Lady Gaga confirms engagement to Michael Polansky after Olympics opening ceremony
Lady Gaga is reportedly engaged to tech investor Michael Polansky — and, according to one report, has been for months.
While in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where she performed during the opening ceremony on Friday, the music superstar is said to have introduced Polansky as her fiancé to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Representatives for the “Born This Way†singer did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ requests for comment.
People reported Monday that the couple got engaged “several months†ago, but chose to share the news only within their inner circle at the time. Polansky — chief executive of the Parker Group, which oversees the business and charitable interests of Napster founder and Facebook investor Sean Parker — is said to have popped the question ahead of Gaga’s 38th birthday party in March.
However, the Oscar and Grammy winner reportedly chose not to wear her engagement ring in the immediate aftermath to avoid being photographed with it on. But that only last a short while, as she sparked engagement rumors when she was spotted wearing the sparkler in April.
Pouring rain can’t derail a bold a Paris Olympic opening ceremony that featured athletes on the Seine and performances from Lady Gaga and Celine Dion.
“They’re great together. He’s excited and supportive of her career. He can’t stand being in the spotlight, but lets her shine. He has his own business priorities that she’s supportive of,†a source told People on Monday.
The engagement rumors reignited Sunday when the French PM posted a TikTok video featuring the singer and her groom-to-be at the Olympic Games. In it, Gaga can be heard introducing Polansky as “my fiancé†while they watched a swimming event at the Paris Aquatic Centre.
“Thank you Lady Gaga for your stunning performance at the opening ceremony. It was breathtaking,†Attal captioned the clip, which has been liked more than 70,000 times.
Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, and Polansky were first linked in December 2019 after they were spotted kissing at a New Year’s Eve bash in Las Vegas. They took their PDA-filled romance public a few weeks later after Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
Gaga was previously engaged to “Chicago Fire†actor Taylor Kinney, but the two ended their five-year relationship in 2016.
Aside from her engagement, Gaga made headlines this weekend for her performance along the Seine River, paying tribute to French ballerina and singer Zizi Jeanmaire with her rendition of “Mon Truc en Plumes.â€
Ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony, the “A Star Is Born†actor was rumored to be performing, even though she was not listed on a program provided to the media in advance, the Associated Press reported. AP also first reported the news that she had prerecorded her number, which was then played during the live broadcast, due to the inclement weather in the French capital.
Her surprise showing during the ceremony was the only performance that “for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon,†Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremony choreographer Maud le Pladec told Variety. “[O]nce we knew for sure that it was going to rain — we had minute-by-minute updates, we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives.
Read analysis of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony from our television writers, who weighed in on the spectacle held on the Seine.
“We assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it,†Le Pladec said. “The soil would have been slippery. She was wearing heels, very near the water, there were stairs… We had to be extremely cautious.â€
Accompanied by a troupe of eight dancers carrying pink-feather fans and clad in custom Dior costumes, Gaga sang in French and danced, ascending and descending a riverside flight of stairs during the upbeat, cabaret-inspired performance. She briefly played piano too.
“I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song — a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre,†she wrote on Instagram after the show.
“Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music — I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth — Paris,†she added, listing all the ways in which she drew from French culture to “put a modern twist on a French classic.â€
“I rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance, brushing up on some old skills — I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a 60’s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out! I hope you love this performance as much as I do,†the “Joker: Folie à Deux†star wrote.
“And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you — it’s a gift I’ll never forget! Congratulations to all the athletes who are competing in this year’s Olympic Games! It is my supreme honor to sing for you and cheer you on!! Watching the Olympic Games always makes me cry! Your talent is unimaginable. Let the games begin!â€
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