‘She kind of lived it’ Paul Skenes says of girlfriend Olivia Dunne as he credits her with helping his MLB dreams

MLB sensation Paul Skenes praised his girlfriend Olivia Dunne, a top athlete herself, for helping him on his initial baseball journey.

Skenes took baseball by storm in his first season as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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The 22-year-old has been regularly scouted by LSU gymnastics star Dunne, who is the highest-paid college athlete.

In fact, their blossoming romance is reminiscent of the relationship between Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and singing icon Taylor Swift, who dominated last NFL season.

Skenes isn’t shy about letting the world know how important Dunne has been of late.

“It’s been great. She’s helped me in so many ways in terms of managing all the excitement,” he said.

“How to manage everything that goes with being a professional athlete, she’s kind of lived it,” Skenes said.

Dunne talked about how she gets more nervous watching Skenes than competing.

“I get more nervous watching Paul because it’s different when you’re not doing it and you’re not in control,” she said in a Bleacher Report video.

“But I’m confident in his abilities and I channel that nervousness into excitement for him.”

Dunne wowed fans in an all-black outfit while watching Skenes last week.

She saw him impress in his seventh start for the team, helping them to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Fans are very happy to see the couple.

“You are a mini Taylor and Travis,” one fan wrote recently on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

“The King and Queen of Pittsburgh,” said someone else.

“I love seeing you two so happy, so cute,” said another fan.

“The best couple in sports right now,” said a fourth fan.

DUNNE AND SKENES’ SUMMER OF LOVE

Olivia Dunne and Paul Skenes managed to keep their relationship a secret before finally going public last summer.

The two met at LSU, but it’s unclear when they started dating.

Rumors of a romance began when Dunne watched LSU win the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, last summer.

And Dunne posted selfies from Fort Myers, Fla., where Skenes was playing.

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and began his professional career playing in the minor leagues in the Sunshine State.

The final clue came when Dunne posed in a Pirates cap before the pair finally went public.

Skenes was excellent again on Sunday, even though the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pirates 3-1.

“He was really good,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Skenes.

“Obviously they came up with a game plan to attack the fastball, to attack the four-seam player.

“From the street he gave up a run and it was on a ball that if it went five centimeters to the right it would be a foul ball.

“I mean, he threw the ball really well.”