Social media sensation Olivia Dunne has reportedly picked up a $1.95 million penthouse in New York City’s trendy West Village—months after being rejected from buying baseball legend Babe Ruth‘s former apartment by the building’s co-op board.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model—who boasts 8 million followers on video-sharing platform TikTok—rose to online stardom as a New Jersey high schooler, before finding further fame as a member of the LSU Tigers gymnastics team from 2021 to 2024.
Dunne, 23, splashed out nearly $2 million on the pad, which spans 1,117 square feet and comes with one bedroom and two bathrooms, as first reported by the New York Post.
Unlike Ruth’s former home—on which she put in an all-cash offer—Dunne’s new property is located inside a condo building, which traditionally has more lax restrictions for applicants who are seeking to buy or rent a unit.
Upon entering the home, guests are greeted with an expansive living area that features a large window that allows natural light to flood inside.
The chef’s kitchen boasts modern touches with lots of cabinet space, an island, and state-of-the-art appliances.
Adjacent to the kitchen is a charming breakfast nook for Dunne and guests to gather.
The primary bedroom has enough space for a king-sized bed, while the bathroom includes a glass-enclosed shower with marble flooring.
The building itself is described as an “amenity-rich boutique condominium” offering “white glove service to its residents,” a full-time door attendant, a landscaped roof deck, a fitness center, and a bike room.
The news of her purchase comes months after she admitted that she was rejected by a New York co-op board after putting in an all-cash offer on a $1.6 million apartment that was once owned by baseball legend Ruth.
Her celebrity standing did little to help her win over the board of the luxurious New York City co-op where Ruth’s “iconic” former apartment is located, with the influencer admitting in a newly posted video that she was denied entry to the building, despite having an offer accepted.
“Guys, I’m so upset. A few months ago, I decided I was going to make my first real estate purchase, which is so exciting, and I was going to get an apartment in New York City. But the gag was, it was Babe Ruth’s apartment,” she said.
“So naturally, I was telling everybody. I was going to buy it and pay with cash. I wanted this apartment bad,” she said of the three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom abode.
The college graduate, who is dating MLB player Paul Skenes, admitted that she went into the co-op board approval process with complete confidence, confessing that she and her partner had already hired an interior designer to help them decorate the opulent space.
“It got to the point where the Realtor® was so confident, Paul and I went and I got an interior designer because I didn’t want to bring my college furniture to Babe Ruth’s apartment. That would be criminal,” she explained.
“The week that I am supposed to get my keys to brand-new apartment, I get a call and the co-op board denied me. So pretty much, the people in the building voted to not have me live there, which is fine.”
Dunne made clear that the rejection had nothing to do with her financials—noting that she had made a cash offer on the space in the hopes of improving her odds of it being accepted by the seller—before joking that it could well be to do with her history as an LSU athlete.
“It wasn’t financial, for all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU,” she said.
The athlete then urged her followers to avoid apartments in co-op buildings, which have a notoriously tricky approval process that often sees prospective buyers being forced to interview with members of a board, who have the ability to immediately deny access to anyone who they feel is unsuitable for the building.
In Dunne’s case, she conceded that the board’s decision may well have been related to her celebrity status. However, she said that did little to lessen the sting of the rejection.
“Maybe they didn’t want a public figure living there, but I was literally about to get my keys and then they denied me. It was just iconic, it was literally Babe Ruth’s apartment,” she went on. “But long story short, don’t try to live in a co-op, you might get denied and you won’t get Babe Ruth’s apartment.”
Co-op buildings are housing units that are owned and controlled jointly by a group of individuals who typically own shares in the housing community—with each unit representing a certain portion of those shares.
The properties are, more often than not, run like a nonprofit corporation, complete with a board of directors that makes decisions on the day-to-day running and maintenance of the building, including the use of residents’ monthly fees.
Co-op owners do not actually own their unit. Instead, they buy shares of the co-op, relative to the size and desirability of their apartment space.
Not the norm across much of the U.S., co-op buildings are traditionally more common in densely populated cities such as New York and Washington, DC.
Ruth’s former dwelling is located in a 52-unit building on New York’s Upper West Side, which is described as having “fabulous character.”
The New York Yankees legend, whose full name was George Herman Babe Ruth Jr., lived in the home between 1920 and 1940 with his wife, Claire Merritt Ruth, and their adopted daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens.
While the iconic New York family lived there, the home was a large 12-room unit, which has since been divided into two apartments.
The dwelling features soaring ceilings and rich wood flooring that accentuate its expansive space.
It leads into a chic dining area that boasts ample space for a large dining table and more built-in storage space.
The primary bedroom boasts a king-sized bed and plenty of space for multiple seating areas. There are also three closets, including a walk-in and a linen cupboard.