A handful of grainy Polaroid-style photos offered the first glimpse of Lady Gaga in four months.
The uncaptioned film images appeared on Instagram in late August, ending a long stretch of silence from the 40-year-old superstar, who had largely vanished from public view after wrapping her blockbuster Mayhem Ball world tour in April.
Our News Outlet understands the Bad Romance singer has been keeping a low profile in Marin County, California, settling into her new $10 million mansion with fiancé Michael Polansky.
Her retreat from the spotlight has been so closely guarded, however, that even some members of Lady Gaga’s inner circle are said to be unsure of her exact plans. One source close to the singer claimed friends have not heard from her in weeks.
‘No one has seen her or heard from her in over a month,’ the insider said. ‘Everyone in her circle thinks she eloped with Michael and is on her honeymoon now, trying to make a baby.’
For those familiar with Gaga — born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta — the secrecy would not be entirely unexpected. The pop icon has long been known for guarding her private life, and she has previously spoken openly about the idea of a low-key wedding with Polansky, 42. During an appearance with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, she admitted the couple had discussed ‘just going to a courthouse just the two of us and ordering Chinese food.’
The grainy Polaroid photos shared in August marked Lady Gaga’s first public sighting in four months
‘No one has seen her or heard from her in over a month,’ an insider said of Gaga
Her inner circle, according to the source, ‘thinks she eloped with Michael (left) and is on her honeymoon now, trying to make a baby.’ (Pictured right: Producer Andrew Watt and singer Charlotte Lawrence)
In March, she said she would ‘soon’ be tying the knot with the entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
‘This was her plan all along, to settle down in her forties,’ said another source.
She has also previously divulged her desire to start a family, telling Rolling Stone last year: ‘What I want most is to be a mother and I am sure that he will also be a great father. We are so excited about this.’
And when it comes to children, the more the merrier.
‘She has only one sister, Natali, and always wanted more siblings. So she wants her children to have many siblings so they can all lean on each other,’ a source said.
Gaga and Polansky have been together for six years after meeting in 2019 at a star-studded 40th birthday party in Los Angeles for tech entrepreneur Sean Parker.
They were first seen out together as a couple on New Year’s Eve that year at the Park MGM in Las Vegas before being spotted stealing a kiss on a hotel balcony in February 2020. In the days that followed, they went to the Super Bowl in Miami, then confirmed their relationship on social media with a cozy picture of them cuddled up on a boat.
By 2024, they were engaged. The couple made their red carpet debut that fall at the Venice Film Festival, with Gaga flashing her colossal diamond ring at the cameras.
Polansky, it would later be revealed, had proposed to her five months prior on April Fools’ Day when the couple were out rock climbing.
‘We were just walking back to the room and talking. He actually – it was very Michael – asked me if he could ask me. He wanted to know if it was OK to propose before he proposed. And I was like, “Yes, it’s so OK!”‘ she recalled.
‘He had the ring in his backpack, so it was so super cute. But you know what? I’m a modern lady. I like what he did.’
The couple made their red carpet debut that fall at the Venice Film Festival in 2024
Lady Gaga’s last public appearance was in May this year, at the premiere for Apple Music Live: Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM Requiem
Now, the couple have started to build a quieter life in the affluent town of Ross in Marin County, close to the home of California governor Gavin Newsom, according to sources.
‘There are tons of Lady Gaga sightings all over Marin and everyone loves her, she has become a local,’ one resident told us.
A native New Yorker, Gaga has been seen at all the Marin hot spots: sipping red wine and king salmon tartare at the Corner Bar in Mill Valley, shopping at Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop in Larkspur and working out at FitLab Strong in Fairfax.
‘I sat next to her at the Corner Bar in mid June,’ said one Mill Valley local. ‘She was at the back bar and drinking a red wine from France, she was very friendly and seemed to be in a great mood.
‘No one really recognized her, no one asked for an autograph. It’s not that kind of town, people are too rich and powerful to do gawking fan stuff.’
Another resident said: ‘She is very sweet and seems to really like Marin. When I saw her at the dive bar 2AM Club in Mill Valley, she said she had relocated to Ross from Southern California this summer and was thrilled about it.’
Polansky – who bought a $4.5 million property in the area back in 2019, according to property records – introduced Gaga to the slow-paced town, which is near his job at the Parker Foundation in San Francisco.
In Marin, Gaga can let her hair down among locals who don’t fawn over global superstars. After all, celebrities are nothing new in a community that counts musicians Bonnie Raitt and Sammy Hagar among its residents, and was once home to singers Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin.
That also means she is afforded the ultimate luxury: privacy.
‘No way you can see the home from the road,’ a source said. ‘It is on a big plot of land with rolling lawns and mature trees all around it. If you drive by, all you can see is green.
‘It is gated all around, you would have to jump the fence to get onto the property. But there is no way you can do that as there are security cameras all over every property in Ross and there are cops everywhere. Everyone is super rich there, so there is a lot of privacy and security.’
Some residents in Marin had spotted Gaga and Polansky at the cozy Corner Bar in Mill Valley (pictured)
The area holds sentimental value for the couple, with Polansky believed to have purchased Gaga’s engagement ring at Sofia Jewelry in Mill Valley (pictured)
The town is home to around 2,500 residents; most are over the age of 50.
Gaga and Polansky are believed to have bought their new home ‘last year from some old rich guy,’ a local source said.
Hidden away, she is said to spend her time cooking Italian food, embarking on early morning hikes on Mount Tamalpais and enjoying low-key date nights in town.
‘She is a great cook, she loves to make pasta, which is her specialty,’ said an insider. Such skills were no doubt inherited from her parents, who own the Southern Italian restaurant Joanne Trattoria in Manhattan.
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Lady Gaga for comment.
