LSU gymnast and social media sensation Olivia Dunne has revealed that she has returned to Baton Rouge for a fifth season because of her Tiger teammates.
Dunne announced her return to the Tigers in July amid speculation that she would forgo her additional year and move full-time to influence her nearly 14 million followers on Instagram and TikTok.
It wasn’t guaranteed that she would return to college sports, as she had a pretty full life away from LSU due to her huge online profile and romance with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes.
One of Dunne’s most significant partnerships is with the energy drink Accelerator. She was able to connect with Travis Kelce while filming an ad for the brand.
In one commercial, Dunne taught Kelce gymnastics moves, catching a soccer ball as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend looked on approvingly.
Skenes and Dunne have been an item since the summer of 2023, when both were student-athletes at LSU.
Dunne revealed that she returned to Baton Rouge for a fifth season because of her Tiger teammates
One of Dunne’s most significant partnerships is with Accelerator, where she connected with Kelce
Dunne has been dating baseball star Paul Skenes since both were student-athletes at LSU
With Skenes watching nearby, Dunne started her season by finishing fourth on the balance beam without a fall, scoring a 9.825. That routine was her first on beam as a tiger.
Dunne increased her score to a 9.875 and placed third in the Tigers’ final event of the night, the floor exercise. Dunne has also competed on the uneven bars for LSU in the past.
“I have to seize every moment because I know it could be my last,” Dune said via NOLA.com. “We will never get this team back, and we have a special group of girls.”
Dunne was granted a fifth year of eligibility to play college sports because he was on LSU’s roster during the 2020-2021 school year, right in the middle of the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dunne’s recent stay in Louisiana also includes her and Skenes being in New Orleans the night of the Bourbon Street terror attack, after sharing chilling footage of her New Year’s celebrations.
On New Year’s Day, the LSU gymnastics sensation posted two photos from a night out Louisianabut they both seem to be from the night before.
Skenes and Dunne were first pictured with fellow pirate Bubba Chandler and partner Allie Enright in a bar.
Dunne also posted a second image, which appeared to show a busy Bourbon Street hours before the deadly attack a heartbroken emoji.
It is unclear exactly when the group was on Bourbon Street, although the large crowd – apparently cheerful – would suggest it was before the attack.
Dunne’s public romance with Skenes has become an indelible part of her personal brand
Dunne has modeled for Nautica in the past and could land a full-time job in that field
Dunne will keep an eye on her throughout the year as the Tigers try to repeat as national champions
Dunne has a name, image and likeness value of $4.2 million per To3making her the highest-earning woman competing in college sports with $2.7 million over fellow LSU athlete Flau’jae Johnson.
While Dunne hasn’t made performing with Kelce a routine affair yet, her romance with Skenes has become an indelible part of her brand.
She watched his minor league performances in housing at LSU and made sure to travel around the country with him as he rose to the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation and then to an All-Star Game starter.
Skenes enters the 2025 MLB season as one of the best pitchers in baseball and shows no signs of slowing down.
While opening day and the end of the gymnastics season will likely collide, it seems like a perfect gift for Dunne to himself to spend a lot of time traveling around the country to check out the Skene field.