JANA HOCKING: What about the outrage over Leo Dicaprio and his young girlfriends?

If you’ve ventured anywhere near Twitter today, you’ll have seen the outrage over news that Leonardo DiCaprio may be dating 19-year-old French-Israeli model Eden Polani.

Shock Horror, a famous and beautiful movie star is dating a beautiful young woman. Haven’t we seen this story play out a million times before?

If that’s true, guess what? Eden is not manipulated. She doesn’t have to go out with him. She knows Leo’s track record of dumping women once they hit 25.

It’s exciting…and it’s also transactional. He gets gorgeous arm candy to show off around town, and she gets the glitz and glamor of dating a movie star. We’re talking vacations on yachts, access to VIP sections in bars, media attention and a revived modeling career.

Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, and Eden Polani, 19 (seen together on January 31). While insiders say the movie star and model are just friends, many people were bothered by the thought of them potentially being together.

As someone who has been in contact with a famous person before, I can tell you exactly how things are going for Eden right now.

First, reporters will slip into her DMs to offer interviews, paparazzi will ask if they can come take pictures of her, old school friends will reach out “just to say hello.”

She’ll have brands offering to send her free clothes (for those inevitable pap injections) and modeling agencies who may have once turned her down clamoring to put her on their books. At first it’s a bit overwhelming, but then it gets pretty damn exciting.

She would never have known so much attention. People want to know her!

And Eden is not stupid. She posted cheeky tweets of herself in New York, where Leo happens to be right now, before deleting them. For what? Because it creates intrigue. It advances the story. This keeps it relevant. Whether he told her to delete them or she was teasing the media, it worked.

Because you see, today’s 19-year-olds are savvy. They know what creates good engagement on their social pages and thanks to celebrity mentors like Kim Kardashian, they know how to turn those 15 minutes of fame into a career of a lifetime.

Eden Polani (pictured) is undoubtedly savvy enough to turn her 15 minutes into so much more, writes Jana Hocking

Ask Gisele Bündchen who was 18 when she first dated Leo. She was a relatively unknown model who, through exposure, landed a Victoria’s Secret contract, several Vogue covers, and became one of the highest-paid models in the world.

Could she have gotten there on her own? Maybe eventually. Did dating Leo take his career to a whole new level at a much faster pace? Absolutely.

And let’s not dissipate the benefits of dating an older man. I have spoken of it very fondly in the past and the benefits are endless. They seem to get better looking with age, they have a stable income, a good sense of who they are, and they absolutely adore you.

Before we all get on our high horse, pointing out that men seem to only want younger women these days, maybe let’s take a look at the female megastars who have dated younger men, because this is not is not that rare…

There isn’t much outrage when older women date younger men, says Jana Hocking (pictured)

Last year Olivia Wilde, 37, was dating Harry Styles, 26. Sure, we were intrigued, but would you say outraged? No.

Madonna’s most recent boyfriend was a spring chicken at just 23. She is 64 years old. Did this blow up Twitter? No.

Sandra Bullock was 37 when she dated 21-year-old Ryan Gosling. He even called her one of his greatest loves. Don’t you remember? Yes, I barely did either.

Even popstar Fergie admitted in an old interview with Cosmopolitan magazine that she dated Justin Timberlake for a brief time when she was 23 and he was just 16. already made one? Again… no.

Let’s be honest, even if Leo and Eden ARE a couple, it’s not going to last, so why not let it happen?

Eden, you’re dating this fabulous Hollywood star, gracing those red carpets, enjoying that yacht vacation, and rolling to the bank. Because while I’m sitting here in my one-bedroom apartment, munching on a supermarket sandwich, I know I wouldn’t turn it down. Even if it was only for a few months of absolute glamour.

Leonardo DiCaprio”s Dating History

The Django Unchained star has made a habit of never dating a woman over 25.

GISELE BUNDCHEN (1999-2004)

Gisèle and Leonardo at the 2005 Oscars

Leo’s first high profile relationship was with the Brazilian model, who was 18 when the pair met. She broke off the relationship five years later when she was 23.

BAR REFAELI (2005-2010)

Bar Refaeli

The actor’s relationship with Bar Refaeli ended after 5 years of dating – coincidentally, at the same time the Israeli model turned 25.

BLAKE LIVE (2011)

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds’ current wife only dated Leo for a year when she was 23.

ERIN HEATHERTON (2012)

Erin Heatherton

The Victoria’s Secret Angel actress was just 22 when she dated DiCaprio in 2012.

TONI GARRN (2013-2014)

Toni Garrn

German-born model Garrn was just 21 when she and Leo called it quits after two years of dating.

KELLY ROHRBACH (2015)

Kelly Rohrbach on the set of Baywatch

The Baywatch reboot star was 25 when she and DiCaprio dated from around June to December 2015, with the break believed to be a mutual decision.

NINA AGDAL (2016-2017)

Nina Agdal and her ex Jack Brinkley Cook

Things ended between Leo and the Danish swimsuit model after he turned 25 in 2017.

CAMILA MORRONE (2017-2022)

Leo and Camila on a walk in New York in May 2018

Leo and the model-turned-actress started dating just months after his split from Nina Agdal. They were reportedly more serious than ever at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the two reportedly went their separate ways in the summer of 2022.

GIGI HADID (SEPTEMBER 2022 – DECEMBER 2022)

Gigi Hadid parades in Paris in October 2022

Following his split from Morrone in August, it was reported that Leo had his sights set on model Gigi Hadid. The couple were seen hanging out in hotspots around New York, but the romance apparently died down in December.

VICTORIA LAMAS (DECEMBER 2022 – NOW)

Victoria Lamas pictured

Leo was previously romantically linked to model/actress Victoria Lamas, who happens to be the daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas. The couple were spotted hanging out in Hollywood in late December and reportedly ringing in the New Year together.