Content Advisory: This article discusses celebrity dating, age-gap romance speculation, public affection, and grief following a recent death. Reader discretion is advised.
Mel Gibson’s personal life is back in the spotlight after the actor was photographed looking affectionate with Italian actress Antonella Salvucci during a night out in Rome.
The 70-year-old ‘Lethal Weapon’ star was in Italy while finishing work on ‘The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One’, his long-awaited follow-up to ‘The Passion of the Christ’. During the trip, Gibson was seen dining with Salvucci, 44, before the pair walked through several well-known spots in the city.
The outing comes after Gibson’s split from longtime partner Rosalind Ross, 35.
Mel Gibson Spotted With Antonella Salvucci In Rome
Gibson and Salvucci were photographed outside the seafood restaurant Micalusi Real Fish, where they were seen sharing affectionate moments.
The pair later walked through Rome together, held hands, and visited the Zodiac panoramic viewpoint and the Fontanone fountain on Gianicolo Hill.
Sources close to Gibson claimed the actor is currently single and suggested the outing was not necessarily a serious new romance. One insider said he had simply been saying goodbye to a friend before returning to the United States. Still, the photos quickly sparked dating speculation.
Source Says Gibson Threw Out His Old Dating Rules
According to one source, Gibson had previously joked that if he dated again after Ross, he would probably choose someone in her 30s.
“Mel had been joking that if he ever dated again after Rosalind, he would probably end up with somebody in their 30s because he likes youthful energy and adventure,” the insider claimed. The source added that friends are now teasing him because Salvucci is younger than him, but not in the age range he had allegedly mentioned.
Another source claimed Gibson seemed very taken with Salvucci during the outing. “He absolutely looked captivated by her all night,” the insider said. “Whatever this relationship is, people around Mel think he has clearly thrown his old rules out the window.”
Who Is Antonella Salvucci?
Salvucci previously worked as a fashion model and television presenter. She is also known for roles in horror films including ‘The Beginning: Feel The Dead’ and ‘Nightmare Symphony’, along with the TV movie ‘Shelter’.
Earlier this year, she appeared on the Italian television program ‘Storie Di Donne Al Bivio’, where she claimed she once experienced love at first sight with Sean Penn after meeting him in Los Angeles.
During the Rome outing, Salvucci wore a brown leather jumpsuit with a pink handbag, while Gibson kept his look casual in a white button-down shirt, jeans, a baseball cap, and Crocs.
Gibson’s Personal Life Returns To Headlines
The outing comes after reports that Gibson was devastated by the death of actress Nadia Fares.
Fares, who starred opposite Gibson in the 2022 thriller ‘On The Line’, died in Paris at 57 following complications from a swimming pool accident. She had reportedly visited Gibson on the Rome set of ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ before her death.
Gibson shares nine children with three women. He and Ross share a son, Lars. He was previously married to Robyn Moore for 31 years and later dated Russian musician Oksana Grigorieva.
For now, sources insist Gibson is single. But the Rome photos have clearly pushed his dating life back into public view.
