My Thoughts and Opinions...Not Yours

Good day, I am back to talk about Voldemort, he who shall not be named. A being who strikes fear into the hearts of Wizards and Muggles alike. I am kidding, I'm referring to Luke Newton. A name so sacrosanct and forbidden that Nicola cannot dare speak it publicly for fear an army of Jakeholes, armed to the teeth, will stampede her mother's house in Galway or that she might intensify the shipping so much that the handful of die hard Lukola's that are still left, stubbornly refusing the move from the SS Lukola, myself included, will go into meltdown and once again the Lukola's will inadvertently rise victorious.

So Nicola, or more likely her scheming PR team, have concocted a most cunning plan indeed - DO NOT MENTION LUKE"S NAME PUBLICLY! In fact, basically ignore his existence all together. He was never your co star. The chemistry of the season three press tour never happened. Nicola went to all these places on tour by herself. Erasure is the best course of action to put off the Lukola's (and Jakeholes) who sniff around Nicola's business like overzealous bloodhounds. Nicola appeared on This Morning on 13th April 2026 with co-star Lydia West to promote Big Mood season 2 and of course the ever industrious Ben Shepherd had to ask Nicola about the previous interview Nicola had done with Luke on This Morning in 2024 that caused such an uproar amongst Lukola's, it is still talked about two years later. However, Nicola was extremely careful not to mention Luke's involvement whatsoever, despite the This Morning team blasting pics of Penelope and Colin kissing in the background. Even when the chaise lounge is mentioned, still no nod to the man who pinned her to it and imitated sex so convincingly, that even the furniture broke under the pressure.

I like to imagine that Nic's PR guru is standing off to the stage and miming slicing at her throat. Remember the script Nic! HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED! Do not do it, for all the love that is holy! We'll have a herd of Lukola's outside before you can say the words 'broken chaise lounge!' So, she doesn't. Nicola coyly says that SHE was gifted a mini chaise lounge as a present from the production. Not a mention of the ghost that is her costar. Did Luke also get one, I wonder? Or was it a joint present?

Another instance was recently on the Dish Podcast with Nick Grimshaw just last week when he again mentions watching Nicola's sex scene with his niece on Gogglebox. I'm sorry, say again, Nicola's sex scene with who? I can't quite remember his name. I'm starting to wonder if Nicola remembers it at this point. Nicola says oh yes, haha, my mum came to watch the premiere in Galway (and do not mention Galway to a Lukola, because we all know what happened there) and I LEFT THE THEATRE. No girl, you and LUKE left the theatre in a little huddle of love and then came back arm in arm like he was escorting you back down the aisle after marriage.

This erasure of history or at the very least, leaving Luke deliberately out of conversations is aggravating, but I truly believe their PR teams have told them to do this strategy so that the GA will believe they are with the adjacents. I'm telling you now PR teams, pigs will fly before I believe that shite. But I'm not the GA. Which brings me nicely to SNL. Again, what should have been Nicola's night, we had the adjacent narrative rammed down our throats again, but now so unconvincingly, even my mum is like what the feck is that. The photo of Nic and Jake awkwardly side hugging while he rests his giant head on hers is as about as authentic as botox. It is the bare minimum. The photo was so laughable my discord found it hilarious and promptly forgot about it. We no longer spiral at the amateur dramatics.

These absurd photos were dropped and shared almost immediately by the pink pony club to demonstrate their closeness to their 'star'. Meanwhile, her real friends and family were quietly celebrating and left it to next to day to applaud Nicola's triumph. Which leads me to her real champion. The actual ghost we never really see. He did show up spectacularly to her play though, didn't he? He had the Ant in tow, but that is a clever cover isn't it when you are standing up applauding your 'work wife', going backstage repeatedly, laughing at every single joke and basically being her biggest champion. Onlookers also commented that he knew every word of that play and laughed continuously. I went to see the play in December 2025. I had gone within group of Lukolas, but we were sitting separately. I want to preface this with that I am Welsh, my granddad was Irish and I'm also a drama teacher, but most words of that play went completely over my head. I was utterly lost. There was a row of Irish people from Dublin behind me and they were roaring laughing. I wished I was sat with them so I had a fecking clue. I probably should have read the play first. It was incredibly fast and accented dialogue. I didn't read the play, but I think maybe Luke did or at least practised lines with someone. I think it was also possible he was there a few times before unnoticed also evidenced by reports of how well the staff knew him and how he felt comfortable going backstage that Friday night. I imagine him leaving Antonia in a corridor somewhere and saying, stay there like a good little doggy.

