All About Michael Polansky, Lady Gaga’s Tech CEO Fiancé and Partner of 4+ Years
She’s off the deep end; watch as we dive in. In February 2020, Lady Gaga was spotted cozying up to investor Michael Polansky ahead of her pre-Super Bowl performance: Page Six ran photos of the pair kissing on a balcony in Miami. Now, they’re more than four years into their relationship, and during the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gaga confirmed they were engaged. Below, everything we know about the musician’s fiancé.
Polansky is a Harvard-educated tech investor and a founder or co-founder of multiple companies, including Avos Capital Management, Outer Biosciences, and Hawktail. He also serves as a board member for organizations including the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and his fianceé’s makeup company, Haus Labs By Lady Gaga.
Per Page Six sources, Gaga and Polansky have “likely known each other for a while through events Parker has hosted at his LA mansion.” The insider claims the couple connected at Parker’s December 2019 birthday party.
Gaga has indeed attended Parker’s events, as actor Bradley Cooper says he himself met Gaga in April 2016 when she performed at the opening of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Parker’s home. While there, she sang Édith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose," which inspired Cooper to cast Gaga in her Oscar-nominated role from A Star Is Born.
“I was at a cancer benefit with my mother. I really did not know Lady Gaga’s music," Cooper told W magazine. “They had a surprise musical guest, and Stefani came out with her hair slicked back.”
After months of engagement rumors, Gaga was filmed confirming the news herself during the Paris Olympics on July 28, 2024. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal shared a TikTok in which he met Gaga at a swimming event. She introduced Polansky as her fiancé in the clip. People reported the news but noted her representative had not yet responded to its request for comment.
On an episode of The Graham Norton Show aired on September 27, the star shared how she felt when she realized she’d revealed her engagement by accident.
“The prime minister actually had his people filming us while they were saying hello and they caught me saying, ‘Oh, this is my fiancé,’” she shared. “And I was trying to keep it hidden, but then they announced it to everyone. But that was kind of fun.”
She then said Polansky proposed on April Fool’s Day.
“Actually, I thought he was joking and he was not,” Gaga said. “But it was really nice.”
Page Six obtained photos of Gaga as she was walking in West Hollywood on Sunday, April 7. On her left hand, she wore a large diamond on her ring finger. The new piece of jewelry sparked rumors that she and Polansky had privately gotten engaged.
Gaga shared a little more about Polansky’s proposal to her—and how it inspired her music—at the Little Monster Press Conference hosted by Spotify on February 27.
“We were in the backyard and he said, ‘If I proposed to you one day, what am I supposed to do?’ and I said, ‘You can just get a blade of grass from the backyard and wrap it around my finger.’ And he did actually propose to me with these green bands,” Gaga said, holding up her green ring. “He also gave me my ring. You’ve seen it,” she added of her diamond engagement ring.
He helped her write the song too, she added: “It was a very special moment and I started writing that song at home with him, brought him into the studio, and Gesaffelstein [a producer and collaborator] was there.” You can read its lyrics here.
Gaga discussed her hopes to have children with Polansky in her February 2025 ELLE cover story. She said she imagines her life in the years ahead includes “me and Michael and our kids.”
When asked how she hopes they see her, Gaga replied, “I would want my children to understand that whatever my artistry means to them is totally up to them. I would never actually want to shape it or tell them how to think about me. Maybe other than that I just did my best. And tried to stay true to myself along the way. That’s something Michael and I have talked about a lot—allowing our kids to be their own people. It’s such an intense thing for kids coming into the world. And they’re told how to think and what to believe in and how to eat…I just kind of want to let my kids find out who they are.’”
During a March 2025 Good Morning America interview following the release of Mayhem, Gaga revealed she was direct with her intentions when she first went out with Polansky. “We’d been talking for, like, three weeks on the phone every single day just getting to know each other, and Michael flew to Vegas when I was doing my show to take me on our first date,” she said, via Billboard. “And before we even sat down, I said, ‘Do you want marriage and kids?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah I do.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, OK, great. Do you want some champagne?’”
Gaga’s partner spoke to ELLE about watching Gaga create Mayhem. “It’s been one of the most incredible parts of this chapter of my life, to live with and coexist alongside someone making art and being creative in ways that very few people get to experience,” he said. “I think of myself as really lucky to have been there for it.”
“This album was so much fun to watch her make,” he added. “She recorded it right down the street from our house, so we could easily walk back and forth from the studio. I spent a lot of time with her, bringing my laptop to work while she was there. What surprised me most was how fast she is. I couldn’t believe how quickly a song would take shape. Within five minutes, 80 percent of the song would have come from nothing.”
Gaga shared that Polansky “helped write, like, seven songs!”
Gaga said she hadn’t expected Polansky’s proposal during her October 1 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “He proposed to me right after my birthday, so my birthday passed and I was like, ‘Well, I thought he was gonna propose …,’” she started. “I do [rock climb] now. I would do anything for love.”
“We were just walking back to the room and talking,” she said. “He actually—it was very Michael—asked me if he could ask me. He wanted to know if it was OK to propose before he proposed. And I was like, ‘Yes, it’s so OK!’ He had the ring in his backpack, so it was so super cute.” She shared that Polansky didn’t get down on one knee, but that didn’t bother her at all. “I’m a modern lady. I like what he did.”
