Madonna has a hunky new boytoy in her life following her split from model boyfriend Andrew Darnell, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The 64-year-old Queen of Pop is now dating 29-year-old boxer Josh Popper, who has been training one of her children at Bredwinners gym in New York City, insiders say.
The singer was seen cuddling up to her sparring partner in a series of snaps shared on Instagram earlier this month.
Sporting dark shades and the same floor-length black silk coat she wore to the Grammys after-party in early February, Madonna can be seen pressing her lips against Popper’s shoulder and squeezing his bulging tattooed right arm as he makes a fist at the gym.
Madonna has been dating 29-year-old boxing coach Josh Popper, who runs Bredwinners boxing gym in Manhattan, following her split from her model boyfriend of five months Andrew Darnell
The singer was seen cuddling up to her sparring partner alongside friends in a series of snaps shared on Instagram last month
Sources tell DailyMail.com Popper has also been teaching one of Madonna’s children how to box at his Manhattan gym
‘In a male driven culture, there are always exceptions,’ she wrote in the Instagram story post, which followed a photo of the Material Girl embracing a punching bag captioned: ‘Hard to ignore the reality… that most women get demolished.’
The photos were shared just days after Madonna was criticized for her nearly unrecognizable appearance at the Grammy Awards.
The Like a Prayer hitmaker is also now mourning the loss of her brother Anthony Ciccone, whose death on Sunday comes amid her recent breakup with Darnell.
Popper also shared the photo on his own account, where he included a second photo with his arm wrapped around the pop star, flanked by three friends as they pose outside a boxing ring.
But sources tell DailyMail.com that this public display of affection wasn’t just for show and that Madonna and Popper have been seeing each other romantically.
The relatively unknown Jersey southpaw had been selling life insurance before opening Bredwinners in Manhattan’s Flatiron District nearly three years ago.
According to one source, Popper, a star athlete growing up in Egg Harbor Township in Southern New Jersey, has also been teaching one of Madge’s six children how to box.
Neither Popper nor Madonna have spoken publicly about their romance, only sharing social media photos at the gym together.
When approached by DailyMail.com, Popper refused to confirm or deny that he was dating the pop icon who is 36 years his senior.
He also played coy on Instagram when he posted the photos with his new woman at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York, on February 12.
The relatively unknown Jersey southpaw had been selling life insurance before opening Bredwinners gym in Manhattan’s Flatiron District nearly three years ago
The 6’4”, 240lb heavyweight has only competed in a handful of official fights, but has expressed interest in turning pro at some point
A brief biography on the Bredwinner’s website describes Popper as a ‘lifelong athlete and a full-time coach.’
‘Another W for the books!!’ gushed the upstart boxer, who added: ‘I wanna thank my coaches, my team and my Bredwinners family for pushing me to be my best in and out of the ring. I got some good people by my side.’
But when curious fans took to the comments to ask about Madonna, Popper did not reply.
In fact, the athlete merely tagged the singer and did not mention the connection between the two, much less why she was joining him at a gym.
Unlike his superstar girlfriend, Popper enjoys a relatively low-key life.
He was once a promising defensive lineman for Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 2015. He later tried out for two NFL teams but failed to make the cut.
According to his LinkedIn, he went on to become a licensed insurance salesman at New York Life.
It wasn’t until the 2020 pandemic that the fighter opened his own modest gym on the third-floor of a building on East 28th Street, where he is one of several coaches teaching boxing to adults and children.
A brief biography on the Bredwinner’s website describes Popper as a ‘lifelong athlete and a full-time coach.’
‘For Josh, boxing isn’t just about teaching you to move in the ring but teaching you how to move throughout life.
‘With Coach Josh, you can expect to use your body and your brain to learn a new skill, build strength, and move functionally.
‘Whether you’re boxing to have fun, to learn a new sport, or to fight in the ring, all levels of fighter are welcome here. He starts where you are,’ the bio states.
