Alex Rodriguez ‘slides’ into Australian TV host Belinda Russell’s Instagram DMs

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez announced their split in April after a two-year engagement.

And on Friday, Australian TV presenter Belinda Russell revealed she had received a direct message on Instagram from the former New York Yankees star.

The Today Extra host, 42, said the baseball legend, 45, got in touch to praise her ‘great content’ after she posted a video of herself dancing in the Channel Nine studio.

‘You’ve had somewhat of a celebrity encounter,’ Belinda’s co-host Richard Wilkins said.

‘An A-list star has slid into your direct messages on what… Instagram?’ he added.

Belinda, who is also a well-known TikTok personality, confirmed: ‘I woke up this morning, checking the socials and in my requests there was a message from Alex Rodriguez. As in A-Rod. As in J.Lo’s ex.’ 

Today Extra then showed a screenshot of the direct message, in which A-Rod simply wrote ‘great feed!!!’

‘All I can say is… he likes great content, Dickie. He just said great feed!’ Belinda said, downplaying her celebrity encounter.

‘I went, “This can’t be real”. So I tapped on it and it is verified,’ she added.

‘If you count [there’s] four million followers. Give me a shout-out, A-Rod, and get me some followers!’ 

When Richard asked whether Alex was ‘hitting on her’, Belinda clarified it was simply a bit of banter and that she’s happily married with three children.

‘He’s surely not [hitting on me]. He just likes my videos… I’m very happily married,’ she told viewers. 

Later in the program, a somewhat embarrassed Belinda joked that A-Rod was ‘going to unfollow me now because this is so uncool. He just likes the videos that I do.’

J.Lo and A-Rod announced their split in April, stating they are ‘better as friends’. 

In a joint statement released to the American Today show, they said of their decision to split: ‘We have realised we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. 

‘We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and each other’s children.’

At the time of their split, it was revealed Jennifer and Alex were focusing on their children – Jennifer’s 13-year-old twins Emme and Max, and Alex’s daughters, Natasha, 16, and Ella, 13 – as they have all grown close. 

Jennifer and Alex had to postpone their wedding twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Alex previously said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: ‘We tried twice in 2020. We got bit twice by COVID-19. You know, they say in baseball, third time’s the charm, so let’s hope. 

‘It’s been such a crazy year for her. So amazing. So many blessings. In the span of 12 months, she’s done the Super Bowl, New Year’s, the inaugural.’