Birthday bells are ringing for Olivia Dunne, and while her upcoming season at LSU has her to-do list packed, she’s kicking back to celebrate getting old—or at least turning 22! The NCAA star gymnast, who boasts a jaw-dropping 10 million followers across social media, gave her fans a sneak peek into how her special day got started.

Taking to Instagram, Livvy shared a series of pics straight from her cozy bedroom. In true Dunne fashion, she looked effortlessly stylish in a cute white slip dress, topped off with a tiara (because why not?). Her room was decked out with pink balloons and purple confetti strings, and she posed with an adorable white-frosted cake and a bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider.

Captioning the post, she joked, “Woke up a lil older #22.” Oh, and in case you missed it, her furry BFF, Roux, made a guest appearance. Yep, her 1-year-old golden retriever, who’s also Insta-famous with over 15,000 followers, joined in the fun. But wait, there’s more! To make Livvy’s day even more special, her boyfriend, MLB star Paul Skenes, pulled out all the stops.

He shared a heartfelt carousel on social media, showcasing all the sweet moments they’ve shared this year. With all the birthday fun, though, Dunne’s got a busy year ahead. She’ll be heading back to LSU for her final NCAA season, and after last year’s standout performances, the pressure’s on for the most-followed gymnast to deliver again.

And it is this very popularity that has resulted in some serious safety concerns for Olivia Dunne. With a gigantic social media following, it is expected that there will be hateful comments incoming. But things started to get out of hand when the hatred began spilling into reality. In the recent Amazon Prime documentary ‘The Money Game,’ Dunne mentioned how she got mobbed, followed around, and stalked.

She even admitted to getting threats to the point that the LSU authorities had to intervene and appoint a special security guard at her service. Speaking about the menaces, Dunne’s coach, Jay Clark, opined, “I didn’t know what to make of it at first. In some ways, it felt orchestrated, but in other ways, it felt just like the sort of a converging of a mob.” Thankfully, with all the safety measures in place, Olivia Dunne has been able to restore her mental peace. And while she celebrated a cozy birthday, her social media blew up once again, this time only with love from her fans.

Fans gather online to celebrate Olivia Dunne’s special day

Fans couldn’t resist joining in on Olivia Dunne’s birthday fun after she posted those adorable celebration pics. Her comment section quickly turned into a party of its own, with followers flooding in with love and witty wishes. One fan hilariously chimed in, “Just faxed you some roses,” trying their luck as Dunne’s secret admirer. But they made sure to keep it playful, adding, “Paul don’t tell @paulskenes,” pulling  Livvy’s boyfriend Paul Skenes into the fun!

Among the birthday well-wishers was 16-year-old Olympian Hezly Rivera, who dropped a sweet comment: “Happy birthday Livvy! 💗💗.” But there’s more to their friendship than meets the eye. Rivera and Dunne go way back to their days at ENA Gymnastics in Paramus, New Jersey, where they first met and trained under the same coach.

Fast forward a few years, and Hezly joined Dunne at LSU’s Lady Tigers gymnastics team. By then, Livvy had already cemented herself as an NCAA gymnastics icon, and Rivera looked up to her. Dunne, in turn, became a role model for the young gymnast.

LSU track and field star Alia Armstrong too wished Dunne on her special day. “Happy Birthday beautiful”, wrote Armstrong. Armstrong, although disqualified from the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships and NCAA Indoor finals, bounced back again in the NCAA Outdoor Championship and won the 100-meter final dash.

Another fan of Olivia Dunne referred to her as a legend and commented, “Happy birthday to an LSU legend”. Dunne being the top NIL earner among other NCAA athletes adds colors to the LSU roster. Although she extended her collegiate career for the fifth year at LSU, this would be her last year as a college athlete.

Thus, with celebration mode on, Olivia Dunne will be looking to continue the celebrations deep this year. After all, history reckons her if she manages to replicate her antics from the last season. Will she be able to do it? Stay tuned.