The photos were shared on Madonna’s Instagram story just days after Madonna was criticized for her nearly unrecognizable appearance at the Grammy Awards
Popper shared the photos on his own account, where Madonna can be seen leaning on his shoulder and squeezing his tattooed right arm as he makes a fist at the gym
The athlete merely tagged the singer and did not mention the connection between the two, much less why she was joining him at a gym. He did not respond to user comments asking about Madonna
The 6’4”, 240lb heavyweight has only competed in a handful of official fights, but has expressed interest in turning pro at some point.
Popper has gained a small following on his social media as a boxing buff, but has also recently dipped his toes in reality television.
He appears on the latest season of Bravo series Summer House which follows a group of nine young, attractive friends living a summer house in Montauk in East Hampton.
He was featured on Monday night’s episode, where he was introduced as the boxing coach and love interest of new cast member Samantha Feher, who later realizes they are not a match.
But Popper has apparently moved on with Madonna since, amid recent reports she and her 23-year-old model boyfriend Andrew Darnell have called it quits.
Following their split, the singer has reportedly been experiencing a ‘crisis of confidence’ over their breakup and recent ‘ageist and misogynistic’ criticism of her appearance earlier this month.
‘It was only a very casual thing [with Darnell] so she’s not broken-hearted. It’s just that it has come at a bad time,’ a source told Page Six on Friday.
The insider continued: ‘She’s having a bit of a crisis of confidence and this doesn’t help. She had a lot of fun with Andrew but it was never love or anything like that.’
The former couple began dating shortly after the end of her three-year romance with former backup dancer Ahlamalik Williams, 28.
She was first romantically linked to Darnell in September after they were spotted kissing at a party in New York City.
‘They were definitely smooching,’ Page Six reported, at the time. ‘She and Andrew were being very openly affectionate all night, snuggling and cuddling in the booth.’
Her self-esteem is said to have been rattled by haters that took to social media to say she looked unrecognizable at the 2023 Grammy Awards,
Popper, who is 35 years Madonna’s junior, appears on the latest season of Bravo series Summer House which follows a group of nine young, attractive friends living a summer house in Montauk in East Hampton
He was featured on Monday night’s episode where cast member Samantha invites him over for the weekend
Popper is introduced as Sam’s lover interest and boxing coach and can be seen wearing a boxing glove charm on his gold bracelet
In response to the backlash, the mother-of-six explained that her face was distorted during the show and looked puffier than it actually was due to a ‘long lens camera.’
‘Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in,’ she wrote on her Instagram Story.
In her lengthy caption, Madonna called it an ‘honor’ to introduce Kim Petras — the first openly trans person to win a Grammy — as well as Sam Smith, who shared the duo award and became the first openly non-binary artist to win in the Best Pop Duo/Group Collaboration category.
She noted that she opted to introduce Petras, rather than presenting for the coveted Album of the Year prize, as she thought the former moment would be more important and befitting her trailblazing status.
But Madonna was annoyed at how people ignored her words and instead focused on her appearance.
‘Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim – Many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!’ she said.
Madonna complained that she lived in a ‘world that refuses to celebrate women pass the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous [sic].’
Moving on: Madonna and her model boyfriend Andrew Darnell, who is 41 years her junior, called it quits after less than a year of dating
Rough month: Following their split, the Material Girl singer, 64, is reportedly experiencing a ‘crisis of confidence’ over their breakup and recent ‘ageist and misogynistic’ criticism of her appearance earlier this month
She continued, declaring that she wasn’t about to start apologizing for ‘any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start.’
The Like A Prayer singer said that while she felt she has been ‘degraded’ since she shot to fame in the early 1980s, ‘I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come.’
Earlier this week, she seemingly admitted to getting plastic surgery in a candid new post as she gushed about ‘how cute’ she looked after ‘that swelling from surgery’ had ‘gone down.’
Still, she didn’t reveal exactly what kind of procedure she had or when she went under the knife.
In addition to facing scrutiny over her appearance and the end to her relationship, her much-anticipated biopic, starring Julia Garner, was scrapped in late January.
The U.S. Sun is reporting that the biopic, which was green-lit in 2020, was shelved due in part to Madonna’s insistence on having ‘near-total’ control of the process on top of her bizarre ‘circus antics’ on social media.
The decision followed her announcement that she would be embarking on a 40th anniversary world tour.
