Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne are quickly becoming one of the hottest new power couples in sports.
They’re not quite at the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift level just yet, but Dunne and Skenes are gaining plenty of attention.
Both were standout athletes at LSU and have been at the top of their sports. Dunne is finishing her college gymnastics career, while Skenes is just getting started in Major League Baseball. And throughout it all, Dunne has been openly supportive of her boyfriend’s early MLB journey.
But as smooth as their relationship seems now, Dunne recently revealed one small thing that almost derailed it.
Livvy Dunne Could ‘Hardly Understand’ Pirates Star Paul Skenes Snub
Both Dunne and Skenes are 22 years old and started dating while at LSU, after Skenes transferred from the Air Force Academy to Baton Rouge.
Everything’s going well now, but Dunne said in an exclusive interview with GQ that there was one early hiccup:
“He wouldn’t follow me back on Instagram,” she said.
Sam Schube of GQ Sports added more context in his feature on the couple.
“He had an Instagram account — what college kid doesn’t? — but rarely used it. Classic no-distractions athlete stuff — but Livvy could hardly understand it. ‘I was like, Who is this kid, and why won’t he follow me back?’ He was basically the only living soul on LSU’s campus not consuming her content: She has more than 5 million followers on Instagram and 8 million more on TikTok.”
It’s a funny story now, and things clearly worked out. Skenes admits he’s not into social media and has even left some of those duties to Dunne. The Pirates pitcher prefers to stay focused on the field.
Meanwhile, Skenes is still adjusting to his new level of fame, while Dunne has been in the spotlight for a while, both online and in the gymnastics world.
“She’s been dealing with all the notoriety and all that longer than I have,” Skenes said. “I view it as, it’s not my job to take pictures with these people, it’s my job to throw, and them wanting to take pictures is getting in the way of that.
“But she always handles everything very well — she’s very comfortable to be around for other people who come up and ask to talk, that kind of thing.”
It’s funny to think their relationship almost didn’t happen — all because of one Instagram follow. But now, Dunne and Skenes are stepping into the spotlight as one of sports’ newest star couples.