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Tobey Maguire’s ex-wife Jennifer Meyer has come to his defense after he was pictured at Michael Rubin’s Fourth of July party with model Lily Chee.
The Spider-Man star, 49, was recently spotted with the 20-year-old social media influencer at Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin’s annual white party in The Hamptons, New York. In photos captured by celebrity news agency Backgrid, Maguire was seen dressed in all-white and standing next to Chee, wearing a white mid-length cut-out dress.
The Hollywood star appeared to place his hand on Chee’s lower back as they were photographed leaving the star-studded July 4th party. As the photo circulated online, many people were quick to speculate that Maguire and Chee were dating. Others criticized the pair for their nearly 30-year age gap, such as one person who wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “She wasn’t even born when the first Spider-Man film was released.”
Both Maguire and Chee have not yet publicly addressed the online rumors.
However, amid the romance speculation, one internet user took it upon themself to jump into the comments section of Maguire’s ex-wife, Jennifer Meyer. In a since-deleted comment posted to Instagram, user @hkello3 wrote under the 47-year-old jewelry designer’s post: “Why is your ex-husband banging someone three years older than your daughter?”
In response, Meyer defended The Great Gatsby actor and explained that he was “kindly” walking Chee to her car when they were photographed together.
“I don’t usually respond to such nonsense, but he was kindly helping a friend to her car, being a good guy,” she wrote on Instagram, according to a screenshot shared on Reddit. “And now he has [been] blasted online for dating someone he is not. But thank you for your rude comment, I hope it made you feel better today. Wishing you love and light.”
The mother of two also dismissed the online speculation in a separate comment and emphasized her close relationship with her ex-husband.
“I’m disengaging after this,” Meyer added. “But don’t believe everything you read (I’m sure you were taught that somewhere). Tobey is as good of a guy as it gets.”
Maguire and Meyer were married in 2007 before announcing their separation nine years later in 2016. The jewelry designer didn’t officially file for divorce from Maguire until October 2020, requesting joint legal and physical custody of their two children: daughter Ruby, born November 2006, and son Otis, born May 2009.
Jen Meyer defends ex-husband Tobey Maguire
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The former couple have since maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship. In 2022, Meyer shared on an episode of The World’s First Podcast that her divorce from Maguire has been “the most beautiful experience of my life”.
“I would literally do anything in the world for Tobey. He is my brother. I love him to death and we have the most beautiful family,” Meyer told podcast co-hosts Sara and Erin Foster at the time. “The work is a motherf***er. I’m not gonna lie. And we did a lot of work to stay on track to stay a family.
“It was a choice and it was trusting in, like, the universe has got our back,” she said.
It was a star-studded affair at Rubin’s annual Independence Day party, which took place at the celebrity vacation destination of Bridgehampton, New York. Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Tom Brady, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio, Drake, Travis Scott, Emily Ratajkowski, and Camila Cabello were just some of the A-listers in attendance at the beachfront party.
According to Vogue, the event was catered by several celebrity hotspot restaurants, including Nobu, Lucali, Cucina Alba, and Raos. Shaboozey, Mary J Blige, and Lil Wayne each performed for the guests, as well as Alesso, Megan Thee Stallion, Machine Gun Kelly, Bryson Tiller, A$AP Ferg, and Travis Scott later in the evening. Attendees were also treated to a fireworks display, in line with the Fourth of July celebrations.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Meyer, Maguire, and Chee for comment.