So If Luke was so publicly supporting Nic at the Playboy of the Western World, who's to say that he wasn't also at SNL? Even as a costar and friend, would Luke want to miss that? Unless he is filming elsewhere, I truly believe he would never have missed that moment. Once again, Jake is dragged out to cover what is actually going on in the background. I also do not believe that Nicola would have missed Luke's play in New York and her recent mentions of Italian food and JVN on the Dish Podcast, plus her extensive wardrobe from a. NY store and Insta likes around the time, highlight to me that she was there. They only post things to SM when they want us to think a certain way. It's all fake and 99.9% of the time we do not know where these people are and what they do. Luke, is especially very good at being invisible like this. I just wish he was given a bit more credit. I feel he just goes so overlooked while the PR team is trying to protect whatever is really going on in the background. What is wrong with mentioning Luke and giving him that nod to a successful season of TV. In my opinion, It is because they don't want us digging beneath the surface too deeply.

My point in writing this blog is that we are continuously being told by a mountain of PR, not to look too closely. Stop shipping. Nofacenofilters blog made a great point the other day in their blog: https://www.nofacenofilters.com/post/sledghammers-sacrifices-why-the-pr-machine-slammed-the-brakes-after-the-sag-awards

Why would a PR team encourage leads of a hit TV show, the most successful leads in fact, to squash all shipping rumours? It's highly damaging to their brand. Will they, won't they dynamics are always fascinating and draws in huge numbers. Their undeniable chemistry speaks for itself and I often wonder if their screen time was so diminished in season 4 because their chemistry blew the season 4 leads out of the water. There is no comparison. Before Benophies come for me, I enjoyed season 4, I love Sophie especially and I did enjoy most of it. But comparing Polin to Benophie is like chalk and cheese (a nod here to my cheese loving Mr Bridgerton). A PR team will only do this much damage control if there I something BIG to hide. Otherwise, why not mention Luke at least briefly during her promo? Luke in comparison gives absolutely no fucks and on his Bridgerton press junket talked about Nicola so much, Claudia and Hannah were seriously side eyeing his audacity. I absolutely love him. He is done with this bullshit and you can tell by his face whenever he is forcibly dragged out. I'm not going over Luke's emotional suffering again, as we've all seen it.

It is ok for them to actually have partners, the issue we have here is the adjacents are constantly rammed in our faces and normal couples don't do that. There is no need for it. Not forgetting that Nicola is extremely private. If they are going to have partner, they would have more realistic ones that a 26 year old gay man and a 25 year old girl who Luke blanches at the sight off. His expression always reminds me of when Chandler sees Janice every season on Friends.

I am reminded of a body language panel I watched in 2024 with Janine Driver (if anyone has that video btw let me know) and the expert said that if all proximity and interaction ceases between the couple, that is when things are happening and that is exactly what we have seen for these last two years.

"When two people are in a secret romance, their body language often reveals a mix of intense attraction and nervous attempts to hide it. They key to spotting this high-frequency, subtle and reciprocal behaviours, where they subconsciously act as a unit trying to appear casual." Marriage.com

I believe this in theory is what they are trying to do and it possibly works on the outset if social media interactions are anything to go by. Where it falls apart is, having them in the same room. They knew that after SAGS, they couldn't let that happen so they separated them at BAFTA for the interviews despite Nicola and Luke being nominated for the same award. They instead rolled Antonia out off ice and waved her around like a bad smell. The Bridgerton season 4 press junket that Nicola was able to do was again extremely revealing and dispelled any ridiculous 'beefing rumours'. The pair are like magnets, the chemistry was off the charts and they moved their pelvises towards each other so much I was having flashbacks. It's blatantly obvious to all with eyes that there is something more to this and yes that includes Jakeholes, who are all former Lukolas.

I have a message for their PR teams if they are reading this, you're gonna have to do better than this....

Oh, come on!! 🥹

These guys are up to their ears in PR. Which is a euphemism for spin, public attention, propaganda, reputation management. Now consider all the tactics that go into that.

Whether they’ve pissed someone off, someone close is over it and eager to out them, or their teams are trying to create an arc narrative—or most likely a combination of all three—they are playing games, trying to stay one step ahead, and CDAN would like nothing more than to spill the beans.

These people in your asks giving the benefit of the doubt, drumming up every conceivable benevolent reason, when it literally follows the pr playbook on both sides.

CDAN is an entertainment lawyer and well versed in libel law. He’s not going after people with six blinds for no reason. There are plenty of celebrities to yap about, plenty of generic descriptions he could use that would apply to many people. But he is being very specific.

You notice in the past Nic didn’t take issue with being outted by CDAN for having a pr boyfriend. We get her loud denials when CDAN calls Luke vain, but silence about the pr boyfriend. And silence about the married with a baby, globally recognized costars etc.

