“I think that everything is a two-way road, so being fair,” Olivia Dunne said while reflecting on her relationship with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes at Fanatics Fest in New York this summer. The 22-year-old has built her career in the glare of gymnastics arenas and digital screens. But in recent months, she has been just as candid about the challenges of balancing private life with public expectation. The former LSU gymnast has stepped into a new role. Stadium-hopping across the country to watch her boyfriend pitch while managing her own business ventures.
“I’m trying to go to as many baseball games as I can. I really just enjoy watching him and he’s always on the go,” she explained. For Dunne, the rhythm of this new chapter has revealed the strains of visibility, and she has found herself looking elsewhere for guidance.
Taylor Swift! The gymnast has openly described Swift as a model for how to navigate life as a professional athlete while carrying her own achievements into the spotlight. Drawing a comparison between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Livvy stated, “[Taylor] has her boyfriend that’s a professional athlete, and my boyfriend is a professional athlete as well.” The former LSU gymnast further added, “And she has her own success and I have my own success, so I try to look at her perspective on things and how she handles criticism, how she navigates.” In her words, “I think that she takes the heat a lot worse than I do, because, I mean, the bigger you are, the more people you have trying to tear you down.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stand as the most-watched celebrity pairing in the world today, their relationship unfolding on stage, on the field, and across countless headlines. Their ability to balance private affection with unavoidable public exposure has made them both icons of modern fame. For Olivia Dunne, whose own romance with rising MLB pitcher Paul Skenes has lived under an equally relentless glare, Swift’s example has become more than entertainment. It has become a guide.
Livvy Dunne further mentioned to PageSix, “It just really resonated with me. It’s a unique position to be in. And I think for some people, women in sports is uncomfortable for some reason.” Dunne was an LSU standout, a face of the NIL movement, and a viral presence online before she ever became known as Skenes’s partner. Yet, the moment their relationship surfaced publicly in August 2023, she found her name attached to every turn of his career as well as her own. At 22, she is learning the rhythm of scrutiny and admiration in equal measure, all while watching Swift navigate a far larger, but strikingly similar, stage.
See the record for yourself… Last year, when Dunne announced her decision to return to LSU for a fifth season under the NCAA’s COVID-19 provision, a storm of derision followed. Detractors mocked her for extending her college career, even though male athletes in football and basketball quietly made the same choice. She pushed back, reminding critics she had given up her scholarship spot for another athlete.
Months later, she filmed a TikTok response to a troll’s sarcastic jab about her eligibility, highlighting the double standard that still lingers in collegiate athletics. In 2021, she even admitted that sudden fame left her struggling to breathe under the weight of so many eyes, revealing the toll of attention that had arrived before her career fully matured. More recently, she faced fan backlash for criticizing NCAA judging practices, and again when her presence at MLB games with Skenes drew hostile comments suggesting she was out of place.
Each moment, magnified online, forced her to adapt quickly to the dynamics of public perception.
In another occurrence, LSU claimed its first-ever NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship the previous year, but Olivia Dunne’s absence from both the semifinals and finals raised eyebrows. Despite her strong season and talk of retirement, fans were left puzzled as the star gymnast watched from the sidelines during LSU’s historic triumph.
This is why Swift’s approach resonates so deeply. Dunne sees in her an individual who has mastered the art of living within constant exposure while refusing to compromise her career or her relationship. For Dunne, the lesson lies in balance: Letting Skenes pursue his professional path while she pursues her own, attending his games when she can, but never tethering her identity solely to his. Her admiration for Swift is not a matter of celebrity imitation but of practical survival in a culture that often demands women justify both their achievements and their choices.
In that regard, Dunne’s story is not merely about gymnastics or baseball. It is about the difficult work of claiming space, of standing firm amid constant judgment, and of learning, as Swift has, that every step forward is easier when guided by one’s own rules rather than the expectations of strangers.
However, since 2023, Olivia Dunne’s growing visibility alongside Paul Skenes has kept MLB fans busy. And this prompts a new question…
Are Olivia Dunne and Paul Skenes becoming baseball’s Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce?
Olivia Dunne’s presence at Major League Baseball games has taken on a significance few could have predicted. When a broadcast in Minnesota placed her image during a “Celebrity Look Alike” feature, the response among spectators and online communities was immediate. Several viewers drew parallels to Taylor Swift’s widely documented appearances at NFL contests, with one remarking on X, “The Taylor Swift of baseball.” Another described the crossover appeal as “awesome,” suggesting that her visibility brings together audiences that do not often overlap.
The comparison rests less on direct professional achievements and more on cultural presence.
Taylor Swift’s attendance at football games alongside Travis Kelce reshaped how audiences perceive the blend of entertainment and sport. Now, Dunne’s appearances at Paul Skenes’ games invite the same conversation. Her status as a gymnast and digital figure makes her instantly recognizable, but it is the public’s reaction that has turned her into something more symbolic. The remark, “Taylor Swift in a baseball cap, now that’s a game,” captured the tone of fans who see novelty in this intersection of personalities and athletic stages.
Whether Dunne and Skenes evolve into baseball’s equivalent of Swift and Kelce remains an open question. The couple’s appearance at Super Bowl LIX earlier this year only deepened the parallel, especially as Dunne, dressed in red, openly announced, “Tomorrow for the game I am rooting for the Chiefs.” That moment confirmed her place not merely as a companion in the stands but as an individual engaging with the wider spectacle of sport and culture.
For those drawing the analogy, the foundation is already established. A celebrated athlete, a visible partner, and a fan base eager to debate what the pairing represents.
The post Olivia Dunne Makes Concerning Confession on Public Appearances at Paul Skenes Games: “Tear You Down” appeared first on EssentiallySports.