If you’ve ventured anywhere near Twitter today, you will have seen the outrage at news Leonardo DiCaprio may be dating 19-year-old French Israeli model Eden Polani.
Shock horror, a famous good looking movie star is dating a beautiful young woman. Haven’t we seen this story play out a million times before?
If it’s at all true, guess what? Eden isn’t being manipulated. She’s not being forced to hang out with him. She knows Leo’s track record of dumping women once they hit 25.
It’s exciting.. and it’s also transactional. He gets some gorgeous arm candy to flaunt around town, and she gets the glitz and glamour of dating a movie star. We’re talking holidays on yachts, access to the VIP sections in bars, media attention, and a revived modelling career.
Eden Polani’s profile has skyrocketed in the past 24 hours – regardless of whether she’s dating Leo DiCaprio or not, says Jana Hocking
Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, and Eden Polani, 19, (seen together on January 31). While insiders say the movie star and model are just friends, many people were disturbed by the idea of them potentially being together
As someone who has been papped with a famous person before, I can tell you exactly how it’s playing out for Eden right now.
First of all she will have journalists sliding into her DM’s offering interviews, she will have paparazzi asking if they can come take some pictures of her, she will have old school friends reaching out ‘just to say hi’.
She will have brands offering to send her free clothes (for those inevitable pap shots) and modelling agencies who may have once turned her down will be clamouring to get her on their books. At first, it’s a little overwhelming, but then it gets pretty darn exciting.
Never would she have experienced so much attention. People want to know her!
And Eden’s not dumb. She’s posted cheeky tweets of herself in New York, where Leo just happens to be right now, before taking them down. Why? Because it creates intrigue. It keeps the story going. It keeps her relevant. Whether he told her to delete them, or she was teasing the media, it worked.
Because you see, the 19-year-olds of today are savvy. They know what creates good engagement on their social pages and thanks to celebrity mentors like Kim Kardashian, they know how to turn that 15 minutes of fame into a lifelong career
Eden Polani (pictured) is no doubt savvy enough to turn her 15 minutes into much more, writes Jana Hocking
The 29 year age gap has blown people’s minds
Just ask Gisele Bündchen who was 18 when she first dated Leo. She was a relatively unknown model who, thanks to the exposure, went on to land a Victoria’s Secret contract, multiple Vogue covers and became one of the highest paid models in the world.
Would she have got there on her own? Perhaps eventually. Did dating Leo take her career to a whole new level at a much faster rate? Absolutely.
And let’s not diss the benefits of dating an older man. I’ve spoken about it very fondly in the past and the benefits are endless. They seem to get better looking with age, they’ve got a steady income, a good idea of who they are and absolutely dote on you.
Before we all get on our high horses, pointing out that men only seem to want younger women these days, perhaps we take a look at the female megastars who have dated younger gents, because it’s not that uncommon…
There’s not much outrage when older women date younger men, says Jana Hocking (pictured)
Just last year Olivia Wilde, 37, was dating Harry Styles, 26. Sure we were intrigued, but would you say outraged? Nope.
Madonna’s most recent boyfriend was a spring chicken at just 23 years old. She’s 64. Did that blow up Twitter? Nope.
Sandra Bullock was 37 when she dated a then 21-year-old Ryan Gosling. He’s even referred to her as one of his greatest loves. Don’t remember that? Yep, I barely did either.
Even popstar Fergie admitted in an old interview with Cosmopolitan magazine that she dated Justin Timberlake for a brief time when she was 23 years old and he was just 16. Did that ever make the front page? Once again… nope.
Let’s be honest, even if Leo and Eden ARE dating, it’s not going to last, so why not let it play out?
Eden, you date that fabulous Hollywoods star, grace those red carpets, enjoy those yacht holidays and ride it all the way to the bank. Because as I sit here in my one-bedroom apartment, munching on a supermarket sandwich, I sure know I wouldn’t be turning it down. Even if it was just for a few months of absolute glamour.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dating History
The Django Unchained star has famously made a habit of never dating any woman over the age of 25.
GISELE BUNDCHEN (1999-2004)
Gisele and Leonardo at the 2005 Academy Awards
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Leo’s first high-profile relationship was with the Brazilian model, who was 18 when the pair hooked up. She broke off the relationship five years later at the age of 23.
BAR REFAELI (2005-2010)
Bar Refaeli
The actor’s relationship with Bar Refaeli ended after 5 years of dating – coincidentally the same time the Israeli model turned 25.
BLAKE LIVELY (2011)
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
The current wife of Ryan Reynolds dated Leo for just one year – when she was 23.
ERIN HEATHERTON (2012)
Erin Heatherton
The Victoria’s Secret Angel alum was just 22 when she dated DiCaprio in 2012.
TONI GARRN (2013-2014)
Toni Garrn
German-born model Garrn was just 21 when she and Leo broke up after two years of dating.
KELLY ROHRBACH (2015)
Kelly Rohrbach on the set of Baywatch
The Baywatch reboot star was 25 when she and DiCaprio dated from June until around December of 2015, with the break alleged to be a mutual decision
NINA AGDAL (2016-2017)
Nina Agdal and her ex Jack Brinkley Cook
Things ended between Leo and the Danish swimsuit model after she hit 25 in 2017.
CAMILA MORRONE (2017–2022)
Leo and Camila out and about in New York City in May 2018
Leo and the model-turned-actress began dating just months after his split from Nina Agdal. The were reported to be more serious than ever at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the two reportedly split over the summer of 2022.
GIGI HADID (SEPTEMBER 2022 – DECEMBER 2022)
Gigi Hadid walks the runway in Paris in October 2022
Following his August split from Morrone, it was reported that Leo had his eyes on model Gigi Hadid. The pair were seen hanging at NYC hotspots but the romance seemingly fizzled out in December.
VICTORIA LAMAS (DECEMBER 2022 – NOW)
Victoria Lamas pictured
Leo was previously romantically linked to model/actress Victoria Lamas, who happens to be the daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas. The pair were spotted hanging in Hollywood in late December and reportedly rang in the New Year together.
