Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ First Sighting in Nearly 8 Years Has Fans Surprised

Jonathan Taylor Thomas gave fans quite the surprise after being spotted publicly for the first time in eight years on Sunday, June 20. Although Thomas did make guest appearances on former co-star Tim Allen’s show Last Man Standing between 2013 and 2015, the outing marked the first time he was pictured in public since 2013, generating plenty of chatter online among fans of the ’90s teen heartthrob.

During the June 20 outing, the Home Improvement actor was photographed walking two small white dogs and vaping in Los Angeles. Thomas, now 39, wore jeans, a zipped-up dark hoodie, Nike sneakers, sunglasses, a New York Mets baseball cap, and a black mask. E! News reported that an eyewitness described him as “relaxed looking.” The actor, however, did not make any public comments himself.

According to the outlet, the brief putting marked the first time the actor has been photographed in public since August 2013, when he was spotted in L.A. in a flannel and tan jacket. Thomas began acting at the age of 7 in 1987 and is best known for his role in Home Improvement as Randy Taylor. He is also well known for Wild America and other ’90s and early 2000 hits. However, after cementing his place as a teen heartthrob, Thomas left his career behind to focus on his education, graduating from Chaminade College Preparatory School before attending Harvard University and Columbia University. His public sighting followed a years-long absence, which surprised many of his fans.

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“I’m always sceptical of sharing pap pics but I saw new Jonathan Taylor Thomas pics and had to post!” one fan wrote when re-sharing the images. “We haven’t seen him in YEARS!”

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“I don’t wanna see Jonathan Taylor Thomas today. I wanna remember him as I did in the 90s,” quipped one fan.

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“I met him at the taping of Home Improvement. We are the same age and it was my 8th grade graduation present because like most girls…I had the biggest crush on him,” one person recalled. “He is a wonderful person and it shows that he still is to this day.”

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“I swear I can’t see it…is it just me?” another person asked. “That does not look like him or what I remember of him.”

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“I bet Jonathan Taylor-Thomas has been walking around the city for years and no one noticed until today,” tweeted somebody else. “He looks like every other early-40s dude.”

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“I wasn’t mentally prepared for my childhood crush to look his age today,” joked another person. “I have been forced into a mid-life crisis.”

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“If you read the headline ‘Jonathan Taylor Thomas spotted for the 1st time in years’ and audibly gasped You might be a geriatric millennial,” joked another fan.