Jerry Seinfeld is popular for playing a semi-fictionalized version of his stand-up career and life in the sitcom Seinfeld. The sitcom had a successful run expanding over 9 seasons of 180 episodes, which he created and wrote with Larry David.
Seinfeld met his wife, Jessica in 1998. Before that, he had a controversial relationship with Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, a 17-year-old high school senior. When they met in New York City’s Central Park in May 1993, Seinfeld was 21 older than her.
Seinfeld on Dating a 21-Year Younger Woman
It appears that the age gap did not bother the couple. “I met this girl, Shoshanna,” the comedian told Playboy in a 1993 interview. “She’s a very sweet girl and she’s very pretty. I didn’t know how old she was — I knew she wasn’t 40,” he revealed. “I took her to a basketball game and that was the whole thing,” he added.
Jerry Seinfeld’s relationship was under severe scrutiny for dating a teenager. American radio and television personality Howard Stern, who is known for The Howard Stern Show, callously directed questions to the comedian about the relationship, “So you sit in Central Park and have a candy bar on a string and pull it when the girls come?”
Responding to Stern, Seinfeld said,
“I didn’t realize she was so young. This is the only girl I ever went out with who was that young. I wasn’t dating her. We just went to a restaurant, and that was it.”
Seinfeld and Shoshanna’s Four Years Long Relationship
Seinfeld was always keen on defending his controversial relationship with Gruss. “I am not an idiot,” he said defending the relationship.
“Shoshanna is a person, not an age. She is extremely bright. She’s funny, sharp, very alert. We just get along. You can hear the click.”
As per reports at the time, the couple initially claimed that they were “just friends” and only went public after Gruss turned 18.
Commenting on the relationship, Seinfeld’s close friend, comedian George Wallace told People that she was beautiful and mature, “She’s good for him.” Seinfeld’s manager at the time, George Shapiro also said, “I’ve never seen him happier.”
Further, Seinfeld told Playboy,
“I don’t meet that many women I like, period. So when I like someone, I don’t care about her race, creed, or national origin. If I like her, I don’t care. I don’t discriminate. If she’s 18, if she’s intelligent, that’s fine.”
The couple dated for four years and ended the relationship in 1997. As per the reports, there was no dispute between the couple. Gruss had enrolled at UCLA, and as Seinfeld’s work in Los Angeles was loaded, the distance grew. Eventually, her lifestyle couldn’t keep up with the comedian’s busy schedule. “I wanted to run around and play,” she said. Gruss admitted that she was happy with the relationship, but the distance did not work.
Also read: Seinfeld Actors You Didn’t Know Passed Away.
Where is Shoshanna Lonstein Now?
Following their split, Gruss built her career as a fashion designer. She went on with a novel concept, ‘clothes with more Inclusivity’ to debut with an eponymous collection that hit the store in 1998. Later. she married music label executive Joshua Gruss in 2003. The couple is parent to a daughter named Sienna, and twins Joseph and Angelica. The Gruss couple also ended their relationship in 2014. The decision was “amicable and sad.”
In 2021, she took to Instagram to announce that she was writing a memoir titled “The Fabric of My Life.” Now, she is active on her business and social media often sharing her collection and photos of her children.
Source: Nicki Swift
