Olivia Dunne and Paul Skenes enjoyed a lavish date night in New York City on Tuesday.
The LSU gymnast and the No. 1 pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2023 MLB draft took a helicopter ride over the city, before they explored Times Square, according to photos Dunne shared on her Instagram Story.
“d8 night,” she wrote over a snap of her and the former former LSU pitcher standing on a helipad.
“Perf night,” Dunne, 21, wrote over a video of the New York City skyline.
The couple cozied up together for another photo while taking in the views in Times Square.
Dunne — who is in her senior year at LSU and the highest-earning female athlete in the NCAA — appears to be home for the holiday break.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model grew up in suburban Hillsdale, N.J.
Skenes, an Orange County, Calif. native, last pitched for the Pirates’ Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve.
The 21-year-old minor leaguer, who helped lead the LSU Tigers to the 2023 College World Series title, confirmed his relationship with Dunne during an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in August.
It came after Dunne was seen wearing his jersey at the College World Series in June.
Skenes explained that he and Dunne got to know each other while at LSU because his best friend was dating Dunne’s roommate, fellow TikTok personality Elena Marenas — and that it was “just a small-world type of thing.”
The MLB prospect said he and the gymnast, who’s in her senior year, don’t pay mind to the things that are written about them on social media.
“It’s worse for her,” he said. “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.’ In my mind, it’s a lot easier to not see it than not get upset over it.”
Skenes also discussed how the couple navigates the attention they receive from fans and overall fame of their high-profile careers.
“It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere,” he said. “If one of us went out in Baton Rouge [La.] by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something — picture, autograph, whatever.
“It’s nice to be able to have that conversation. She does get it. I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it. 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, but that’s something I want for her.”
Dunne said she no longer attends classes in person for “safety reasons,” in a separate interview with Elle magazine over the summer.
The Lady Tigers gymnastics team begins its season in January.
Read more