When Paul Skenes officially took his relationship with Olivia Dunne public during an interview in August 2023, the pitcher mentioned the difficulty of navigating social media, much to the ire of her fans. “I wasn’t on it during the season because it’s toxic. There’s no substance to it. It can’t help,” he told the Pittsburgh Gazette-Post. The month following that interview, Skenes uploaded a snap to Instagram of him and Dunne taking in a Louisiana State University football game. The toxicity he had referenced was in full effect. “Most hated man on earth,” an Instagram user commented on the photo of Skenes cozying up with his girlfriend.
The vitriol continued later in the year when Skenes uploaded a three-photo carousel of him and Dunne visiting New York City around Christmastime 2023. “Sleep with one eye open pal,” one follower wrote. Once again, the refrain that Dunne was ashamed of her MLB boyfriend came to light. “She doesn’t post your pics big man,” another fan insisted. Even when Skenes posted a seemingly innocuous photo of himself (sans Dunne) to Instagram in June 2024, fans dragged his girlfriend into the conversation.
Dunne seemingly quelled any speculation about the strength of their relationship when she uploaded three snaps to Instagram of the pair snuggling with each other on a boat ride in Pittsburgh. Even the Dunne-stans admitted that the couple looked happy. “Paul is going to pitch extra good the next game,” one follower joked. Previously, Dunne had spoken about how it felt watching Skenes play.