Because you can’t sue or make declarative statements when it’s true. But you do employ PR. You do organize favorable magazine articles where thru the discussion of chairs you imply you live together, you warn people off talking about your body, and call people watching parasocial, etc. But you don’t issue unqualified denials. Nic has an English degree. If she wanted to make declarative statements, she knows how. But there are always qualifiers, or non-sequitors, or re/misdirection.

Either our mains are losers dating losers, which would be beyond disappointing (but would make it sooo easy to walk away), or they are together and in the midst of a coverup.

And whaddaya know, CDAN has doubled down a whole bunch of times that they’re together. A lawyer, deeply versed in libel law, whose site has already outted Nic as having a pr boyfriend.

And yet many are doubting the “master strategist” moniker, or that her team could make a request of others in the industry, who also live in the same pr-heavy Hollywood ecosystem, to post some photos? And let’s not leave Luke out of this pantomime. You think the Italian influencers were by chance? Or all those magazines found A so interesting they wrote a zillion articles quoting her resume? BV and Getty went all in on her at preBaftas? Dig a little. Luke and his team are in as deep as Nic and hers.

This is literally pr/fake relationships 101 and everyone in Hollywood plays the same game. Pretending with family, sm posts, “candid” sightings, friends posting photos. Elevators, grocery stores, lime bikes, grabbing smoothies, walking down the street, getting coffee, nightclub/restaurant sightings? It’s STANDARD. There is way more fake than real in this business.

And the reverse: did you notice Luke and Nic this cycle, and especially Nic as she promotes TMFT? They are being very political, diplomatic, generic, careful in their responses. They’re being absorbed by the entertainment machine, trying not to offend anyone or reveal anything personal of substance. Almost no spontaneity, nothing new, pretending they barely know each other, not touching, attempting to rewrite history. Luke’s had a couple of accidental revealing responses but otherwise, completely unlike who we’ve known them to be for years. A striking lack of authenticity. It’s evidence of the entertainment machine more than an indicator of their relationship.

The naïveté here in so many of the asks would be cute if it weren’t so far off the mark. Cynicism is absolutely warranted in the industry. It is more fake, more sinister, more cynical than the public has any idea about.

It is a multi-billion-dollar commercial enterprise with extremely powerful players where the stakes, demands, and competition are outsized.

Intersect that with people who’ve 1) had a taste of the money, fame, perks, and opportunities, and don’t want to forego that, and 2) who’ve fallen in love with each other and a) don’t want to share that with the world and b) don’t want the perception of that to interfere with their opportunities, and 3) have made some mistakes or found themselves in circumstances that require legal protections and arrangements, and you’ve got the recipe for willing participants in the Hollywood fake pr narrative machine.

And yet so many think CDAN in his specificity is the fake one?

All I can say is if they keep doubling down, obviously trying to refute the blinds, which just makes them look all the more deceptive, someone (because there are a lot of someones 👀) is going to gleefully out them.

Not everyone is under and NDA and nobody likes being lied to, no matter how good the reason.

And then I decided to create a more consolidated list of why I think Luke and Nicola are together.

When you list all the items, it ends up being a long list and I am sure I have missed a few things.

Anyway, here’s my list of why I don’t believe the public facing narrative:

1/Their behaviour on the WT. There is just no way they would have looked at each other the way they did if there were partners in the background. Multiple people have said what a gentleman Luke is and so I cannot believe he would have looked at Nicola and had the body language he did if he were seriously involved with someone else.

2/The photo in which Nicola tagged Luke on the knee.

3/ What we call Chaos week in Aug 24, that was sooo Luke coded.

4/ The ring. As a proud Irish woman, there is no way Nicola would wear it without knowing its significance in the way it is worn. Especially when it switched hands in late Sept. And while on topic of the ring, what boyfriend would be happy with his girlfriend wearing a ring so closely linked to her costar?

5/ The hoodie selfie they both shared at the same time in Oct 24. I wonder if it was really intended as a soft launch with a full launch to come in early 2025 before things with Antonia(and her Dad, as I have no doubt he is a driving force in the situtuion) went south.

6/ The photos Luke liked in late 24 that include the swimming photo and the gelato photo.

7/ Luke’s demeanor whenever he has appeared with Antonia since Boss in Jan 25, rarely has he cracked a full smile when he is with her. Contrast that to when he is with Nic, it is night and day, and can I say I prefer the Luke I see when he is with Nicola.

8/ The weird solo photos of Antonia at the Netflix/Bafta event. And Luke and Nicola’s appearance at that same event, they had clearly been through something that led to sad faces.

