It’s safe to say Paul Skenes has had a whirlwind of a year.
The Pirates selected the former LSU pitcher as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB draft after he helped the Tigers win this year’s College World Series. Skenes’s deal included a record $9.2 million bonus.
But even with the massive contract and many lauding him with a comparison to Stephen Strasburg, there’s not much that gets more attention on the internet than his relationship with LSU gymnast and social media star Olivia Dunne. In a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette column, the 21-year-old discussed the landscape of being in a relationship with a high-profile person while navigating the early stage of his pro career with the Low-A Marauders.
Skenes said the relationship is “nice”, but it can be a “pain the butt sometimes” when going places.
“It’s nice, for sure,” Skenes said. “I do wish she [Dunne] 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 was considered last year’s most valued female college athlete, holding a seven-figure NIL endorsement deal and a combined 12 million followers between Instagram and TikTok. Skenes and Dunne began dating because his best friend at LSU was dating Elena Marenas, Dunne’s roommate.
Although the right-handed pitcher is no longer in Baton Rouge, Skenes told the Gazette that Dunne has been with him in Florida and supporting him in his journey.
But as Skenes is just beginning his career, he chooses to remain absent from social media, as opposed to Dunne.
“She doesn’t like seeing some of it [things on social media], too,” Skenes said. “… I’ve told her, ‘People are gonna write about you. … 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.”
