T.R. Knight steps out with a handsome smartypants

T.R. Knight - who has been conspicuously single since coming out publicly last year - has been hitting the town with a dashing young man who is rumored to be his boyfriend. And really, you don't hold hands at a table with your squash partner, so I'm inclined to believe it. The fella in question is the 2007 Matthew Shepard Point Scholar, Mark Cornelsen. Cute AND smart? Say it ain't so.

This pic was snapped at Elton John's 16th Annual AIDS Foundation Oscar party. Not a bad night to debut an adorable new relationship, eh?

The Point Foundation website says that Cornelsen is a student at San Francisco State University and that he is majoring in resort/commercial recreation management. The bio also notes that he came from a very conservative Christian family from which he has been estranged and financially independent since coming out at age 16, and that he graduated high school a year early by taking college courses. Now, seeing that T.R. turns 35 next month, that's quite an age gap to overcome. Hope it's not a problem for them.

Here's a video interview that Cornelsen did for the Youth Advisory Council upon receiving the scholarship last year.

Photo, Getty Images