Livvy Dunne Teases SI Swimsuit Cover With Pirates' Paul Skenes
PITTSBURGH — Livvy Dunne, girlfriend of Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes, has had quite a week in New York City.
She watched Skenes pitch vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 12, where he allowed just one run in six innings of work, posting six strikeouts, while holding the Mets 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Dunne then earned a spot as the SI Swimsuit Cover model for the 2025 edition, which also has a focus athlets and especially on gymnasts, featuring U.S. Olympians in Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee.
A reporter asked Dunne about her relationship with Skenes and whether or not the duo would teamup for a SI Swimsuit Cover.
"Maybe? He would say yes? It would take a lot of convincing, but I think I could give him a few tips," Dunne said. "I would love to share a cover with Paul!"
Could we see a @livvydunne and @Paul_Skenes @SI_Swimsuit cover in the future? 😆 pic.twitter.com/mSeIGvNHbB
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 16, 2025
Skenes and Dunne started dating each other back at LSU, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
The duo also featured in a GQ magazine feature, 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 Tik Tok.
She just finished her fifth and final 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.
Dunne recently announced her retirement from gymnastics and will now continue on, empowering student-athletes through "The Livvy Fund", which educates them on branding and NIL (Name, Image and Likeness)
Skenes starred at LSU in 2023, after transferring from Air Force. 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, leading the program to a national title that season.
He would enter the 2023 MLB Draft, where the Pirates took him with the No. 1 overall pick. He also signed with the franchise on a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest ever given to a player at the time.
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11 of the 2024 season.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133 innings, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while recording 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
Skenes was the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He was also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers last doing so before him in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
He also made the All-MLB First Team for his performance in 2024, won NL Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award.
Skenes is 3-4 in nine starts this season with the Pirates, including a 2.63 ERA over 54.2 innings pitched, 53 strikeouts to 15 waks and an opposing batting average of .201.
