Is Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, 49, dating half-Malaysian model Lily Chee, 20?

Has American actor Tobey Maguire, 49, found himself a new girlfriend half his age?

The star of the superhero film series Spider-Man (2002 to 2007) was spotted with half-Malaysian model and social media personality Lily Chee, 20, at American billionaire Michael Rubin’s July 4 party in the Hamptons, New York, that celebrated the United States’ Independence Day.

Maguire was married to American jewellery designer Jennifer Meyer, 47, from 2007 to 2017, and they share two children – a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.

Photos of Maguire and Chee at the party, with his hand placed on her lower back, have circulated online. The rumoured romance drew criticism directed at Maguire, with some netizens calling him a “sick old man” and a “predator”.

One X user wrote: “She wasn’t even born when the first Spider-Man film was released.”

Some have also likened Maguire to his best friend and A-list actor Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, who is infamous for dating women only below 27 years old.

However, Maguire’s former wife has reportedly come to his defence, stating on her social media that the photos have been misconstrued.

According to screenshots seen on Hollywood news site Page Six, in response to a comment asking why Maguire was dating someone only three years older than their daughter, Meyer replied: “I don’t usually respond to such nonsense, but he was kindly helping a friend to her car, being a good guy.

“And now he has been blasted online for dating someone he is not.”

She added: “I’m disengaging after this. But don’t believe everything you read (I’m sure you were taught that somewhere). Tobey is as good of a guy as it gets.”

New York-based Chee is the latest It Girl of the modelling world. The 1.73m beauty’s father is Malaysian, while her mother is Irish and Scottish.

Chee has also dabbled in acting, having appeared in one episode of superhero series Daredevil (2015 to 2018) as a young Elektra and one episode of medical drama New Amsterdam (2018 to 2023).

Although she has more than a million followers on Instagram and TikTok, she said in a 2020 interview that social media is a toxic place.

“What has always bothered me are the negative assumptions people have about you. Just because I’m a social media personality who shares a lot of my life doesn’t mean you know everything about me,” she told 1883 Magazine.

“For example, I’ve hung out with a couple of boys who are quite popular on TikTok and many people began assuming that I’m dating them. It caused a lot of drama and I learnt the hard way that if I respond to negativity, people will immediately assume you’re lying, and it’ll make things even more messy. So, I’ve learnt to never respond to negativity.” THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK