Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne teases Pirates pitcher for being 'brave' after word-less ROY celebration
Earlier this week, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was named NL Rookie of the Year. Always one to let his actions precede his words, the pitching ace recently took to Instagram to celebrate.
In his post, Skenes posed with the trophy, surrounded by family, friends, and his LSU gymnast girlfriend Olivia Dunne. The post was submitted without a caption, typical of Skenes' austere persona.
Despite not making his MLB debut until May, Paul Skenes dazzled on the mound of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. In addition to posting some 170 strikeouts across 133 innings of work, Skenes also went 11-3 and pitched to a 1.96 ERA.
Among the numerous comments congratulating Skenes was his girlfriend, Olivia Dunne. In the comments section, Dunne endorsed Paul Skenes' lack of a caption, herself commenting:
"No caption is brave"
Dunne is a varsity gymnast at LSU who announced her relationship with Paul Skenes last summer. In 2020, Dunne began posting videos of her various gymnastics routines on TikTok and soon exploded in popularity. Although the 22-year-old grew up cheering for the New York Yankees, she is now a hardcore Pirates loyalist.
Through her various online ventures and social media prowess, Olivia Dunne has made quite a career for herself, even before Skenes came onto the scene. Now a millionaire with tens of millions of followers across her various platforms, Dunne revealed that in 2023, she received a payment of some $50,000 for making a single social media post.
"The LSU power couple! Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne before hitting the #AllStarGame red carpet" - MLB
Although Dunne's ventures have improved her life immeasurably, not everything has been positive. The starlet has revealed that she no longer attends in-person classes at LSU, and travels with a full-time security detail.
Olivia Dunne beams with pride after Paul Skenes' ROY selection
Having supported her boyfriend every step of the way in his rookie season, Skenes' honors undoubtedly feel like a joint effort. In his own statements to MLB.com, Skenes reflected:
"It's cool, and it's an honor. I think it's just a product of showing up each day and doing the work, and I think the results are going to take care of themselves.”
As both young athletes have such a bright future ahead of them, expect the accolades to continue to roll in. Whether or not they can make their relationship work despite the constant exposure to the limelight will be the biggest test for the couple.