Jerry Seinfeld’s Controversial Relationship With a 17-Year-Old at 38

Jerry Seinfeld has faced scrutiny over a relationship he had in the early 1990s with Shoshanna Lonstein, who was just 17 when they met.

According to reports, including coverage from Defamer and interviews Seinfeld gave at the time, the comedian first noticed Lonstein sitting on a bench in Central Park in 1993 and decided to approach her. The two exchanged numbers and began what would become a four-year relationship.

Seinfeld was 38 at the time, and the age difference naturally drew attention from tabloids and gossip outlets. The pair maintained that their relationship began as a friendship, and Seinfeld insisted that anything romantic or sexual did not occur until Lonstein turned 18.

The relationship became public knowledge after Seinfeld appeared on The Howard Stern Show. Stern joked, “So, you sit in Central Park and have a candy bar on a string and pull it when the girls come?”

Seinfeld tried to clarify, saying, “She’s not 17, definitely not.” However, in a later appearance, he admitted, “I didn’t realise 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.”

Despite the controversy, Seinfeld defended his relationship with Lonstein in later interviews.

In one statement reported by Defamer, he said, “I am not an idiot. 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.”

He also told Playboy, “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.”

Eventually, the couple broke up, with Seinfeld reflecting that timing played a role. “We were very much in love. But the timing wasn’t quite right. I almost got married to Shoshanna,” he said. Lonstein had enrolled in college and was focusing on her own career.

While Seinfeld described their connection as genuine, the relationship remains controversial. Many critics note that the fact he pursued a 17-year-old girl in Central Park is troubling, regardless of his later defenses.

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