Leonardo DiCaprio Sparks Backlash Amid Rumored Romance With 19-Year-Old

By Michael Hein

Leonardo DiCaprio is facing backlash on social media after he was photographed at a party with 19-year-old model Eden Polani. Rumors are flying that DiCaprio and Polani are dating, although so far there's no confirmation of those whispers. However, DiCaprio's history of dating women much younger than himself is rearing its ugly head and drawing some ire from commenters online.

DiCaprio has become a meme at this point for his incredibly clear dating preferences. The actor is now 50 years old, and to date, he has never publicly acknowledged a romantic relationship with a woman over the age of 25. The pattern is so consistent that some fans now assume that DiCaprio knowingly and intentionally breaks up with these women when they are 25 years old. The conversation took over social media last year when DiCaprio broke up with his 25-year-old girlfriend Camila Morrone for unspecified reasons, and the rumors about him and Polani have put the conversation back in the spotlight.

Of course, as DiCaprio has gotten older the age differences have gotten wider, and this time it is simply too much for some commenters to handle. The photo of the actor alongside Polani has become a meme on its own, and the 29-year age gap between them has become a point of reference and comparison. For example, fans have pointed out that this is almost the same age difference between 47-year-old Pedro Pascal and 19-year-old Bella Ramsey, who are currently playing a pseudo father-daughter duo on HBO's The Last of Us.

To be clear, DiCaprio's romance with Polani remains an unconfirmed rumor with little evidence besides the photo circulating on social media. However, that's not stopping commenters from having fun with the premise for new jokes. Here's a look at what people are saying.

Drinking Age

Many jokes revolved around the fact that Polani is below the legal age to drink alcohol in the U.S. Commenters marveled at that kind of disconnect, wondering what the alleged couple could even get up to together.

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COVID Experience

Similarly, people pointed out the difference in how DiCaprio and Polani would have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. Assuming she was still in some form of school at the ages of 17 and 18, she would have had those classes interrupted by the pandemic.

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Comparisons

Fans compared DiCaprio and Polani to duos in the media – and in their own lives, pointing out that a "father/daughter dynamic" was much more common for people of their respective ages.

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Movies

People also cracked lots of jokes about DiCaprio's movies, noting that Titanic turns 25 this year.

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Disconnect

Commenters wondered what DiCaprio and Polani talked about and what they truly had in common. In addition to thinking their alleged relationship was predatory, many assumed it must be plain old boring.

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Women's Choice

Some people entertained the idea that DiCaprio was the one getting dumped in all these scenarios, and that maybe it was a coincidence that all these women decided to break up with him when they were 25 years old.

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Endgame

Finally, many commenters wondered what comes next for DiCaprio as he continues to age, predicting a bleak outlook.

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