FORMER Disney star Selena Gomez is rumored to be dating NBA player Jimmy Butler.
The two were spotted having dinner at the French restaurant Lucien in New York City a few weeks ago with fans expressing mixed feelings about their romance.
Jimmy Butler, 31, is a professional basketball player for the Miami Heat.
He got his start in the NBA after being drafted with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Jimmy is a five-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA Team honoree and a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree.
In 2015, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player.
He has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers and is now a shooting guard for the Miami Heat.
Fans spotted Selena, 28 and Jimmy, enjoying dinner in New York City’s Lower East Side a few weeks ago.
Their date sparked romance rumors as gossip site Deuxmoi claimed a person told them they were together.
“Seemed like a date,” one message said, before adding: “100% sure they were there together. Obvi I can’t speak to if it was ACTUALLY a date, but they were there together.”
The social media account later noted that Jimmy’s baby mama Kaitlin Nowak, with whom he shares 1-year-old daughter Rylee, unfollowed Selena on Instagram.
While no photos or videos of the performer and athlete have surfaced yet, fans are excited about the idea of this new rumored romance, finding it “surprising.”
Fans were unsure how to feel about the apparent romance between Selena and Jimmy with some thinking it was “weird” they were even dining together.
One Twitter user said: “Selena Gomez and Jimmy Butler !??? The world is in a weird place.”
Another added: “it’s it’s still crazy that among all the celebrities there it’s Jimmy butler they saw with Selena me I don’t really believe this rumor but I find it weird that the baby mama has unfollowed Selena gomez because of this rumor.”
Neither Jimmy nor Selena have confirmed or spoken about their dinner date and there are no pictures of them out dining at the restaurant.
Some wanted more information on their romance as only that rumor of them dining in New York City has surrounded their apparent relationship.
One Twitter fan said: “give us an update don’t be shy @selenagomez @JimmyButler”
Another commented: “YALL is there anything new about @JimmyButler and @selenagomez?”
Selena broke up with on-again, off-again love Justin Bieber for good in 2018, and he then married Hailey a few months later.
Last year, the Disney Channel alum reunited with ex Niall Horan for a short while, but by the end of the year, he’d revealed that he was now single.
She was also linked to EDM DJ Zedd briefly in 2015 but their romance was very short lived.
Selena moved on with singer Charlie Puth after meeting at the 2015 VMA Awards.
The two recorded a song together titled We Don’t Talk Anymore and In a 2018 interview with Billboard, Charlie spoke about his relationship with Selena, saying: “I don’t kiss and tell, but the only way a song like [‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’] can come across as real is if there’s something else going on behind the scenes.
“And that’s what was happening [with Gomez]. Very short-lived, very small, but very impactful. And it really messed me up. I’m trying to put this the best way possible: It wasn’t like I was the only person on her mind. And I think I knew that going in – what I was getting myself into.”
After her breakup with Charlie, Selena was caught making out with Orlando Bloom at a Las Vegas club in 2016, according to an exclusive by TMZ.
Selena opened up about “the concept of having a normal human relationship” as a celebrity during an interview with Apple Music’s Beats 1 saying: “If I can be honest, it is just so cliché. Everyone dates everyone. It always seems to be within a little bubble and it’s because it’s safe, right?
“You know, you’re wanting someone to understand what you’re going through.
“You’re almost wanting a counterpart of creativity as well and it’s, you know, interesting and fun.”
The singer added: “But the problem with that is that you end up – whether you admit it or not – you’re having your relationship for people and not even for yourself.
