When the news broke last week that Emma Watson had a new boyfriend, few would have recognised his name. William ‘Mack’ Knight, a 35-year-old tech entrepreneur from California, is more about HTML than Hollywood hobnobbing.
But while Emma’s new man might not be familiar, something about this pairing gave us definite déjà vu. A-list star hooks up with Silicon Valley entrepreneur? We bring you the rise of the TUBBIES. We’re not talking about a fondness for a pot belly. No, TUBBIES are tech-hubbies, guys whose day job is coding and programming, building apps and designing social networks – and making a fortune in the process.
And now they have a new role, as the current arm candy of choice for A-list power women from every arena. Yup, it seems that techies’ romantic stock is now rising as fast as the net worth of their start-ups. These are the new power couples – one part tech, one part Tinseltown.
Don’t believe us? Just ask Miranda Kerr, who has been dating 25-year-old Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel – the world’s youngest billionaire – since last year. Orlando who? Or tennis superstar Serena Williams, who is reportedly seeing Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian after ending things with rapper Drake.
You see, these A-list ladies are no longer interested in stepping out with a mere musician, movie star or premier league footballer on their arm – that’s so 2012. They need a man who can match their intellect and their bank balance. Call it the ultimate revenge of the nerds.
This romantic trend has been bubbling for a while. Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey (worth a cool £1.6 billion) dated model Lily Cole back in 2013. Meanwhile, Tinder CEO Sean Rad said in an interview last year that a ‘supermodel, someone really, really famous’ had ‘begged’ him for sex. ‘She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t mean that I want to rip her clothes off and have sex with her.’ (Sure. I mean, the man who brought us Tinder is obviously looking for lasting love, right?).
So, what exactly is it about these multimillionaires that is piquing the attention of so many females? It’s an easy joke to make – but these women are hardly in need of cash themselves. Reddit’s Ohanian is worth £3.1 million – but that’s still only 3% of Serena’s £100million fortune.
For Miranda Kerr, her Snapchat beau is apparently ‘sweet, really kind and smart’. A source says that Emma fell for her new man because he’s ‘just a normal guy, a down-to-earth guy who has nothing to do with Hollywood’. Successful and with their ego in check. It’s enough to make you give IT a call...
But before you head to California to find your own TUBBIE, you might want to consider a popular saying in Silicon Valley, where single men vastly outnumber women. The odds might be good – but often, the goods are odd.
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