Kylie Jenner, Tyga stop pretending, hold hands in public in Mexico

Kylie Jenner and Tyga are holding hands. In a photo. On the beach. During her birthday vacation.

So let’s stop pretending even a little bit that they’re not dating. Especially since there are 320,000 reasons why they probably are -- but more on that in a sec.

The “Keeping Up With the Kardashians� star, who turned 18 earlier this week, was photographed with the 25-year-old rapper in Punta Mita, Mexico, where she continued her birthday festivities with him, sister Kendall Jenner and a few other friends. The photo was the talk of the webloids on Friday.

Jenner has been linked to Tyga since last fall after he split with Blac Chyna, the mother of his 2-year-old son, but they have not yet publicly confirmed their romance. In fact, Tyga repeatedly denied that he was dating the reality star and continuously took flack for romancing a minor. In March, he sort of confirmed they were a thing by posting a snapshot of Jenner that he captioned: “Certain things catch your eye, but only few capture the heart.�

Earlier this week, and once she was no longer under 18, he followed up that Instagram effort by sharing an ultra-sultry photo of Jenner wishing “the dopest girl ever� a happy birthday. He also gifted her a $320,000 Ferrari as she hit the big 1-8, because, on occasion, people who are dating give each other Ferraris. By the way, she took to Twitter on Tuesday to shut down a rumor that she’d already crashed it.

Khloe Kardashian, one of Jenner’s older half-sisters, addressed the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner dynasty’s choices during a recent interview with Complex magazine that was published while Jenner was still 17.

“Kylie might be 17, but from what Kylie has been through and the life she lives, she’s not a normal 17-year-old,� Kardashian said before addressing the criticisms about Kylie’s relationship with Tyga.

“I think at 16 I was probably [sleeping with] someone that was in their 20s, for sure. I wouldn’t say I was even dating, probably just sleeping with them,� she said. “But again Kylie is not a normal 17-year-old. You’re not gonna say, ‘Hey, so what are you doing this weekend?’ and have her say, ‘Having a slumber party at my girlfriend’s,’ or ‘Going to prom.’ That’s not what Kylie does. Kylie is taking business meetings and bought her first house, or she’s going on a private plane with Karl Lagerfeld to take a meeting. That’s not even what people do in their 30s. It’s a rare circumstance, so let’s treat this as a special case.�

A special case, indeed.

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.