19 August 2023 , 17:18
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has publicly confirmed he and Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne are in a relationship.
Skenes, 21, was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates after leading LSU to the College World Series championship. Dunne, 20, was in attendance throughout the tournament, fuelling speculation about them being an item.
Since then, she was also at his Minor League Baseball debut for the Bradenton Marauders. Dunne shared her presence at the ballpark on social media, showing off that she was wearing a Pirates hat, which only helped further fuel the rumours.
Despite their relationship being one of the worst-kept secrets this summer, neither had publicly confirmed they were together. However, Skenes has now broken rank.
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, they began dating through mutual friends. Skenes describes it as “just a small-world type of thing.”
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The publication details that the baseball player's best friend was dating Dunne's college roommate, Elena Marenas. That is how the two LSU Tigers athletes met.
Skenes tells the Post-Gazette, their shared fame has played a part in them becoming closer and understanding each other. "It’s nice, for sure," he admits. "It's nice to be able to have that conversation. She does get it."
Dunne is a rising gymnast and social media sensation (AP)However, their stature does still present the couple with daily challenges. "It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere," Skenes says.
"If one of us went out in Baton Rouge (in Louisiana) by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something — picture, autograph, whatever. I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it. It does irk me.
He continues: "I don't have any control over it. She really doesn't either. I'm sure it'll get better as I go up levels, but that's something I want for her."
The athlete does not avoid attention anywhere she goes. Dunne has had to hire a bodyguard due to her social media stardom translating into real-life fame.
She cannot attend college classes due to the size of crowds turning up to catch a glimpse of her. Dunne has over 10 million followers across her social media platforms and can earn around £400,000 per sponsored post promoting particular companies.
Contrastingly, Skenes does not engage with social media. “I wasn’t on it during the season because it’s toxic,” he said.
Dunne has yet to publicly confirm she and Skenes are in a relationship (Getty Images)“When you see something positive about you or something negative, it doesn’t matter. There’s no substance to it. It can’t help.”
Their differing stances are something that they have discussed. “She doesn’t like seeing some of it, too,” Skenes said. “It’s worse for her.
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"I’ve told her, ‘People are gonna write about you. People are gonna write about me. If it rattles you, if it makes you upset, you gotta find a way to either not see it or not get upset over it.’"