Ananya Pandey is celebrating her 26th birthday today, i.e., 30 October, and is flooded with wishes from everyone. However, one birthday message that stood out for fans was from her rumoured boyfriend, Walker Blanco, who took to his Instagram stories and posted a picture of Ananya from what looks like a dinner date. In the photo, Ananya wears a grey dress and smiles at the camera. Alongside the photo, Walker wrote, “Happy birthday, beautiful. You are so special. I love you, Anniee!” expressing his love for the Call Me Bae actor.

The birthday wish from Walker looks like a confirmation from the couple about their relationship status.

Spotted!

Ananya Pandey and Walker Blanco were first spotted during the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding earlier this year. Several pictures from the function showed them dancing together and having a gala time. Later, Bombay Times did some digging and found that Ananya introduced Walker as her ‘partner’ throughout the wedding. The report further read, “She was not even hiding it. Multiple people saw them dancing together when a romantic song was being played.”

However, neither Ananya nor Walker would speak about it, as it’s too soon to make the relationship official, reported the media portal. Things were blurry because a few reports also stated that Ananya Pandey was spotted with cricketer Hardik Pandya during the wedding. Many speculated that it could be the beginning of a new connection; but now we know that there was nothing true about it.

Earlier, Ananya was also spotted wearing a pendant with Walker’s initials.

Who is Walker Blanco?

Walker Blanco comes from Chicago, Illinois, but spent most of his life in Miami, Florida, especially his school days. According to his Facebook profile, he studied at Westminster Christian School in Florida. While not much is known about his profession, several reports suggest that the former model now works for Anant Ambani’s zoo, ‘Vantara’. Vantara provides a safe space for abused, injured, and endangered animals.

From Walker’s Instagram profile, it’s evident that he holds immense love for animals; hence, most of his posts feature animals, reptiles, or birds posing with him. In his last picture on Instagram, one can see two parrots of rare species sitting on each of his shoulders. Another photo shows him casually holding a baby crocodile.

Fans welcome the new ‘jiju’

After Priyanka Chopra married international singer Nick Jonas, fans in India warmly welcomed him and gave him the tag of ‘National Jiju’. Interestingly, they are equally excited to have found another jiju from the foreign lands. Walker’s story prompted people to take to the comment section of his last few posts and welcome him with open heart. Many approved of Ananya’s choice and commented on Walker’s good looks. But the most hilarious comments were those where fans addressed him as the “new jiju”.