It’s been a tumultuous year for both Taylor Frankie Paul and Stefon Diggs.
She had her season of The Bachelorette canceled by ABC. His team lost Super Bowl LX after he put up completely lackluster numbers.
She’s the subject of multiple domestic violence allegations, and he’s in the midst of a messy breakup with Cardi B.
So in the midst of all this drama did the ex-Mormon reality star and ex-elite wide receiver form an unlikely relationship?
That’s the bizarre rumor that the internet is fixating on this week.
So how did the rumor start? And is there any truth to it?
Well, you might not be surprised to learn that the answers to those questions are “AI” and “yeah, probably not.”
The original source of the drama seems to be the tweet below:
Now, the photo on the right purports to show Taylor and Stefon hanging out in Provo, Utah.
And it looks pretty authentic! But of course, it’s not.
Gone are the days when AI photos were loaded with telltale signs like hands with a dozen fingers.
These days, we need to look for more subtle cues — like the fact that the post is from Hater Report and not Bleacher Report (as one might think from a quick glance at the logo).
But that didn’t stop the good folks on X (formerly Twitter) from taking this post seriously and offering up their hottest takes.
“She beats children. He beats women. Match made in heaven,” wrote one user.
“Two abusers dating each other,” another added.
“I don’t have any idea who the heck he is but he’s wearing some weird crap on his feet,” wrote a third user (who was so close to figuring this out!)
Obviously, many commenters referenced Paul’s assault on Dakota Mortensen, and for good reason.
After all, that was the scandal that led ABC to take the unprecedented move of canceling Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette.
But while we’re certainly not defending Taylor’s actions, it’s worth noting that the situation might be more complicated than it appears.
Earlier this week, Paul was granted a restraining order against Mortensen.
For weeks, she’s been insisting that the video does not tell the whole story, and she was actually a victim of abuse.
Hopefully, the truth will come to light eventually.
In the meantime, Taylor doesn’t need any new scandals. So it’s probably a good thing that she’s not dating Stefon Diggs (as far as we know).