9/ The Jake of it all, if you know you know.

10/ Luke and Nic’s appearance at Sags, oh that was a lovely evening.

11/ Luke escorting Nicola and her sister to their seats at the Bafta awards.

12/ In the pap photos Luke again looks like he would prefer to be anywhere else. He was not happy to be pictured fake kissing Antonia and the hand holding, always far from his body. When he held hands with Nic, he held their hands close to his thigh. And Luke knows how to not be seen, the pap photos were clearly a choice. Also, outside of those after the Baftas, the photos have now been removed from SM.

13/ Luke and Nic both missing over new years 24/25(and both appearing tanned in Jan25).

14/ The thumbs up photo of a mystery man Nicola posted from June 25.

15/ Nicola liking Antonia’s photo dump of Aug 1 2025 so very quickly. What was with that?

16/ Vacation photos from Cyprus but none of Luke and Antonia together.

17/ Nicola liking New York based insta accounts over the summer of 2025.

18/ At the HOM opening, Antonia was not photographed with Luke’s family. And unfortunately neither was Luke, likely because he would have had to include Antonia. And in the photos taken with Antonia that same evening he looked thunderous. He couldn’t even shake it in photos with his costars.

19/ Luke’s NYC photo dump , again no photos of them looking happy together.

20/ Antonia’s NYC photos, none together except for one odd photo.

21/ Christmas Cyprus photos, again none together just the insinuation they were there together over Christmas.

22/ Luke immediately posting a thank you for the birthday wishes photo after Antonia posted a photo of the both of them from 2024. And Luke’s photo has potential links to Nicola.

23/ Nicola’s recent articles with reference to Jake feel inauthentic to who she is as a person unless she has dramatically changed since the WT.

24/ Luke attending Nicola’s play with Antonia because it is now apparent the only way he can publically be in the same vicinity of Nicola outside of Bridgerton is if Antonia is with him. And it appears he can only attend events like Boss, product promotions/endorsements is if Antonia with him. Seems clear now and the longer this goes on that he is legally obligated.

25/ No authentically happy photos of both Luke and Antonia together, where they post and tag each other.

26/ Antonia has not been allowed to post any of her promotional appearances with Luke to her grid.

27/ What girlfriend would insist she be taken to promotional events she never shares leaving her boyfriend to be impacted negatively ? Unless she is not his girlfriend and what we have been seeing is the result of legal obligations?

THE BAKE SHEET PRESENTS

7 Easy Tips for the Perfect Modern Celebrity Interview

So you’ve booked a glossy profile and would like to leave readers intrigued, confused, and mildly dizzy. Follow these simple steps and you too can achieve the perfect balance of vulnerability, mystique, and chaotic discourse.

Fans love it when you’re disingenuous!

1. Begin by discussing how unorganized and messy you are.

This will make you relatable. Maybe people will forget about your color-coded binders.

2. Casually reference your boyfriend.

Preferably multiple times. You’re not just someone’s girlfriend. You’re his girlfriend.

3. Explain that you don’t follow fandom discourse.

Then demonstrate a detailed knowledge of extremely niche fandom theories from two years ago that twelve people on Twitter discussed at 3:17 a.m.

4. Claim you’re not a pot-stirrer.

Preferably while wearing your ‘shit stirrer’ tee. Irony is in this season!

5. Remind everyone that you are delightfully immature.

Immediately follow this with commentary on extremely serious global issues. Range is important.

6. Emphasize that you would really prefer people only talk about your work and not your body after appearing on a worldwide hit show known for its nudity.

Bring it up often and be generally repulsed by your fanbase of chubby girls.

7. Insist your boyfriend as an ‘old soul.’

This is an extremely important detail. Readers must understand that while the rest of us are bumbling through modern life, he has the quiet wisdom of a lighthouse keeper from 1892.

Despite the fact that he owns one pair of shoes that likely still have Velcro straps.

*BONUS TIP*

After this article drops, go into those fandom spaces you hate and find out what errors were made.

Book a new article somewhere.

Try again, maybe with even more dirty laundry anecdotes.

Disclaimer: This is all my own opinion for fun and entertainment purposes. Any nasty or hateful comments will be deleted and you will be blocked. 

