Featured Image Credit: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Sex and Relationships
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Sex and Relationships
Fans of Christine Baranski have been deep-diving into her love life this week, after a photo of the actress 'publicly debuting' her 'new lesbian age gap' relationship went viral.
For those out of the loop with the latest gossip, the cosy snap in question was shared on Reddit, showing the film star posing hand-in-hand with fellow on-screen favourite, King Princess.
The duo were professionally photographed smirking in the pic, as they attended the opening night of Mamma Mia on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York on Monday (18 August).
(Baranski famously played 'Tanya' in the ABBA movie musical alongside the likes of Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth back in 2008, just FYI).
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Anyway, the Reddit user in question asked in the caption, 'A new lesbian age gap relationship? Are King Princess and Christine Baranski dating?', prompting further questions regarding the nature of the pair's romance.
Here's everything we know so far:
Firstly, let's give Baranski and Princess the introductions they deserve.
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The former is a 73-year-old New York-born actress, famed for her Emmy-winning role in Cybill, as well as her performances in the likes of The Good Wife, The Guilded Age, Cruel Intentions, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and of course, Mamma Mia.
Baranski was previously married to actor Matthew Cowles from 1983 until his death in 2014, with whom she shares two daughters.
Princess, meanwhile (real name Mikaela Mullaney Straus) is primarily a singer-songwriter but has recently started dabbling in film and TV.
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A fellow New Yorker, the 26-year-old - who identifies as both a lesbian and genderqueer - made her acting debut in the show Nine Perfect Strangers in 2024.
It was whilst filming the juicy crime-drama that she first met Baranski, who also made up the star-studded cast.
Whilst promoting the series in a joint chat with Interview, the pair previously discussed the natural bond they'd formed whilst working side-by-side.
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Princess previously gushed: "We were connected somehow. There was an unspoken mind meld happening. It didn’t need to be voiced."
Baranski agreed: "Exactly. It was so powerful it didn’t need to be written."
The mother-of-two added: "It was so subtle and powerful. Those are my favourite scenes, where you don’t even have to talk to somebody because it’s just so potent. Here we are, pals. We have our martinis and steak frites. And we’re friends, which is so delightful."
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During the same interview, Princess emphasised the tendency of celebrity gossip fans to make something out of nothing.
"Well, be careful, Christine, because people will talk," she warned her pal.
Baranski then replied: "Our first date—let’s give them something to talk about—we actually got dressed up and finally had dinner. I remember we went to this chic, French-y watering hole.
"We sat at the bar, ordered our martinis, and suddenly we’re talking about our grandmothers who deeply affected and influenced our lives. I think that’s where we profoundly bonded."
She cheekily quipped at the end of the interview: "It’s going to be a beautiful relationship, baby...I can’t wait for the decades ahead.
"I’m going to learn so much from you, and I’ll teach you whatever good stuff that I know."
Some fans have used the above interview to evidence that both Baranski and Princess are messing with the public.
"They're friends and joke about how people will think they're a couple in this article and say stuff to fuel potential rumours," one wrote on Reddit.
A second social media user reiterated: "King Princess likes to troll. It’s hard to take anything she says or does seriously."
"Using my brain they are certainly just friends. Inter-generational friendships are great!!" added a third.
After Princess shared the same sweet photo alongside Baranski on Instagram captioned, '#loveislove', however, some fans claimed they're 'obsessed' with the idea of a brand new age-gap lesbian love affair.
"Omg hi Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor xx," one joked in the Insta comments.
"I don’t know if this is a joke but I love it either way," gushed another.