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Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth games opening - Sam and Nessie

It made me so mad and upset at the time that it turned me off her series altogether.

For the record:

Fanfiction is actually a legally protected art form that's as old as fiction itself.

The way it works is that writers take aspects of a story or universe and then tweak it to explore how those changes would affect the plot and/or characters.

Jaws hit the floor. Not sure what inspired the change of heart, but she’s laid off coming after fic writers ever since. 🤷‍♀️

If you had to identify one "fork in the road" for Sam's career or public image, what would it be? A decision, a project, a business venture, or even a period where, looking back, you think things started heading in a noticeably different direction.

Just my opinion! There’s been probably 3. From 2013-2018 he was just Sam, the cute guy from Outlander. Open with fans. Communicating on Twitter. Really, I think, the genuine guy. Grateful but overwhelmed at his luck and opportunity to be discovered. At this point I think he was just enjoying it all. MPC seemed to be a passion as well as health and fitness. Started dabbling in writing a bit.

1. Then came what I think he thought would be his breakthrough movie career. He wanted to be a movie star/celebrity. And why not I guess? Choose what projects you want, travel and make a lot of money along the way. The Spy Who Dumped Me, Bloodshot and SAS: Red Notice…all within a year’s time. But unfortunately they didn’t have any success. 2019 began his cycle through women at rapid speed. The travel, the ghosting, the texting, the dates, the overlapping. Until 2020 and Covid.

2. After Covid I think he started to slow down a bit and refocus his career and businesses. His booze became his number one focus, but I do think Outlander improved from Season 5. He’s done other movies and tv shows with moderate success. I still think he does still audition for everything. He did pretty well until the end of 2024 even with the young 20 something dates and a few rings and motorcycles.

Looking back, I think many of us focused on the wrong thing at first. Naturally, everyone was interested in the woman who suddenly appeared beside him. That was the obvious story. But over time, I’ve become less interested in Steph herself and much more interested in what her arrival appears to have coincided with.

For me, the biggest story isn’t Steph, it’s the shift in how Sam's perceived today compared with a few years ago. I don’t think it’s possible to separate those two stories completely. Since she entered the picture, we’ve watched a remarkably different version of Sam emerge. Not just in his appearance, but in his behaviour, priorities, public image and, increasingly, the choices he makes professionally.

Whether she actively shaped that change, reinforced parts of his personality that were already there, or whether he simply changed during that period, none of us can know because we can only observe what's visible. But I also don’t think it’s realistic to pretend there’s no connection at all. The timing is simply too consistent, and the patterns are too difficult to ignore.

What I keep seeing isn’t people saying he seems happier, more relaxed or more authentic. It's quite the opposite. More and more people describe him as distant, restless, increasingly image-conscious and oddly dissatisfied. Professionally, he also seems to be saying yes to almost everything that comes his way: rugby campaigns, ambassador roles, erotic audiobook one minute, children’s audiobook the next, collaborations with content creators who originally emerged from his own fandom. It often feels less like a clear long-term strategy and more like someone grasping at every opportunity that comes along in an increasingly desperate attempt to stay relevant.

The same applies to the public persona he seems to be leaning into. The cocktail videos, the increasingly laddish humour, the innuendos, the carefully curated “cheeky” image ......… perhaps that’s genuinely who he is. If so, fair enough but to me, it feels surprisingly forced and oddly out of step with the version of Sam many of us came to know over the years.

And then there’s Outlander. Even now, he doesn’t seem able to let it go. Instead of gradually stepping into a new phase of his career, he still appears to be reaching back for it whenever he can. To me, that doesn’t look like confidence. It looks increasingly like someone struggling to move on.

Of course, we don’t know what's actually going on in his mind or what his long-term plan is. There are still people who genuinely like this version of him, and that’s perfectly fine. Everyone responds differently. But I’ve yet to come across someone who says they believe he’s become a happier, more grounded or more authentic person over the past year.

So, looking back, I don’t think Steph was ever the real story. She was just the catalyst that made many people stop and ask a much bigger question:

What happened to Sam?

In recent days we have received multiple images and videos promoting events of sporting activities in which SH is involved.

I don't know to what extent he has a stylist telling him what to wear for these jobs, or if he decides for himself. Physically, he looks...okay. I don't think he's at his best, but stress, age (we're all getting older), and some rather surreal situations (we'll leave it at that) probably don't help.

First we received the photos and videos of the girls from the netball team. Well, the first thing that caught my attention was:

Why would someone who's going to film a sports ad, and therefore playing netball, wear all that jewelry? Have you seen any of the girls wearing it? No, right? If you take off your jacket to play, why not take off all the accessories you're wearing? It's not that hard, you just take them off and put them in your jacket pocket, and when you're done, if you feel naked without them, you can put them back on. I don't understand the outfit either. SH is supposed to be very sportif, and he's going to film an ad playing sports in tight jeans? We could use the excuse that he'd just finished filming other things (he did the DJ video the same day, or at least he's wearing the same clothes), but it's as simple as throwing sweatpants in a backpack. For God's sake, it was filmed in a sports complex with changing rooms.