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” — Albert Einstein

I have been consuming a lot of media lately as the days are colder and the nights get darker earlier. I am also exhausted from work and life and all I have motivation to do lately is collapse after a long day and watch Outlander in my pajamas. I adore Outlander as much as Bridgerton. They are indeed both period dramas and both have magical or fantastical element that I so enjoy. For those of you might not know Outlander is the story of a World War Two nurse called Clare Randall who while on her second honeymoon in Scotland, travels back through time to 1743. Clare meets a Scottish Highlander called Jamie Fraser and they are forced to marry. It’s an incredibly beautiful and well made show and probably the best love story I have ever seen spanning eight seasons. The costumes and scenery are beautiful and it is pure escapism for me. No spoilers, but on my rewatch they are currently in search of their ‘American Dream’ and what future this new land can bring them., although things never truly are what they seem. I have studied many books and plays that have touched on the the theme of the ‘American dream’, such as Arthur Miller’s A Death of a Salesman and A View from the Bridge, Of Mice and Men by John Steinback and The Great Gatbsy. I am always struck by the illusion of the concept of the ‘American dream’ and the dogged pursuit of happiness. 

Even one of my favourite movies The Wizard of Oz is a arguably a entire dream made up by the lead character Dorothy Gale, where she wishes herself to a happier place than the desolate farm she finds herself trapped upon in 1930's America. A time of the Great depression in America and where that hope of the dream has long diminished. From it's beginning, Hollywood and media have pushed this fantasy that everything will be fine and dandy if we work hard, then we can believe in it. In Hollywood, the PR machine turns like a giant Catherine wheel, with all the dazzling lights and showy spectacles. It is one giant facade and it continues to this day with incessant PR rammed in our faces on the daily 

I will hold my hands up and admit that I buy into these spectacles as much as the next person. My brain has been trained as a 21st century woman to absorb media the way I have been taught and do not querstion it. This long game propaganda is spoon fed to us from when we are still in nappies and it is therefore hard to question narratives. If I was a character in Bridgerton, I’m sure I would be the first person to wrestle the latest edition of Whistledown out of the poor paper boy’s hands and I would do it with glee. Alas, I do not need Whistledown, I already have social media. The most powerful sorcery of all. When a simple instagram story can make your heart sink or float. So much we see of the Lukola saga comes from social media and I have to remember, we see what they want us to see. 

I have also watched season three of Monster: The Ed Gein story this week. I will not disturb you with the details, but the show has enough self awareness to know how disturbing it is. Ed Gein turns to the camera and says, “You’re the one you can’t look away.” As if he’s speaking right to us. I thought about it for a week and the creator Ryan Murphy, albeit enteraining, probably made a good majority of it all up. Gein was himself schizophrenic and could not distinguish between reality and illusion and us an audience don’t really care if it’s real or not, we just want to be entertained. The gorier the better, truth be damned. I feel the metaphor is relevant to us in this fandom though, we literally cannot look away whatever side of the fandom we fall on. We are all stuck in this never ending drama.

So, gentle readers, herein lies my point. Since June 13th 2024 we have had certain narratives shoved down our throats by a well oiled PR machine spinning like a shrieking Catherine Wheel. Two love stories, if you will, fractured off from the main love story we were all at one time so invested in. Let us cast our minds back to season three part two premiere night when the cruise ship Lukola was packed to the rafters and we were all together just waiting and hoping for a reveal of their relationship, before a torpedo zoomed and threw most of us off the ship. This may be a rhetorical question now, as it seems like the Jakola’s and the Antluke’s/Lutonia (even their ship name is sickening) seems to have had their memories wiped or full blown labotomies. Lukola, oh that never happened and I was never on ship. Sure, Jan. 

Like zombies lumbering off in mass towards a large ravine, the fractured fandoms march on spewing their own beliefs to anyone who will listen, but refusing to listen to others and making up their own stories. Ironic I use the zombie metaphor to describe the Jakola’s isn’t it when I use that name as my psnuedyom. I chose it because I love the The Walking Dead. Sadly, it has been used against me by some cruel people that I can’t believe I was ever friends with. All this hatred and venom over people we don’t know and because they believed something, that was shown on social media, that I have a different opinion on. We should be able to move forward as adults and not attack each other and bully. I still cannot believe grown women can be so vile. However, the PR machine has been so strong that it has chipped away at most people’s rational thinking. Antonia is everywhere with Luke, so they are absolutely dating, right? Except Luke has a face like a smacked arse whenever he is forced to be in her proximity and Antonia is treated like the hired help and often abandoned by Luke in the street, forced to make her own way home. This absolutely does not correspond to the Luke we know him to be.

Jake and Nic are so in love, they even donate together, awwwww! Pass me the sick bucket. If you really believe that Nicola would make a donation to her friend’s sick father about her and her boyfriend, you are sorely mistaken and 500 euros seems like an insult to me when she has raised thousands in a few hours for other causes. Jake can’t afford toilet paper and proper shoes either. I smell the desperation of panicking Jakolas realising their ship is over and making up crap as usual. I will not bleat on and on about Jake’s sexuality, because I bore myself and I can’t make it any clearer other than telling people repeatedly my cousin wrote and produced What it feels like for a girl. Enough said. 

