Romance Rumor du Jour: Katy Perry Flirty With Chiseled French Model?

Wonderwall, Friday, March 9, 2012, 9:30am (PST)

By Kat Giantis

• Ever since Katy Perry split from Russell Brand in December, the rumor mill has been trying to play matchmaker, first with Tim Tebow and now with ab-tastic French model Baptiste Giabiconi.

  Alas, these latest reports smack more of good PR for the Gallic looker than an actual romance, but here's what's true: The doll-faced popster, 27, sat next to a clearly excited Giabiconi (click through the pics below) on Tuesday at Chanel's runway presentation for Paris Fashion Week, and they both posed with designer-cum-dark overlord Karl Lagerfeld.

  The sought-after Baptiste, 22, who's billed as "the highest-paid male model in the world," is considered one of Lagerfeld's muses, but the model has brushed off speculation that they're an item (perhaps prompted by photo ops such as this), stating that he's straight. Word is, Lagerfeld thinks of him as a son.

  Anyhoo, where things start to get sketchy with Katy and Baptiste is what happened after the show. The London Sun has pictures of the pair outside Katy's luxury hotel. They appear to chat and exchange a kiss on the cheek, which the tabloid, as it's wont to do, interpreted in the most romantic way possible.

  "They were with a group of people, but they looked very much like a couple in love," oversells a source. "He was never more than a foot away from her and they were very flirty. There was a lot of whispering, shared jokes and they were really flirting. They made a very good-looking couple."

  Another spy tattles to Celebzter that they met up for dinner, albeit with several other people, declaring, "They were holding hands and looking cozy, and now they are inseparable."

  Meanwhile, a Baptiste pal, moneybags princess Kasia Al Thani, also chimes in about the alleged amour, gushing, "He is a great guy, and he's totally smitten, and Katy is the perfect girl for him."

  Not exactly a confirmation. Still, Giabiconi isn't shying away from the rumblings, tweeting on Friday, "A big thank you for all your messages of support and also katy # Touched."

  Perry's rep did not respond to our request for comment on the romance reports.

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