuits for designer Ashley Paige. Harper's Bazaar crowned her the new It Girl, and she landed on People's 100 Most Beautiful list.

But that was two girlfriends ago. 

Today Larson lives anonymously in New York City, back on the cocktail beat, working the night shift. Colleagues say she hates being associated with Lavo, wants out of the business altogether and aspires to teach yoga full-time. Her modeling agency has dropped her.

"Her not being in L.A. meant us not being able to do a lot for her," says an agent at Nous. "She put her interests into the yoga. We still consider her a friend and there are no hard feelings."

For Larson, the one-time excitement of being associated with Clooney has hardened into annoyance. "Sometimes people recognize her, and everyone who works there knows who she is, but she hates that," says a Lavo source. Larson declined to be interviewed for this story.

Her tale epitomizes the typical two-year life cycle (give or take) of a Clooney girlfriend: a no-name model-actress-bartender briefly turns celebrity-by-association while dating the Hollywood star, only to fade back into obscurity once he moves on to his next affair.