Dunne is featured in the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue alongside other notable names like influencer Alix Earle, Tiffany Haddish and more
Credit: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Livvy Dunne is sharing her boyfriend’s reaction to her stunning 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine pics
- While chatting with PEOPLE at the launch party for this year’s issue, Dunne shares the sweet way her MLB player boyfriend showed his support for her during her fourth year appearing in the issue
- Dunne and Skenes first confirmed their relationship in August 2023, just a month after Skenes was drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Paul Skenes is Livvy Dunne's number one fan!
On Thursday, May 14, the influencer and former Louisiana State University gymnast stopped to chat with PEOPLE while attending the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit launch party in New York City, sharing what the milestone (four years featured in the magazine's popular edition) means to her.
Dunne first made her debut with SI Swimsuit in 2023, and was among last year's four cover stars shot in Bermuda.
Credit: livvydunne/Instagram
"The fact that they keep asking me back — I'm just so flattered," she gushes. "Every year, I feel like it just keeps getting better and it's a new group of girls every year. This group of girls are amazing, so it's just really an honor."
Dunne and her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, have become a beloved couple in the sporting world since they first began dating in 2023. They are constantly showing support for each other publicly and, Dunne tells PEOPLE, privately. Her Sports Illustrated shoot was no exception.
"I texted him. I was like, 'Hey, the SI photos are out,'" she recalls. "And he's like, 'Where can I see them?'" she laughs, before adding, "As if he doesn't know." Skenes wasn't getting any special treatment, as Dunne reveals that she sent him a link to the photos online.
"I was like, 'Just look at everything,'" she says. "He loved it. Yeah, he loved it. He always does."
Dunne and Skenes first met as students at LSU, first confirming their relationship in August 2023, after Skenes was drafted to the Pirates. Since then, the pair have become each other's most fervent supporters — especially when it comes to their careers. Dunne told PEOPLE in 2024 that he was the first person she called after LSU snagged the title in the NCAA championships.
Dunne also opened up to PEOPLE in February about how the pair navigates their busy schedules and long-distance relationship. "Honestly, I don't think we have any rules," she said. "I just think being super present with one another while you're together, while you have that time together, is super important.”
Credit: Lucas Casel/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Added Dunne: “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."
On May 13, Dunne appeared on The Tonight Show, where she told host Jimmy Fallon that she often gets superstitious while watching her boyfriend on the mound. Responding to a question from Fallon about whether she gets nervous watching Skenes play, Dunne joked, “I usually wear an Oura Ring, and it tells me I'm going to explore and die every time I watch him.”
“I'm a little superstitious," she continued, “so I have to scream before every single pitch at the top of my lungs, ‘Let's go, Paul!' ”
Referencing the Pirates game the day before — where the team topped the Colorado Rockies 3-1 — “100 pitches, and I would scream 100 times,” she said.
Read the full article here