On August 21, 2024, Gaga introduced another addition to her and Polansky’s family, sharing a video of a brown French Bulldog on her TikTok. As she held the adorable puppy in her arms, she sang along to her and Bruno Mars’s hit “Die With a Smile,” lip-syncing the lyrics, “If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you.”
Gaga was photographed kissing Polansky as the couple arrived in Venice on Sept. 2, 2024. They matched in black, Gaga wearing a polka-dot dress.
Gaga is at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of her film Joker: Folie à Deux on September 4. Her arrival with Polansky suggests they could walk its red carpet together.
This marks one of their first major appearances since Gaga confirmed their engagement during the Paris Olympics in July.
Polansky joined Gaga in a black tuxedo for the September 4 premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux during the Venice Film Festival. He complemented Gaga’s own black ensemble. The actress stepped out in a stunning Christian Dior Haute Couture ball gown. She added Tiffany & Co. jewelry and a dramatic Philip Treacy headpiece.
On September 25, the couple appeared in London together at the U.K. premiere of Gaga’s project, Joker: Folie à Deux. Both wore Celine, Gaga in a red gown and puff sleeve blazer. Polansky was outfitted in a suit by the brand. They kissed in front of photographers and were fairly affectionate:
On Monday, February 3, 2020, Gaga made the romance Instagram official, posting their first IG as a couple. "We had so much fun in Miami. Love to all my little monsters and fans, you’re the best! ❤️" she captioned a photo of the two cuddling up on a boat.
Gaga followed that post up with a Valentine's Day shoutout to Polansky. "Happy Valentine’s Day!! “Babe, do I have lipstick all-over me?”😂#valentines ❤️💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💕🧚♀️happy v-day to all my monsters!!! I love you!!! ❤️😘🎈," she captioned a photo of the pair.
E! spoke to a source in February 2020 about how Gaga was feeling during the first months of her romance with Polansky. The source said Gaga “has been dating the same guy for over a month. They’ve been seeing other since before the holidays, and she’s crazy about him.”
When the COVID pandemic hit that March, their relationship only grew stronger. A source told Entertainment Tonight in March 2020 that “they both felt social distancing and quarantine was the right thing to do, and it’s given them time to spend together and focus on one another without work or any other distractions.” Gaga even shared a snapshot of her quarantine with Polansky on Instagram. She captioned a photo of the couple interlocking hands, "Day 6 of self-quarantining! Going strong, playing video games and cards, and taking care of ourselves. Important reminder: keep your mind as stress free as possible and your body moving.”
The source went on to explain that, while Gaga initially wanted to keep their relationship private at first, their strong connection inspired her to take the romance public. “Gaga is really getting serious with her boyfriend, and the chemistry is undeniable,” the insider said. “At first she wanted to keep it low key and quiet because she had just gotten out of a relationship and thought taking it slow would be good, but they had an immediate connection, so it was tough to keep under wraps. They were spending so much time together, she finally decided to post on Instagram to make it official.”
Ever wonder what it would feel like to see your ex dating a celebrity? Lindsay Crouse, senior staff editor at The New York Times and Polansky’s ex, wrote about the experience in a February 2020 op-ed. Titled, “My Ex-Boyfriend’s New Girlfriend Is Lady Gaga,” she explored what it was like to see Polansky, whom she dated for seven years, be photographed by Gaga's side in paparazzi shots. “Lady Gaga is amazing,” Crouse wrote, concluding his relationship had a positive impact on her outlook. “Comparing yourself with her is incredibly motivational, and I recommend you try it, regardless of how you relate to who’s dating her.”
Another major milestone in the couple’s relationship was attending the inauguration together. Gaga, wearing a custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown, was on hand to sing the national anthem at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration. Polansky went to the historic event as her date and was spotted sharing a masked kiss with Gaga. A source told Us Weekly that ahead of her performance Gaga was “grateful to have the support of Joe, Jill, her family, her boyfriend and the American people."”
In March 2021, a source told Entertainment Tonight that the star was considering what her future with her boyfriend of more than one year would look like. The source said that Gaga “is super in love with Michael Polansky.”
“She has been telling her friends that she wants to get through a few projects and then focus on settling down,” the source added. “Gaga wants to have children one day and sees a future with Michael.”
In a spring 2020 InStyle interview, Gaga spoke about her dreams to have a family:
“I will say I am very excited to have kids,” Gaga said. “I look forward to being a mom. Isn’t it incredible what we can do? We can hold a human inside and grow it. Then it comes out, and it’s our job to keep it alive. It’s so funny—everyone works out of my house every day. When they come in, I always say, ‘Welcome to the Womb!’”
Tabloid RadarOnline ran a report in late March 2023, claiming the two had allegedly broken up and were now just friends. At the time, no major outlet reported the rumor independently, and neither Gaga nor Polansky themselves commented on it. Gaga was shooting Joker: Folie à Deux at the time.
Later in 2023, they put the rumors to bed when they were spotted on a date in Los Angeles during the week of Thanksgiving. They were accompanied by musical artist will.i.am and an unidentified female friend, and the group reportedly dined together for four hours.
Gaga and Polansky attended the three-hour live event celebrating Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary, SNL50. On the red carpet, they stopped to share a kiss.
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