Sean Avery is setting the record straight about the rumors that he dated Mary-Kate Olsen after decades of friendship.
“We’ve been friends for 20 years,” Avery, 45, told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Tuesday, August 12. “That’s a long time relationship. We were, like, kids in New York growing up together.”
The former New York Rangers player reportedly laughed off the romance rumors, telling the outlet, “That’s the beauty of social media now and the algorithm. And I embrace all of that because anything that kicked that algo, you got to get that algorithm going. That’s the name of the game.”
Avery noted, “Of course people are always going to speculate, especially with her. She’s an icon.”
Avery and Olsen, 39, sparked romance rumors in May 2024 after spending time together in the Hamptons over Memorial Day. While both Avery and The Row designer were single at the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time that their relationship was completely platonic.
“Mary-Kate and Sean have been friends since 2006, they had a fling for a while in 2007 and have remained friends,” the insider said in May 2024. “They see each other every summer in The Hamptons, but they’re just friends.”
The source noted that Olsen and Avery’s outing is normal because they “see each other every summer and have a ton of mutual friends.”
Mary-Kate Olsen has kept her love life private for decades. Throughout the secrecy, she’s had her fair share of high-profile romances, including Greek shipping heir Starvos Niarchos III and French banker Olivier Sarkozy. The California native and her twin sister, Ashley Olsen, rose to fame in 1987 when they both played Michelle Tanner on Full […]
Ahead of their Hamptons hangout, Olsen was last linked to businessman John Cooper, following her split from husband Olivier Sarkozy. The Full House alum married Sarkozy, 56, in November 2015. Olsen and Sarkozy separated in April 2020 and finalized their divorce in January 2021. The following month, she was spotted with Cooper.
Avery, meanwhile, was married to model Hilary Rhoda from October 2015 to July 2022 before they filed for divorce. According to court documents obtained by Us in July 2023, Rhoda, 38, was granted full legal and physical custody of the former couple’s son, Nash, 5.
The exes, however, have since reconciled. “Me and Hilary are together. We’re raising Nash. Everything’s great,” Avery told the Daily Mail on Friday, August 8, claiming that the pair never got legally divorced.
When it comes to his past with Olsen, Avery downplayed any romantic link between them — but was happy to sing her and her twin sister, Ashley Olsen’s praises for their incredible careers.
“Well, what I will say is that, I mean, what an incredible example of somebody that has reinvented herself many times,” Avery told the outlet on Tuesday.
The retired hockey player added: “She’s one of the OGs and the two of them [her and Ashley], what they’ve done with their career under the scrutiny, like, as an athlete, as an artist, as an actor, I have nothing … I mean, the two of them are incredible.”
Mary-Kate and Ashley were child actors before going to college and becoming fashion designers. Mary-Kate appears to be single at the moment, while Ashley is in a relationship with Louis Eisner, with whom she shares one child born in 2023.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
