It was a very confusing time. Comedian Jon Lovitz was in love. Or he wasn't in love. He was engaged—or not. And he was the secret beau of model/actress Lowndes. Or he was her fiance. People were baffled by this strange pairing (not to mention the dramatic age difference—Lovitz is 58, while Lowndes is 27). The Internet attempted to investigate the barrage of conflicting information that appeared from all corners of the web. When it was revealed that the whole thing had, in fact, been a prank, most of us had one question: What the heck just happened?

Instagram Intrigue

 His hands are wise and tell a thousand stories... #smitten #hatersgonnahate snap: realjlowndes

A photo posted by Jessica Lowndes (@jessicalowndes) on Mar 24, 2016 at 1:56pm PDT


Give credit where it's due: Lovitz and Lowndes were clever with their scheme. They started off a few days before the big reveal, with Lowndes alluding to the new love in her life. People were fascinated by the tease (not to mention the apparent age of the man in question). But Lowndes wasn't going to keep her secret for long; after all, love should be shared—even when it's just a hoax.

Internet Outrage

Lovitz was quick to get in on the joke, posting a picture of the two fooling around in his car. But despite the copious photographic evidence, people weren't entirely sold on the love story. Many pointed out the 31-year age difference between the model and the Saturday Night Live icon.

Others were quick to note that there was little warning about this explosive love affair (although the two did film an episode of Hawaii 5-0 together back in 2015). Mostly, though, everyone was confused. What was really going on? Had we finally become too jaded to believe in love?

Romance In The Air?


For a very confused but fascinated public, things escalated quickly: shortly after Lovitz was revealed as Lowndes' venerable old squeeze, she flashed this picture of a giant engagement ring. Cries of a hoax were increased; after all, who had ever heard of a couple going from 'In a Relationship' to 'Engaged' in just a few short days (at least when both participants are stars)?

Others were enraged by what they thought was Lovitz taking advantage of the much younger Lowndes. Some sided with the comedian, accusing the model and 90210 star of gold digging one of their favorite funnymen. One thing was for sure: nobody seemed very happy about this new couple.

The Joke's On Us

A video posted by Jessica Lowndes (@jessicalowndes) on Mar 28, 2016 at 1:12pm PDT


With a truly remarkable amount of media attention being focused on them, it didn't take long for Lowndes and Lovitz to reveal their clever ruse.

"I know it's still only the first week of March, but is it too early to say April Fools?" asked Lowndes on her Instagram.

Turns out that the doubters were right: a Lovitz-Lowndes wedding is not on the horizon. The entire gag was nothing more than an elaborate hoax promoting her upcoming video "Deja Vu," in which Lovitz plays a major role. Despite the overwhelmingly negative response to the May-September relationship, people were more than a little put out to find out it had all been a big joke. While some appreciated the humor and social media ploys employed by the performers, others seemed surprisingly betrayed.

Whether or not the ruse will pay off in terms of Lowndes' musical career remains to be seen, but this ploy did prove a few things—namely that you still can't trust everything you see on social media. Don't get us wrong, it was a great prank; we're just not sure who's supposed to be laughing.