This past year has often felt like I am in a horror movie. The Faculty starring Josh Hartnett and Elijah Wood comes to mind. Slowly, everyone gets infected with alien parasites until its only you and some friends left, until eventually it feels like it’s only you remaining with rational thoughts and everyone as has been lost to the aliens and have warped minds. I am exaggerating of course and even though we are mostly underground and quiet lately, the Lukola’s are still strong. My followers here and steadfast and my discord is still pumping away like the beating heart of strong warriors. We still know what we know and we still remember what we saw, and we know what we still see. 

Of course on the other hand it could be us Lukola’s who are living in illusion and are desperately trying to hold on to something that might not have ever been true. I did when I was younger refuse to believe that Santa wasn’t real and that realisation hurt like a bitch. But unlike Santa and his elves, there is just way too much evidence of Luke and Nicola to ignore. We have long memories and a lot of evidence in the can. Their PR companies have advised Luke and Nic to cease all social media interaction basically to the bare minimum because SAGS was LOUD and everyone and their giddy aunt Mary saw the truth that night. We cannot have a repeat of that, can we? We fly dangerously close to the sun and that must be shut down at all costs. But how much longer can Luke and Nic be kept quiet? Season 4 Bridgerton promo is coming and if Netflix and Shondland keep their biggest draw Polin - Luke and Nicola apart for the promo, well they'll be bloody stupid.

So my question is, who is the great and powerful Wizard of Oz in this scenario? Who is the man or woman behind the curtain pulling the strings of their PR permorming puppets? Who is the benefector that kept Antonia in New York for three months? Where is the money coming from? Who keeps Nicola and Luke quiet and exchange for what? What is the endgame here? Is it Shonda? Netflix? Jess Bromwell? Antonia’s parents? Luke’s PR company? It was very interesting that’s Luke’s PR person Emma Stein from Narrative PR went to see Luke’s matinee prenultimnate performance on the Sunday. That seemed quite suspcious to me as that evening Antonia was seen waiting for her uber ride home on her own while Luke was at the after party with the cast. Wouldn’t you invite your ‘girlfriend’ to the show’s final hurrah to bid you farewell? What it seems like to me is Antonia’s prescence was needed to cover up what was really going on behind the scenes. Nicola and Luke Newton. 

... but did they mean to?

There have been lots of questions swirling around today - everything from do Nic & Luke really hate us to don't you think there *has* to be more going on than legal obligations? Then @frantastical posed a question that gets right to the root of it as only an OG can:

I'll answer the 1st two questions, then get to Fran's argument. 1- No, Lukola loves their fans and if you think they'd purposely try to alienate or manipulate them while simultaneously trashing their own images, I don't what to tell you. 2- No. As protracted as the legal obligations have become, the alternative was worse. Now, onto Fran's theory...

Shippers are struggling w/ the contradictions that we're trying to reconcile. A smattering of comments taken from the threads today:

• "I am really torn as to whether this is an obligation. I think this post is an image nightmare, so would they actually agree to it?"

• "It seems coordinated w/ Lauren and the Dad follows. It also then continues the Roumeloti business promotion checklist; promote Dads restaurant ✅, DJ business ✅ and now Antonia’s employer ✅ (who is probably family or friend of family)"

• "I’ve been vacillating between obligations and A going rogue to humiliate Luke and Nic all day. I can’t imagine today was about obligations and yet it’s the Lauren TT and his dad following A’s dad of it all. Was today part of the obligation fulfillment or did what was storied by Nic last night piss her off?"

• "They don’t even need Savage anymore if his team are involved in this... A man who has been widely criticised for his hot boy summer antics posing with these dancers 🥴😳🤦🏼‍♀️. Then we get a caption that must be mocking him because that man is not Bond material... even those who like him will say that."

(Fans did want L as Bond for a hot sec.: https://www.mylondon.news/news/celebs/bridgerton-james-bond-luke-newton-25619695)

Sunny, @jmuz09's AI Robot helped work through it ⬇️⬇️⬇️

1) A LEGAL LOOPHOLE

Fran's assertion fits more into it NOT being an obligation. I asked Sunny about this but added a legal loophole; he laid it out to where it could makes sense w/ what's been happening w/ A all along...

2) THE CHICKEN AND THE EGG

Here's another Sunny response which makes what happened BOTH, and could also be plausible.

