Lady Gaga and her boyfriend of four years Michael Polansky are officially engaged. There’s been speculation since April, when Gaga was first seen sporting an 8-carat diamond on her left hand ring finger. But it wasn’t until last week that we got confirmation, via a sneaky leak from French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s TikTok, wherein Gaga introduces Michael as her “fiance.” Although it may not have gone down the way she wanted, it still somehow feels quintessentially Gaga the way this confirmation rolled out. Don’t you just hate it when a foreign leader casually reveals your engagement by accident in a social media video filmed at the Olympics?! And if you’re just tuning back into this report, having momentarily passed out at 8-CARAT DIAMOND, first of all welcome back! And second, these are two millionaires in love, so yes we’re talking 8-carats. It also means they’re talking prenup, according to the latest word on the street (though nothing’s been confirmed by a European politician yet):
Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky, who have been secretly engaged for months, are hashing out a prenup before their upcoming wedding, In Touch has learned.
Gaga, 38, “is worth $900 million, so of course there needs to be a prenup in place,” says a source. “And Michael understands that. He’s not resisting it.”
Michael himself is extremely wealthy — the 46-year-old is executive director of the Parker Foundation and estimated to be worth $600 million!
“So there are a lot of assets on both sides, and a prenup will just make everything clear. It hasn’t created any tension between them — it’s actually made everything easier. They can’t wait to get married.”
I definitely buy that this is clear, easy, and tension-free for them; Gaga and Michael each have massive, comparable wealth (though I do enjoy that Gaga out-earns him, in a flip on the gender pay gap!). They each understand the necessity of safeguarding their assets, without it in any way diminishing the love and trust between them. Of course I speak from no experience, but that’s never stopped me before.
Now getting back to what’s important: the ring. The Daily Mail has some new papa-paparazzi pics (yes, I really will keep making that lyric joke in all Gaga stories, where applicable) of the Lady and the Fiance out for dinner back home in Malibu. They’re a little fuzzy, but you still get a sense of how ginormous the diamond is. Because I’m a scientist, I needed to see the analytical stats across the three engagement rings Gaga has been gifted, from Taylor Kinney to now (what each ring says about the man who bought it, I leave to the anthropologists). In 2015 Taylor Kinney gave Gaga a 6-carat heart-shaped diamond that was custom-designed by Lorraine Schwartz and estimated to cost between $400,000 – $500,000. In 2018 Christian Carino presented her with a 6 or 7-carat pink sapphire — rumored to be a rare Padparadscha — surrounded by 3 or 4 carats of diamonds, estimated to be worth $300,000 – $400,000. Michael Polansky did his homework and upped his game, with the 8-carat oval-cut diamond in a solitaire setting we see the Lady wearing today. And the estimated $578,000 was a mere drop in the bucket of Michael’s $600 million net worth. Ok, now I’m the one passing out from these figures…
Good luck to Gaga and Michael with the prenup, and may they never have to use it.
Lady Gaga out here collecting engagement rings like they're Infinity Stones 💀
pic.twitter.com/bPtjscimPV— Connor Behrens (@ConnorBehrens) July 8, 2021
Lady Gaga sparks engagement rumors after being spotted with massive diamond ring https://t.co/XF3Q3ZeqDk pic.twitter.com/Ob0Y8wDgkh
— Page Six (@PageSix) April 9, 2024
Photos credit: Backgrid and IMAGO/Volker Essler/SVEN SIMON / Avalon
If they’re concerned with protecting assets (as they should be), then it begs the question: why get married? Marriage is a legal distinction that doesn’t suit every person, especially when massive wealth is a factor. Good luck to them.
Such an archaic view. No one can tell the future and protecting assets is smart. It isn’t a sign that they don’t believe in their marriage. How strange to think that way
Thank you. Especially with the historical origins of marriage, I love it any time when a woman insists on having a prenup (of course men are entitled to want to protect their assets too, but y’all know what I mean).
Life comes at you fast, and people change every day, no matter their intentions from the yesterdays.
I didn’t say protecting assets wasn’t smart (in fact I said they should) nor did I comment on the state of marriage, theirs in particular. Reading comprehension is rapid decline. Also, look up archaic.
Protecting assets is absolutely wise but I wonder why bother to get married, too. Unless they’re planning to have children, what’s the point of being legally tied to each other?
Depending where they decide to make their permanent residence, if they are married or common-law, they are considered married in the eyes of the law. This includes assets, Power of Attorney for legal matters or medical care, custody, etc, etc. I know a few very well off people who have not had the actual ceremony of marriage but they are legally common-law spouses, therefore there are pre-nups involved. Seems smart to me. It doesn’t mean you love each other less, it means that you are taking care of all the crap in case things go sideways. Marriage always has a legal side, even if you don’t have a pre-nup. Us regular Joe’s don’t worry about it to much do we? Most of us don’t go into something with almost a billion dollars in assets before we get married/common-law.
Maybe Gaga wants babies. That’s the only reason for marriage I can see if greater financial security isn’t an issue. 3 engagements 3 huge diamonds hmm I see a pattern here. She loves engagements. But maybe afraid of marriage? Why did the first two engagements end anyway? About the ring – it’s a lot prettier than that heart shaped monstrosity Taylor Kinney gave her.
She is 38. If she wants babies she needs to get going on it. Some women choose to be single mothers ; marriage and prenups not required . She has the financial means to go it alone if she wants a baby.
re: “why get married if concerned about needing a prenup?”- Do you use a seatbelt when you’re in the car or do you just get in and hope for the best?
Same concept applies here. Love is cute and all: but having in place legal distinctions and classification of the two individuals and their respective assets, is plain prudent.
See also: doctors/lawyers in practice together, requiring prenups to protect individualized business assets.
TLDR: better to have and not need, than to need and not have.
It can also be healthcare/ power of attorney issues given how much they travel. I had friends (traveling nurse/ remote worker) who took an 18 month trip in an RV living in different cities for weeks/ months at a time. They had a 3 yr old child (and cat!!!) and decided to get married for the practicality of dealing with being on the road.
People in relationships who have assets, especially if there is a disparity, need domestic contracts, Powers of Attorney and Wills.
They are not and should not be restricted to the super-rich, married or those with past failed relationships; that reasoning is specious.
There are too many reasons to list as to why legal protections are necessary. Feel free to consult with someone who married modestly but the business took off, or the left-behind partner of the intestate who is now battling family, or the person who felt that pre-nups are unromantic and that their partner “would never do that”. Better yet, spend some time in the rehab ward of your local hospital with the person who isn’t allowed access because they have no legal standing, so long-estranged relatives are now controlling the finances of the incapacitated patient (and will inherit if that person dies).
These comments from @Aerie…wow. There are many pros to having legal protection within the legally binding contract of a marriage. Not just children. If the other partner gets sick or dies, the spouse has legal say. A ‘girlfriend’ doesn’t mean sh*t. Marriage isn’t just if you have kids. There’s a slew of legal protections.