LSU Love? It's True: Olivia Dunne And Paul Skenes Are Dating, MLB No. 1 Pick Confirms

Maybe now social media princess Olivia Dunne will put her phone down. She is dating an extremely eligible bachelor - million dollar rookie pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Of course, the LSU gymnast from Westwood, New Jersey, makes millions as well. Dunne has one of the top NIL valuations of all NCAA athletes at $3.3 million. She also has 7 million TikTok followers - more than any other NCAA athlete - along with 4 million followers on Instagram and approximately 111,300 followers on Twitter.

Dunne, who will be 21 on Oct. 1, also has lucrative endorsement deals with Bodyarmor, American Eagle Outfitters, Vuori and others. Name, Image & Likeness was basically made for her.

The 5-foot-5 academic All-American and regular SEC academic honor roll member competes in the All-Around event for the Tigers and will be a senior in the 2023-24 season.

Olivia Dunne Watched Paul Skenes' Class A Debut

Skenes, who turned 21 on May 29, signed the richest rookie contract in Major League Baseball history last month at $9.2 million. The Pittsburgh Pirates made him the No. 1 pick of the MLB Draft last July 9. A native of Fullerton, California, who transferred to LSU from Air Force before the 2022-23 season, Skenes is more than a foot taller than Dunne at 6-6.

The powerful right-hander led the Tigers to the national championship last June with a 13-2 record and 1.69 ERA with a Southeastern Conference record 209 strikeouts.

Could this be Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio all over again?

Skenes confirmed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story Friday that he and Dunne are dating. Rumors have been swirling for weeks.

"Just a small-world type of thing," Skenes said and added his best friend at LSU was dating a friend of Dunne's. Dunne watched Skenes make his debut in Class A minor league baseball on Tuesday with the Pirates' affiliate in Bradenton, Florida.

Olivia Dunne began watching the game from behind home plate, but had to move to the broadcast booth because so many fans would not leave her alone.

Former LSU Pitcher Met Dunne Through A Friend

"I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it," Skenes said. "It does irk me. 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. That's something I want for her."

Skenes is not expected to be in the minors long. Some have said he could pitch in the Majors this season.

"It’s nice, for sure,” Skenes said of dating Dunne. "It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere. If one of us went out in Baton Rouge by ourselves, there’s probably going to be someone there asking for something — picture, autograph, whatever."

The two obviously have one major thing in common. Both are rock stars.

"It’s nice to be able to have that conversation (about fame). She does get it," Skenes said.

Olivia Dunne Is Social Media Queen

Unlike Dunne, Skenes tries to stay away from social media. And Dunne may be leaning that way, too, now.

"She doesn’t like seeing some of it, too" he said. "It’s worse for her. I’ve told her, ‘People are going to write about you. People are going to write about me. If it rattles you, if it makes you upset, you've got to find a way to either not see it or not get upset over it.’ In my mind, it’s a lot easier to not see it than not get upset over it."

Sounds like a plan.