Leonardo DiCaprio's ex-girlfriend Kristen Zang pens essay BLASTING 'ageist headlines and comments'

Last week, Leonardo DiCaprio fans mocked the Hollywood star on social media after they correctly predicted the actor would end his relationship with Camila Morrone due to her age as he split with her after she turned 25.

And now his ex-girlfriend is hitting back at the ‘ageist headlines and comments.’

Kristen Zang, 48, who dated 47-year-old DiCaprio when they were in their 20s from 1995 to 1999 penned an essay for People magazine published Wednesday in which she publicly commented on their relationship for the first time ever.

She wrote that no one really knows what happened to end DiCaprio’s relationship with Morrone but one thing that should end are prejudicial comments toward age.

Zang wrote: ‘As far as Leo and his latest breakup, who knows what happened. Maybe she really cared for him but was just ready for the next chapter, perhaps it’s temporary, or maybe it’s none of our business but can we stop with the ageist headlines and comments? But let’s keep the funny memes coming, they’re stellar. Truly.’

As much as been made about DiCaprio splitting with his former flames once they turned 25-years-old, the actress revealed that they broke up shortly after she turned that age and does recognize the irony.

She said: ‘I visited Leo for long periods of time on various sets in different countries. I loved his friends and he loved mine. We were like one big happy family. Leo was a very sweet and thoughtful boyfriend. We also had some hard times like all couples do, and broke up for a bit in 1997 and then got back together. 

‘Then, about 4 months after my 25th birthday (ha, I know what you’re thinking) it was over for good.’

Zang went on to say that she felt like she had outgrown the relationship but felt compelled to say something after seeing how DiCaprio’s latest split was covered.

She said: ‘Now over 20 years later when I read the headlines and online comments with his most recent ex girlfriend being referred to as having “aged out” or being “too old for Leo at 25,” puh-lease (insert dramatic eye roll). I think we can and should do better. What kind of message is this sending to young people?’

Zang went on to marry at 40 and wanted readers to know that ‘so much better after 25.’

She concluded with an update on where she is in her life as she wrote:  ‘As for me, I’m 48 years old now, (ancient indeed). I live in the countryside of Oregon with my hot husband, Shea, who’s a builder and also happens to be younger than me (joke’s on you, Leo ), my really cute rescue mutt, Harley Dee, and I own a locally-sourced dog food company www.emmalouskitchen.com. Turns out, I was barely scratching the surface of life at 25.’

Last week it was reported that DiCaprio and stunning actress Morrone ‘quietly’ ended their relationship earlier this summer, a source close to Leo claimed to The Sun on Tuesday.

DiCaprio’s latest breakup only seemed to reinforce a pattern that the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star has established of never publicly dating a woman over the age of 25. 

News of the split instantly set Twitter ablaze as fans couldn’t believe their jokes about the couple’s doomed relationship came true just one month after Morrone’s birthday.

One fan tweeted: ‘3 things are certain in life: – death, – taxes, – Leonardo Dicaprio breaking up with his girlfriend before her pre-frontal cortex has fully developed.’

Another added: ‘May we all be as consistent as Leonardo DiCaprio, but about less creepy things.’ 

‘Leonardo DiCaprio is actually dating all the under-25s he possibly can to spread the word about climate change to those who will be the most impacted,’ a third joked.

Another Twitter user shared: ‘there’s no phenomenon on this planet more reliable than leonardo dicaprio breaking up with his girl by age 25, the stats are breathtaking’. 

Others mused about how DiCaprio might has ended the romance as one stated: ‘i need to know how leonardo dicaprio conducts these breakups. does he start picking fights months before they turn 25 to be less conspicuous?

‘do they wake up on their birthday to a note that says “sorry i can’t don’t hate me” someone pls investigate (sic).’

Some went on to joke about the age of the next young woman that the Titanic star would date next as one wrote: ‘The girl Leonardo DiCaprio will dump when he’s 72 was born today.’

Another tweeted: ‘the thought of Leonardo DiCaprio possibly dating someone born in the 2000s is actually terrifying.’

While others couldn’t resist simply poking fun at the situation, with one Twitter user joking: ‘titanic turns 25 this year at which point i assume Leonardo DiCaprio will no longer want to be in it.’ 

The playful online commentary saw fans continue long-running jokes about the Titanic star’s predilection for younger women – which reached fever pitch on Morrone’s birthday on June 16.

At the time, one Twitter user shared a TikTok video of the pair with the 1986 song, The Final Countdown by Europe, playing over a picture montage of the couple.

Followers were immediately amused by the song choice which made the clear joke that Morrone’s birthday would well spell the beginning of the end for her romance with the Oscar-winner.

One fan commented: ‘Happy Birthday sweetie!!! It’s time for us to break up.’

Another noted: ‘her lease is almost up’.

‘If they make it one more year, it will be both his longest relationship, and she will be the first 26 year old he has dated,’ one fan stated.

A fourth person added: ‘I have a feeling he might wait it out another year just so he can get the media off his back.’ 

Elsewhere one user tweeted a snap of the couple and a photo of a Wikipedia page, which specified Morrone’s age and birthday, before making another joke about the looming breakup.

‘Condolences in advance to this queen,’ they wrote.

Meanwhile, another fan tweeted: ‘Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend turns 25 today, let’s pray he doesn’t dump her tomorrow’.

DiCaprio’s past younger partners include Gisele Bündchen, Bar Refaeli, Anne Vyalitsyna, Blake Lively, Kendal Schuler, Toni Garrn, Kelly Rohrbach and Nina Agdal.

As for the actor’s latest split, insiders close to DiCaprio claimed that he and Morrone had been growing apart recently.

‘Leo and Camila ended their relationship over the summer,’ a source told The Sun. ‘There are no bad feelings between them. It just came to a natural conclusion.’

The Revenant star, who is Camila’s senior by 22 years, was first introduced to Camila back in 2008, when she was only 12.

His longtime friend Al Pacino, who had dated Camila’s mother Lucila Solá for years, made the introductions, and Leonardo apparently remained friends with the family for years.

Morrone, who had been the object of Leo’s affection since 2017, began dating the 47-year-old Oscar winner when she was just 20.

In 2019, she hit out at critics of their 23-year age gap during an interview with the LA Times. 

‘There’s so many relationships in Hollywood — and in the history of the world — where people have large age gaps,’ she pointed out. ‘I just think anyone should be able to date who they want to date.’

Though they’ve attended many high profile events, the two always made a point to walk the red carpet separately. 

Back in March 2022, Oscars co-host Amy Schumer made a quip about the star’s love life during the opening monologue as she stated: ‘Leonardo DiCaprio is doing so much for the planet. He will leave it in a better shape for his girlfriends.’

But when she explained the genesis of the joke in April on The Howard Stern Show, Schumer revealed that the Aviator star didn’t mind her ribbing. 

‘He said, “Go ahead.” They didn’t care,’ she said. ‘And his girlfriend, Cami, is the s***. She’s actually the coolest b**** you’ll meet.’