Chris Evans is kind of like America's boyfriend, right? Just about everyone at least likes him a whole lot, and his performance as Captain America will be remembered for quite some time. If his Instagram account is anything to go by, Chris also often engages in plenty of activities outside of Hollywood, like civil engagement, reading, and hosting "playdates" for his dog and the dogs of friends. Or, rather, a specific friend: 26-year-old Olympic champion Aly Raisman.
It has to be a little rough for the guy — any time his name is linked with a woman's, people instantly begin to dissect nearly every angle of their possible entanglement. His level of fame has been hard for women to deal with, and his greatest and best ex, Jenny Slate, even cited exactly that as the reason they broke up.
However, it's not like Chris and Aly didn't know what would happen when they both decided to share video from their dog's hangout session on their respective Instagram and Twitter accounts, so now we're digging in: Is 39-year-old Chris Evans dating 26-year-old Aly Raisman? Let's break it down.
The video itself is, of course, pretty cute. Both Chris and Aly are the owners of adorable dogs, and it seems like their pets get along really well. Aly's dog, Milo, is definitely much smaller than Dodger, but it seems that they handle the size difference well.
Of course … most people did not show up just for the dog content.
While some people cooed over the cute dogs, others were raising eyebrows over Chris and Aly. How did they meet? Are they just friends? Why are they sharing this video in the first place? Why is Chris cuddling Aly's dog? Why is he wearing that cable-knit sweater again? Doesn't he know what it does to the internet?
Some of Chris' fans were defensive of the actor and accused Aly of posting the video just to take advantage of him and to get likes. I'm going to go out on a limb and just assume that a man who is nearly 40 years old is probably not overwhelmingly concerned about this particular scenario. Also, it's worth noting that he actually shared the video first. Maybe he's trying to get Aly's gymnastics fans!
Others flew into panic mode, which is a pretty common reaction whenever any photos or video footage of Chris interacting with another woman hits the internet.
Both Chris and Aly didn't seem particularly bothered by the attention, and neither has responded to any comments or made any particular statement.
The lack of clarity has a lot of people wondering: How do these two know each other, anyway? Sure, they're both famous, but in really different ways. Chris has been acting for years since landing his first major role in 2001's Not Another Teen Movie. While he's most famous for playing Captain America, he's been in dozens of other films, and he most recently starred in Defending Jacob.
Aly is a two-time Olympian who competed in both the 2012 Olympics and the 2016 Olympics. She and her teammates won the team gold in London and again in Rio.
Aly was also one of the first gymnasts to speak out against former US team doctor Larry Nassar, accusing him of sexual abuse and misconduct. Aly revealed this trauma in her autobiography, Fierce.
While it's not clear how their paths overlapped, Chris and Aly are both proponents of adopting pets. Chris adopted his dog, Dodger, back in 2015, and he's been happy ever since:
"I spend most of my time in the garden with my dog, or in the kitchen. My dog is clearly the big winner here. I'm trying to keep some routine in my day. I am someone who prefers to be at home, so I do not feel the urge to go outside every day. The vast majority of my free time now goes to reading books and to Dodger."
In fact, Chris is such a fan of adopting pets that he's encouraged everyone to go out and adopt their own dog during this time of global uncertainty. He told USA Today, "You know what my advice would be? Adopt a dog! Everyone should go out and get a dog. If you don't have a dog in your life, especially during this time, you're missing out."
Aly only recently adopted Milo. She shared the update on October 31, 2020, on Instagram:
"Meet Mylo. I rescued Mylo yesterday from @heartofri shelter. He was born July 16, 2020. I'm so excited to be his mom. I've already cried a few times because I feel so lucky."
She added, "Mylo is very sweet & loving & as each moment goes by he gets a little more confident & comfortable. He's currently napping on my chest. We are not sure what mix he is. The shelter didn't know his mom or dad. Wondering where he got those beautiful blue eyes from."
The two dogs are definitely cuties! As for their owners, well … we all know that men and women can hang out just as friends, but we also all know that it's a lot of fun to speculate anyway. Plus, the pairing just kind of works, right? As one woman wrote on Twitter, "That's like laser accurate demographic targeting. Well done, writers room. Well done."
