Livvy Dunne has given a perfectly relatable explanation for her viral reaction to her boyfriend, Pirates ace Paul Skenes, giving up a home run to George Springer during Saturday's tilt between Pittsburgh and Toronto.
Dunne's candid confession
"F***," Dunne, 23, was captured on camera yelling twice after Skenes served up a homer to Springer with his third pitch during game two of the Pirates' three-game series against the Blue Jays. The former Louisiana State University gymnast later addressed the moment on Instagram, responding to her older sister Julz who called the clip "amazing." Dunne wrote, "I actually do cuss a little."
Emotional investment in the game
Dunne, who often supports Skenes in person when he pitches, was among the 40,000-plus on hand Saturday at Rogers Centre as her two-time All-Star partner took the mound for his first-ever appearance in Toronto. Sportsnet cameras caught Dunne in the stands cheering on Skenes as Springer stepped into the batter's box in the first inning. But they also caught her cursing and dejectedly slumping back in her seat after Springer sent a 97.8-mph fastball flying over the left field wall.
Sportsnet commentator Dan Shulman noted, "Paul Skenes is on the mound today and his girlfriend — the equally famous, maybe more famous — Livvy Dunne is here. She was a gymnast at LSU. They met in college and she has eight zillion on social media right now. I believe she attends almost every single game of his and she is invested." Shulman continued, "She is not just sitting around and looking around. She is into the game. Emotional and occasionally profane. But she is invested in the successes and rare failures of her Cy Young award winning boyfriend Paul Skenes."
Social media reaction
After the game, which the Pirates lost 5-2, Dunne took to Instagram to document her whirlwind trip to Toronto and offer up more of an explanation for her passionate response. She captioned a slideshow, "Occasionally profane," borrowing a line from Shulman's characterization. Her followers flooded the comments with supportive messages. One Pirates fan wrote, "Appreciate your passion," while two-time Olympian Sunisa Lee added she was "obsessed with this." DJ Xandra Pohl endorsed Dunne's reaction with a simple, "YESSSS," and Sports Illustrated editor MJ Day called Dunne's response "my fave caption." Four-time NCAA gymnastics champ Jordan Gamboa added, "We love a girl that knows ball."
Skenes' performance and relationship dynamics
Skenes got roughed up by Toronto, throwing 98 pitches and allowing nine hits. The reigning NL Cy Young winner said postgame, "There was good and bad. (I) need to get ahead in counts. I wasn't super unhappy with some of the execution on some of the pitches, but could have executed a number of them better."
Since going public with their relationship in 2023, Dunne is a regular fixture at Pirates games – whether at home or on the road – cheering on Skenes. The two started dating after meeting as students at LSU. As she embarks on an acting career (Dunne has booked a role on an upcoming reboot of Baywatch), she opened up to PEOPLE about how the two are making their long-distance relationship work. "I mean, he makes time to come to my events. I make time to go watch him pitch. I try to make every start I can," she told the outlet earlier this year. "I just think being super present with one another while you're together, while you have that time together, is super important."
Speaking to Jimmy Fallon this month, she admitted she is superstitious when she watches Skenes pitch. "I usually wear an Oura Ring, and it tells me I'm going to explode and die every time I watch him," she told Fallon. "I'm a little superstitious, so I have to scream before every single pitch at the top of my lungs, 'Let's go, Paul!'" Fallon jokingly replied, "So if you go to a game, you don't want to sit in front of you." Dunne laughed, "I mean, unless you want to cheer with me."
