Lady Gaga (R) and her boyfriend Michael Polansky. Image: Instagram/@ladygaga
One New York Times editor recently gave a rare look into what happens when one finds out that their ex is dating a superstar.
Lindsay Crouse, the senior staff editor of the Times’ opinion section, reflected on the impact of social media on relationships and comparing herself to an iconic pop star, in an essay titled “My Ex-Boyfriend’s New Girlfriend Is Lady Gaga” last Feb. 27.
The identity of Lady Gaga’s new man has been covered in American publications: he is Michael Polansky, a Harvard graduate and executive director of the Parker Foundation which funds philanthropic efforts on “Life Sciences, Global Public Health, Civic Engagement and the Arts,” according to its website.
To Crouse, he was her boyfriend of seven years.
“Our relationship lasted all of college, and then a few years more. (A popular song from back then described being ‘caught in a bad romance.’),” she wrote.
She said she and Polansky had not been in contact, noting that he had “blocked” her on Facebook. However, social media made it inevitable for her to find out who he was now dating, after friends started bombarding her with messages.
“We used to obsess about celebrities and then started obsessing about one another,” she said of keeping updated on social media platforms. “I mix ‘real’ celebrities with people I know and I can curate it all however I want. Then I scrolled through Instagram and saw a post from Lady Gaga: she was sitting in her new boyfriend’s lap.”
Confronted with this information, she found a way to cope with comparing herself to the multi-awarded celebrity: by embracing Lady Gaga’s larger-than-life spirit of ambition.
Crouse recalled getting more glammed up than usual for a recent event in an attempt to channel that energy.
“Lady Gaga is amazing. Comparing yourself with her is incredibly motivational, and I recommend you try it, regardless of how you relate to who’s dating her,” she advised.
“The point is, Lady Gaga is living the ambitious life that we keep saying women should embrace…[I]f Lady Gaga can do what she wants, and even expand on what she wants, why not me, too?”
And just as Crouse found herself gawking at her ex’s new girlfriend, she caught him doing the same thing: looking at an Instagram Story of her and her fiance.
She mused, “I realized we’re actually all the same: strangers, smiling on a screen.” Niña V. Guno/JB
RELATED STORIES:
WATCH: A ‘star is born’ after woman belts ‘Shallow’ in train station
WATCH: Lady Gaga treats fans to new video for ‘Stupid Love’