The result, I don't know if it was the intention, but my impression is that he looks somewhat clumsy. I understand that catching and throwing a ball forcefully and quickly with all that jewelry on his fingers can be a bit difficult since it reduces his grip, but it's more than that. Considering that he always says he loves playing sports, I think team sports aren't his thing... and it shows.

What I'm trying to say with all this is the following: What image is he trying to project by wearing all that?

Is he trying to look younger? He doesn't look it.

More modern? Not really, it borders on tacky.

Sexier? No way. Being sexy is about attitude, not what you show or reveal. You can show a lot and not be sexy at all.

Attracting younger people to him? I don't think that's going to happen. The people who followed him from the beginning when he was younger were already older. Now he's older, and I don't think he's the prototype for 20- or 30-year-olds right now, with so many younger actors at the height of their careers.

Heterosexual? Sometimes, the opposite. In fact, he has a matching tattoo with Luke Evans, and all that jewelry, combined with the occasional effeminate gesture, creates the opposite effect.

Is it anxiety? Some people wear rings to touch them in public to minimize their anxiety. He's wearing more and more so, does that suggest that his anxiety levels have increased?

Has he discovered that this is his style? Then why does he look from the outside as if he's in costume? Why does he look like someone trying to squeeze into shoes that aren't his and therefore don't fit?

Many questions and no definitive answers, but the feeling is that there's a person he's not being, and therefore what he's showing us is an image for consumption. So every time he wants to sell us something else, he'll add more things, more accessories… where do we draw the line? (It sounds like a joke, that wasn't my intention. We all know where he draws the line.)

Then the rugby team kit photos appeared, and I noticed that the arthritis bracelet wasn't in them, and in some of the photos, the watch wasn't there either. Did they tell him to take it off? So, were they told to take off the bracelet from the beginning?

I didn't understand the outfit either. Are you going to take photos in a sports shirt and leave another one underneath? Didn't they give you one for yourself, so you had to wear it over the other and thus be able to return it?

Why wear boots for a sportswear campaign? Were these photos taken on the same day as the Borders Book Festival (where he was already wearing the infamous wristband), since the clothes are the same? Or has SH had to repeat his outfit so much in the last month due to a lack of options, since he left most of his clothes in his usual place of residence (London, despite how much he tries to promote that he lives in Scotland)?

Is it because they decided that you're SH impersonating Finn Russell and it should be obvious that you're not a player, so they left you with another set of clothes underneath? If so, I don't get it at all, to be honest.

I don't know if this is normal in these cases, but my feeling is that there are things that are not organized or taken care of in detail, and this matters when it comes to image.

Mental image in reflection (imagination is very powerful)...

First of all, I want to apologize to whoever is involved if he’s offended, which isn't my intention. So, SH, my apologies (although if you found out you probably wouldn't give a damn).

I know that developing upper body muscles like you have requires effort and constancy, but didn't you learn anything after so many years with stylists around you and a top model as a partner?🤷‍♀️. With those tight pants and the sleeveless top that visually widens your upper body....the image that came to my mind was:

And now following...... goats!!!!🐐

And another one just now…

https://maps.app.goo.gl/VWoBsWfRByYyccrY7?g_st=ic

My favourite 💛 part is:

Sam Heughan’s girlfriend, who had been very visible around the event, appeared too inexperienced for the riding situation and dropped the bike during slow-speed riding. From my perspective as a motorcyclist, this felt like an avoidable safety concern and added to the impression that visibility and branding were being prioritised over rider experience and safety.

What do you think?

Interesting. Well I feel bad a bit because of her experience but I’m not surprised. A lot of things he does are a bit off the cuff and not thoroughly organized. His projects are definitely about him and his brand. I’m not sure how he moves from convention style appearances with fans, to just an owner mingling with guests. The distillery itself has very good reviews. That seems to say a lot about the staff there and that’s good. I feel like the gf was a complete distraction but we’ve talk over that enough. I’ll post the review here for those that can’t get the link to work.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Photo 1

Photo 2

And that’s where Steph’s presence becomes interesting too. If she’s visibly around the event, but her role is unclear, she doesn’t really read as a private girlfriend in the background. She becomes part of the event ecosystem, without anyone quite knowing why. Add to that the fact that Alex didn’t appear to be visibly present or publicly supportive around the event either, and the business side of the whole thing raises even more questions.

Of course, this is one review and should be treated as one person’s experience, not as absolute proof of anything. But it does read quite measured, and if even part of it reflects how the event felt to a paying rider, then Sam, Alex and whoever is responsible for running this side of the business should take it seriously. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just fandom noise. This is customer experience, brand trust and business credibility.

He hates the US and Trump. That’s no secret. He’s fine calling everything and everyone out….