- Entertainment
ByTena Tuzla
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Whether you love or hate him, Shane Gillis seems to be determined to remain in the public eye. In 2019, the controversial comedian was fired from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" before he even got the chance to showcase his stand-up skills when his racist, hom*ophobic, and misogynistic remarks beat him to the punchline. After Gillis was tapped to do the iconic late-night show, excerpts from his podcast, "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast," resurfaced, publicizing the insensitive comments he made in 2018.
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In a surprising turn of events, the comedian was invited back to the "SNL" stage in 2024 — as a host, no less. Unfortunately for him, the episodeturned out to be one of the most awkward moments that aired on "SNL," yet it still gave Gillis the platform (and attention) he missed out on years earlier. As the mainstream spotlight can't keep away from the contented character, there's ongoing curiosity about Gillis' personal background, especially his low-key love life and equally elusive girlfriend.
Despite the renewed public interest in his private affairs, Gillis continues to skillfully avoid revealing his partner's identity for reasons unknown. He did, however, share a number of tidbits about the mysterious lady, sending people online on a quest to uncover her identity.
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Gillis has no problem being innapropriate when it comes to his secretive better half
While some are focused on the controversy surrounding comedian Shane Gillis, others are set on finding out who his girlfriend is. For starters, Gillis himself confirmed he has a partner, so the online sleuths can rest assured their investigative skills aren't going to waste.
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Gillis first mentioned his girlfriend in 2021 during an appearance on the "Your Mom's House"podcast, revealing that they had been dating for about six months. Despite not naming her, Gillis shared intimate details about their love life, as well as how they initially connected. "We met on Instagram," he said, adding, "She followed me, and then I was like, 'Oh, a hot girl that likes me?'" Despite their online introduction, there is no trace of the mystery woman on Gillis' Instagram page, and with the 2.5k people he follows, it doesn't seem likely anyone will be uncovering her identity by going through that list.
During a 2022 interview with The New Yorker, Gillis again referenced "the girlfriend," hinting at the possibility of them living together. "My girlfriend's out of town for, like, a week, so the place is trashed," he told the reporter. A year later, the comedian delved further into his secretive relationship during his Netflix special, titled "Beautiful Dogs," confirming that he and his elusive partner do indeed share a home (via YouTube). He also revealed that the woman had previously dated a Navy SEAL officer, which didn't mean much in terms of identifying her.
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The comedian was linked to several different women
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Two years after first mentioning his partner in public, Shane Gillis revealed enough details about the mystery woman to spark name-dropping among sleuthy fans. When speaking on the "Guys We Fcked"podcast, Gillis confirmed he was still in a relationship and shared that his lady enjoys cooking and cleaning but doesn't feel the same way about driving. He also revealed she hails from Iowa, leading some online users to believe they've pieced together the puzzle of her identity.
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According to a number of online reports, Gillis is dating a woman named Shih Ryan, who is reportedly a childhood friend of his. However, given that the comedian previously mentioned meeting his girlfriend on Instagram, Ryan doesn't actually fit the bill. Another candidate is a woman simply known as Claire, without a publicly disclosed last name. While Gillis does follow four women named Claire on his Instagram account, the absence of credible evidence linking any of them to Gillis suggests they're likely not his anonymous beau.
Notably, Gillis, who isn't the only "Saturday Night Live" host that got social media seeing red, had also previously been linked to Tara Pavlovic-Shepherdson, an Australian reality star, and Demi-Leigh Tebow, former Miss Universe Africa. However, both are married, making them unlikely contenders. Unless Gillis drops another hint about his partner or if she doesn't come forward on her own, the lack of clues is likely to bring the online search for Gillis' mysterious girlfriend to a standstill.
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