Lady Gaga denied this week that she’s pregnant with her boyfriend, entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Polansky, after speculation grew over what fans thought could be a baby bump in paparazzi shots of her at her sister’s recent wedding.
The singer hopped on TikTok, sharing a video of herself having fun trying on a new make-up look, TMZ reported. The video also came with a caption that delivered two messages. The first somewhat humorously addressed what could be a sensitive and private topic: whether or she’s going to have a baby, or she’s just put on some weight.
To that, Gaga said: “Not pregnant — just down bad cryin at the gym.” But with her note, the singer also encouraged people to register to vote at www.headcount.org.
With Gaga’s video, she didn’t just knock down fans’ hope that she would become a mother for the first time. She also suggested that they probably wouldn’t be much more of Polansky, a San Francisco-based tech entrepreneur, anytime soon, TMZ said.
The singer and her boyfriend have kept a pretty low profile since they began dating more than four years ago. However, they were seen together in February, cheering on the San Francisco 49ers as they played the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. The singer held Polansky’s hand as they occupied seats in front of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel.
Gaga and Polansky first went public with their relationship during another Super Bowl weekend — Super Bowl LIV in Miami in 2020. That’s when the 49ers also lost to the Chiefs. Gaga made the relationship Instagram official by posting a photo of the two of them, cuddling. Her caption read, “We had so much fun in Miami. Love to all my little monsters and fans, you’re the best!”
The following year, Polansky was Gaga’s plus-one at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, where she sang the national anthem.
But if they’ve kept a low profile, that could be because Polansky isn’t part of Gaga’s show business world. He’s a 2006 Harvard grad in applied mathematics and computer science, who works with Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and Facebook, on various ventures, according to his LinkedIn page.
These include the Parker Foundation, which was launched in 2015 and supports philanthropic efforts in life sciences, global public health, civic engagement and the arts, according to the foundation’s website. Polansky also is co-founder and board member of the San Francisco-based Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which sponsors research for cancer treatment.
When Gaga began dating Polansky, she was following a certain trend that was pretty popular for a while, involving well-known female celebrities looking to the tech world for dating and marriage opportunities.
The women at the forefront of this trend were tennis champion Serena Williams, who married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2017, and former Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, who also married Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in 2017.
News of Gaga and Polansky’s romance sparked a very unusual reaction from his ex-girlfriend, journalist Lindsay Crouse. The New York Times staff member penned a cheeky op-ed, describing what it was like to find out that her ex-boyfriend was dating one of the most famous women on the planet.
“If you’ve ever googled an ex’s new partner (be honest) you’ve probably played a certain game with yourself,” Crouse wrote. “You’re either just curious — which is healthy of you — or you want to know how you compare. Ideally the ex’s life didn’t improve too much without you? In this case, though, that’s all upended. How do you compare yourself with Lady Gaga?”
Crouse said they began dating in college and the relationship lasted several years after that. But rather than feel intimidated by Gaga, Crouse wrote that she instead decided to be inspired by her. She wrote that she had decided to live more fearlessly.
“Lady Gaga is amazing,” Crouse wrote. “Comparing yourself with her is incredibly motivational, and I recommend you try it, regardless of how you relate to who’s dating her.”
Several months later, Gaga described Polansky as “the love of my life” in an interview, according to Today. During an April 2020 appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” she referred to Polansky when talking about the importance of mental health and how it relates to her Born This Way Foundation.
“With Born This Way Foundation, my mother, Cynthia Germanotta, and our co-founder Maya, who I love so very much, they are working with the love of my life on something for mental health,” she said with a smile during the interview, Today reported.