Pals of Davidson and Beckinsale say, ‘This is a real romance’

The Rangers may have lost to the Capitals last Sunday at the Garden — but one hometown hero at the game scored big.

Eyes popped when grungy “Saturday Night Live” comedian Pete Davidson made out with posh British actress and mom Kate Beckinsale in front of the crowd and the cameras.

She attended Oxford and started out in costume-drama period pieces including “Much Ado About Nothing.” He’s known for jokes about weed and is the poster boy for “scum bro” style.

She’s 45. He’s 25 — four years older than Beckinsale’s daughter, Lily, a student at NYU.

It’s the most confusing entertainment-industry romance since . . . well, since Davidson’s whirlwind engagement to pop star Ariana Grande.

According to one of Davidson’s comedy pals, this latest ­unexpected hookup is, at least in part, “a ‘f–k you’ to Ariana.”

However sources close to the comic said, despite the age difference, “This is a real romance. They are really into each other. They’ve been trying to stay low key, but they can’t go anywhere without getting spotted.”

And members of his inner circle, which includes comedian John Mulaney and rapper-actor Machine Gun Kelly, are all for it.

“They saw him so down after Ariana,” said a second comedy insider. “His friends were afraid for his mental health.”

Davidson and Grande split in October, reportedly because he was not supportive enough after the death of her ex, Mac Miller. In December, the comic posted a dire message on Instagram that read, in part, “I really don’t want to be on this Earth anymore.” Police were called in for a wellness check and Kelly flew into New York City to be with Davidson.

“All [Davidson’s friends] want him to do is be happy,” continued the second comedy insider. “And right now, he definitely is.”

So, apparently, is Beckinsale.

“Kate loves the attention — both from a younger guy and the media,” said a Hollywood executive with knowledge of the situation. “She hasn’t been in the press this much in years.”

It all started on Jan. 6, the night of the Golden Globes in Los Angeles. Davidson and Kelly were party-hopping, showing up in slick, skinny suits, at the HBO bash before moving on to Netflix’s soiree at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The comedian’s goal, said a Davidson friend, was checking out chicks.

“Pete was definitely cruising,” added the friend, who was also there. “He can’t go too long without a girlfriend — he’s that co-dependent.”

Almost immediately, sources said, the comedian began chatting up Beckinsale on a patio. “They were being very flirty together, they were sitting very close on the outside patio seating,” a source told Page Six. “Kate had her hand on his knee, and she kept laughing at all his jokes.”

After about an hour, the two left together.

“He couldn’t believe his luck!” said the comedy pal of Davidson. “He never thought it would turn into anything [except] maybe a great make-out session.”

Davidson got the make-out session and more. In early February, Beckinsale attended his stand-up gig at the Largo theater in West Hollywood. Right after the show, the pair were seen heading back to his Santa Monica hotel, hand in hand.

Last weekend, Beckinsale showed up on Davidson’s turf. Again holding hands, she accompanied him to the “SNL” ­after-party at Dos Caminos late Saturday night.

The next afternoon was the Rangers game, where the couple sat next to “Queer Eye” star Antoni Porowski — and inspired a meme, in which Porowoski appears to be desperately looking anywhere but at the tonsil hockey.

Beckinsale’s pals say the actress — who dated “Masters of Sex” star Michael Sheen from 1995 to 2003 and divorced “Underworld” director Len Wiseman in 2016 after 12 years of marriage — is always up for a good time.

“She’s a regular Benjamin Button,” said one Hollywood friend of Beckinsale’s seemingly ageless beauty and vitality. “When Victoria and David Beckham [lived in Los Angeles], Kate and Len and Eva [Longoria] and Tony [Parker] hit the town with them every night.

“Kate started to love dressing up and morphed into a total bombshell. She loved the attention,” the Hollywood friend added. “And if you look at her movies, she started in art films but morphed into an action figure with the ‘Underworld’ ­[series]. She’s lightened up now and having a blast.”

Representatives for Beckinsale and Davidson did not respond to requests for comment.

And since her divorce from Wiseman, a former Beckinsale co-worker noted, “Kate’s men have gotten younger and young­er. She dated Jack Whitehall [a 30-year-old British comedian], then comedian Matt Rife, [who was] all of 21 at the time.”

Rife offered his advice to ­Davidson this week via TMZ: “Run,” he said, without alluding to why. “Enjoy it. Enjoy it while you can.”

Meanwhile, fellow comic Nick Cannon — who was famously married to 10-years-older diva Mariah Carey — takes credit for giving Pete the cougar concept. Hosting “The Wendy Williams show” last month, he told the audience, “I’m the one who told him, ‘Get you an older woman, man! Leave them little pop stars alone! An old woman knows what she wants! She don’t play no games!’ ”

There is one thing Davidson’s friends are concerned about — another very public fall. The fact that the comedian and Grande flaunted their romance in such an open way made the worldwide scrutiny of their breakup all the more intense.

“They’re afraid the lack of privacy might blow up in his face,” said a producer in the know. “He kisses first and asks questions later. But that’s Pete.”

And Beckinsale insiders say that the actress, now starring on the Amazon show “The Widow,” doesn’t put up with nonsense.

“Right now, Kate wants a laugh,” said the Hollywood executive. “But she’s a very together woman and totally in charge of her life. If Pete gets too dependent or starts to spiral down, she won’t stick around.”

Davidson, who has been public about his struggles with sobriety and being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, has reportedly gone back to regularly using marijuana after a period of abstinence.

So far, however, Beckinsale has been impressed with his maturity. The actress was hospitalized because of a ruptured ovarian cyst in late January.

“It was painful and scary,” said another Beckinsale insider. “So it was fun to escape to Pete when she felt better. He was ­really supportive, and he hadn’t even known her long.”

And Lily, the actress’ daughter with Sheen, is said to be cool with the affair.

“They’re more like friends than mother and daughter,” said the Hollywood exec. “Lily wants her mom to have fun — because she knows [her mom] is the opposite of a fool for love. Men are fools for Kate. Not the other way around.”