I asked: What came first the chicken or the egg? Meaning did N give us those stories as a preemptive measure knowing that L's pic w/ the Cyprus dancers was about to surface? OR did A have her camp post it as a reaction to N's Lukola coded posts?

Lastly, ignore ignore ignore adjacent nonsense! Lukola has been trying to keep a plot on track that keeps getting derailed. We know the truth, and nothing you've seen should change that - except it can cause further (understandable) frustration.

As others have said - we got N w/ a stroller!!! That's far more interesting! 👀

…or why I won’t be whispering in private DMs to protect PR teams

So here we are, again. Another day at the Lukola Torture Café (thanks Bianca for coining this perfect descriptor - you need to trademark it!😂) with some fans quietly edging toward the exits with murmurs of “Maybe we’re the problem…”

Some version of this sentiment has been gaining traction lately: “Maybe they just want us to stop shipping them.” Maybe we read too much into the glances, the giggles, the “broken chaise.” Maybe the Claddagh was just a nice ring. Maybe Luke wasn't looking at Nicola in his 'This or That' video. Maybe the World Tour was just press. Maybe the chemistry was method acting. Maybe.

But let’s also try this version: Maybe what we saw was real, and it got inconvenient.

And now the Grand PR Narrative — in all its hand-holding, cheek-kissing, PR-plant glory — is asking us to pipe down. Or at least, that’s how it’s feeling. "Retreat to your DMs." "Talk only in private group chats." “Don’t give their teams ideas.” Okay… but why does the solution always involve US getting smaller?

Because make no mistake: we’re not spiraling in a vacuum. We’re reacting. Reacting to ghost posts (where's that 74th or 660th grid post Luke & Nicola? We can count). Tagless "girlfriends" with Getty captions. Missing Claddaghs. People Mag and British Vogue dishing out PR leftovers and calling it a tasting menu. We are reacting to a story that doesn’t make sense — and when that happens, curious people ask questions. That’s not a crime. That’s pattern recognition.

What’s happening now is a reckoning. Fans are exhausted and some are stepping back. Some are divesting — or recalibrating. (Good word, that one.) But others, like me? I’m not stepping back because I said something wrong. I’m just tired of watching clarity be treated like a threat.

I’ve always asked questions, logged breadcrumbs... and held space for hope and doubt. And if my observations — or yours — are inconvenient for someone’s curated narrative? Then maybe it’s time for that narrative to do some adjusting.

This fandom was never supposed to be about groupthink or gatekeeping. It was supposed to be about resonance. We saw light and we saw love. We recognized it! Truth — in all its messy, beautiful, inconvenient glory.

So no, I won’t be whispering in DMs or in my private group chat to protect public illusions. I’ll keep asking and watching and writing.

On my terms... with my voice.

Because if we’re really this threatening? Then maybe we’re closer to the truth than we think.

Aaniin Xxx

P.S. Speaking of truth...

So, the kiss happened. On the cheek. At the party. Shared tucked in a carousel. On his grid.

And like clockwork, Antonia followed up with her own IG stories, ticking off the fandom’s “he’d never do this unless they were real” checklist. You know the one:

Public touch? ✔

Genuine smile? ✔

Posted her on his grid? Kinda? ✔

She posted him, too (disappearing IG story)? ✔

One might say: it’s giving... final PR assignment before summer vacation.

But here’s where things get even more interesting. If this “relationship” is as natural and enduring as we’re meant to believe, why has it taken nearly a full year (more if you count the months pre-Papgate) for it to land on Luke’s grid?

Same for Nicola and Jake: he’s been floating around the periphery since spring 2024, showed up in Nicola’s IG stories (like a very stylish unpaid intern), and suddenly in the last two weeks, both of these “adjacent partners” are being marched out at public events like PR accessories. Jake at the BAFTA Nominees' Party & Cannes. Antonia at last night's Vogue-Netflix Pre-BAFTA party. Nicola and Luke each walking into frame, each posing beside the person we’re supposed to believe is the one.

So I ask again:

It doesn’t make sense. And when it doesn’t make sense, I get curious.

Because if this were real, the timing wouldn’t feel this… strategic.

Bianca summed it up best today after an anon wrote in pointing out that no other “couple” at the event got this kind of press, attention, or photo ops:

"Because someone got P.A.I.D 2 P.U.S.H."

Exactly.

And it all ties back to the strange absence of what once came so easily. Remember: when Luke was dating Jade, he and Nicola still liked posts, joked publicly, and showed support. Now? Silence. Avoidance. And a choreographed like from Nicola on Luke’s "tucked behind in a carousel of photos on his grid" cheek kiss photo six minutes after he posts it. Luke was almost as quick to like Nicola's grid post.

