It was reported that standup comedian and former Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney is in a new relationship with The Newsroom star Olivia Munn on Thursday.
But Olivia showed off her concern and compassion for the ailing comedian months on social before their relationship reportedly started.
Shortly after John’s December stint in rehab for alcohol and drug addiction was announced, the 40-year-old actress sent a gushing tweet of support for the 38-year-old comedian.
Early signs: Olivia Munn, 40, sent a gushing tweet supporting John Mulaney, 38, in December after he began a 60-day stint for alcohol and drug addiction. The two were reported to be dating by People on Thursday
‘Sending SO MUCH love and support to John Mulaney. You got this,’ she tweeted, adding a red heart and a lightning bolt emoji.
The X-Men: Apocalypse actress wasn’t alone in wishing John well, as users across social media platforms wished him a speedy recovery after it was reported that he had entered rehab.
The comedian has spoken extensively in interviews and in his standup shows about his earlier experiences with alcohol, including an Esquire interview in which he revealed he began drinking when he was only 13.
Although the soporific effects of marijuana weren’t to his liking, he was later attracted to cocaine and other prescription drugs.
‘I wasn’t a good athlete, so maybe it was some young male thing of, “This is the physical feat I can do. Three Vicodin and a tequila and I’m still standing. Who’s the athlete now?”‘ he joked.
Sending good thoughts: Olivia sent ‘SO MUCH love and support’ John’s way after the news that he was entering rehab. It’s unclear what their relationship was like at the time
Early interest: In 2015, Olivia recounted a nearly obsessive night at a wedding with John and his wife Anna Marie Tendler and joked that he never replied to the email she sent him afterward; seen in 2019
Olivia’s interest in the comedian appears to go back years earlier to when she met up with him and his soon-to-be ex-wife Anna Marie Tendler at a wedding.
In January 2015, she recounted wanting to spend time with the couple while chatting with HuffPost Live.
‘We were at a wedding together and I was like “Oh my gosh, do you and your fiancée want to go have dinner or something and go hang out?”‘ she recalled.
Her interest in John appeared to continue throughout the night.
‘At first it was cool, and then I kept going up to him at the wedding like “So you having fun?”‘ she continued. ‘I was just so obsessed with hanging out with and talking with him.’
Olivia added that she sent John an email shortly after their wedding meetup, though he apparently never replied to it.
‘I might’ve got the wrong email — probably,’ she said with a laugh. ‘That’s what I tell myself.’
Splitting up: According to a source for People, John asked Anna Marie Tendler for a divorce three months ago. She said she was ‘heartbroken’ in a statement blaming him for ending their marriage; seen in 2019 in NYC
According to a source for People, John asked his wife Anna Marie Tendler for a divorce three months ago.
In a statement, Anna Marie said she was ‘heartbroken’ over the divorce news, and she made the rare step of laying the blame for requesting the divorce on John, rather than passing it off as a mutual decision.
‘I am heartbroken that John has decided to end our marriage. I wish him support and success as he continues his recovery,’ she said.
According to the source, the comic’s romance with Olivia is still in its early stages.
‘This is very new, they’re taking it slowly,’ they claimed. ‘They met at church in Los Angeles.’
Slow going: According to the source, the comic’s romance with Olivia is still in its early stages. ‘This is very new, they’re taking it slowly,’ they claimed. ‘They met at church in Los Angeles’; seen in 2019
Despite her email from years earlier going unanswered, the source claimed the two have been friends for some time, and she was a source of encouragement during his rehab stint.
The actress has previously dated other high profile figures, including Aaron Rodgers, whom she dated from 2014 to March 2017, and Suicide Squad actor Joel Kinnaman, whom she was with from 2012 to 2014.
Prior to his entrance into rehab, John caught some attention from fans for a rambling appearance on NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers in early November.
His incoherent jokes about the royal family were apparently delivered while he was ‘out of his mind on substances,’ according to Page Six.
Structure: John claimed in his first standup shows since leaving rehab that he relapsed after hosting SNL in October and took a writing gig for Seth Meyers in November to give himself more structure, according to Vulture; seen in 2019
The clip didn’t pop up online until weeks after it was taped, and it doesn’t appear to have ever been broadcast on television, possibly due to Mulaney’s poor condition.
Although the clip was filmed in early November, it wasn’t shared online until Nov. 24, and it doesn’t appear to have been aired on TV, possibly due to Mulaney’s demeanor.
In his first standup performances since returning from rehab, John explained that he took on a writing job with Meyers’ show in November to impose some much-needed structure after he had suffered a relapse following his hosting gig on Saturday Night Live in late October, Vulture reported.