Livvy Dunne Reveals New Pirates' Paul Skenes Boots
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PITTSBURGH — Livvy Dunne regularly shows up for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes' outings, but she added a new piece of fashion that showed her support for her boyfriend.
Dunne wore black boots with Skenes' name and jersey number on the back of it, with the name and jersey number in gold, like the Pirates' uniform, ahead of his latest start vs. the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Sept. 16.
Dunne ordered the boots from Jessica Martini of Official Jersey Cowboy Boots, who makes boots in the style of a jersey.
Other similar jersey boots Martini has made include left-handed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw and catcher Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson, plus NFL editions, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Martini sent Dunne a hand-written letter with the boots and also made Dunne a white boots Skenes jersey edition for Dunne last season.
The front of the boots also have the "Pittsburgh" script that spans both boots and the "30" jersey number on the lower part of the left boot.
The couple have been inseparable since they started dating when they were student-athlets at LSU. The duo also featured in GQ magazine earlier this year, with the couple wearing designer clothes and taking photos in a rare snowstorm in Baton Rouge.
Dunne was the most followed NCAA athlete on social media, including 5.3 million followers on Instagram and eight million followers on TikTok. She just finished her fifth season with LSU gymnastics, where they finished third at the National Championships.
She helped LSU win their first National Title in the 2023-24 season, as well as setting a career-high of 9.900 on floor twice. She also spent time o the U.S. National Team back in 2017. That marked her final season of competitive gymnastics, as she chose to retire from the sport following the conclusion of the season.
Skenes excelled at LSU in 2023, after transferring in from Air Force, helping them win a National Championship. He had a 13-2 record in 19 starts, 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings, giving up just 23 earned runs and seven earned runs, while notching 209 strikeouts to just 20 walks.
The Pirates took Skenes with the first overall pick and he joined on a record signing bonus of $9.2 million.
Skenes dominated in 2024 as a rookie, with an 11-3 record over 23 starts, allowing just 29 earned runs over 133.0 innings pitched for a 1.96 ERA, 170 strikeouts to 32 walks, a .198 opposing batting average, a 0.95 WHIP and a 11.50 K/9.
He went on to win NL Rookie of the Year, earning 23 of the 30 first-place votes and becoming the first Pirates player since outfielder Jason Bay did so 20 years earlier in 2004. He was also the first rookie that started an All-Star Game since 1995, doing so for the National League.
Skenes also earned All-MLB First Team honors and finished third in voting for the National League Cy Young Award.
Skenes is en route towards his first NL Cy Young Award, as he has excelled once again in 2025.
He has a 10-10 record over 31 starts, a 2.03 ERA over 181.2 innings pitched, 209 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.96. He also has a 7.2 WAR, a 10.35 K/9, a 2.08 BB/9 and a 4.98 K/BB.
Skenes ranks amongst the best pitchers in baseball, with the lowest ERA, the third most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, tied for the seventh most innings pitched and the eighth lowest batting average. He also has the best WAR for any pitcher, the sixth best BB/9, the eighth best K/9 and the 11th best BB/9.
He started for the NL in the All-Star Game again in 2025, becoming the first pitcher ever that started consecutive All-Stars in their first two seasons in the MLB.
While Skenes has spent most of his season pitching, he and Dunne have also spent great quality time together. This includes going out to dinner on occasion, stunning on the All-Star red carpet, vacationing in the Hamptons, going golfing and much more.
Dunne has also shown up at Skenes' starts, home or on the road, plus streaming his outings even when she's not in town.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.