They’re watching each other’s grids. Or their teams are. But either way, it’s performance. They're not liking posts to show one another support; they're liking posts to convince US that the narrative isn't fake PR.

So I’ll keep watching. Not because I’m sold on what we’re being shown. But because the performance is starting to crack — and it’s in those cracks that the truth usually shows up.

When the math doesn’t math?

I don’t walk away. I get curious.

Aaniin Xxx

P.S. Luke didn't tag Antonia in his grid post, and he didn't mention her in the caption. She’s there, but she’s not planted. That’s the distinction — and it speaks volumes. He’s checking the box, but barely. It’s performative camouflage.

⚠️Disclaimer: This is a Lukola space, skip if you don’t believe.

Welp! That was awkward. Maybe I’m speaking too soon and more photos or videos from the event will surface that disprove this, but… the curiousness of what we’ve seen so far can’t be ignored.

At the recent British Vogue x Netflix pre BAFTA TV awards Party, the absence of public interaction between Luke and Nicola, who showed up and showed out but posed separately on the red carpet, has sparked curiosity among Lukolashippers. At an event like that, it’s hard not to notice how Luke and Nicola, who have always shared undeniable chemistry and public closeness and as recent as the SAG did not interact publicly or pose together. Not even a candid glance caught by photographers. This contrasts with previous events where Luke and Nicola held hands on the red carpet, displaying a close rapport. That’s undeniably odd, especially given their dynamic during the Bridgerton promo era (handholding, hugs, deep eye contact, constant proximity). Their sudden avoidance of public interaction, especially at high-profile events like this, suggests intentional distancing. Whether this is personal (a pause in closeness, maybe emotional conflict) or strategic (to shut down rumors or protect something private), it’s clearly not casual. The shift in their public demeanor could be attributed to various factors but that absence feels deliberate, or at the very least, strategic.

But what makes things even more intriguing is the presence of Luke’s partner. She was photographed alone, multiple times, with no apparent professional credit or known affiliation to the event in her own right. No shots with Luke, despite having posed with him publicly before, notably in February at the latest BAFTA party. Additionally, Luke's ex, actress Sophie Simnett, attended and posed solo. While other attendees were photographed together, the lack of joint appearances among these individuals may suggest a deliberate effort to maintain personal boundaries or manage public narratives.

Why now, when speculation is high, wouldn’t they appear side by side to calmly confirm their closeness?

From a PR perspective, this was a missed opportunity. One shared frame between Luke and his girlfriend could have eased tensions, neutralized the persistent narrative about him and Nicola, and clarified things. Likewise, a warm, friendly interaction between Luke and Nicola would have reassured fans who sensed distance lately. But nothing of the sort appeared. From a PR standpoint, if the goal were to shut down "Lukola" speculation clearly and cleanly, the smartest move would’ve been: Luke, Nicola, and the girlfriend photographed together smiling, interacting, maybe even embracing or laughing naturally. If all three were seen comfortably together, It would signal there’s no tension or hidden romantic drama. It would disarm fans who see the partners as a wedge. It would allow everyone to move forward under the public impression: "They’re friends, they're supportive, everything is fine." So, why didn’t they do it? That’s the real question. Wouldn’t it make sense for a smiling photo of all three together to emerge? That would send a clear message: everything’s friendly, everything’s transparent.

So maybe that’s the answer in itself. Maybe it wasn’t done because it couldn’t be done without discomfort, without contradiction, or without revealing more than they’re ready to show. If Luke and Nicola are not emotionally aligned with the girlfriend’s presence or if the said girlfriend and Nicola aren’t actually close, then forcing a staged moment would look fake, or risk revealing tension on camera. Even though Nicola follows her now and likes her content, that could be strategic or polite, not genuine friendship. Maybe they don’t want to make any statement at all. Sometimes silence is the chosen strategy because any image would stir more theories. If they posed together, Lukola fans might say it was "forced" or "PR damage control." They may be choosing ambiguity to avoid fueling either narrative. Whether it’s emotional, romantic, or strategic, the fact that Nicola and Luke, the best of friends, avoid interacting publicly suggests there might be a deep, unresolved bond there. When you lay it all out, the silence is kind of deafening, isn’t it? For people who've been so magnetic and visibly close in the past whether professionally, personally, or both to suddenly active the stealth mode and move through a public space like that without even a glimmer of acknowledgment between them… it feels unnatural.

And the girlfriend factor adds another layer of strangeness. If she’s meant to be the "girlfriend," why the solo photos? Is she a celebrity ?Why not cement the narrative if there’s nothing to hide ? Instead, it all feels like everyone’s tiptoeing around something no one wants to name.