#larry oriented

★2011

▪️August 26: Louis tweets the enigmatic "Ye know too much," maybe as a warning to fans of what Syco/Modest might be up to to stem the spread of Larry theories; that same day, Harry and Louis leave for Leeds, where they will attend the Festival with some friends, sleeping in the same tent. These will likely be their last days of "freedom"

▪️September 13: Harry and Louis move into Princess Park Manor, though they've likely been living together more or less since the end of X Factor

▪️September 14: The same day Louis publicly reveals in a couple of radio interviews that he and Harry are living together, he and Eleanor are photographed together for the first time, at Niall's 18th birthday party at a London club. The birthday boy himself had announced in a tweet that Harry would not be present because he was still a minor, a frankly rather flimsy justification; more convincing is the fact that, being aware of the first pap shot between his boyfriend and the one who would become his "official girlfriend", he didn't feel in the mood for participating

▪️September 17: The Sun publishes its first article about Eleanor, in which she's presented as a model a couple of years older than Louis, when in reality she's a university student the same age. That same evening, the boys perform for the second time at a London gay club (the G-A-Y Club), in a wild performance with a birthday cake that features Louis and Harry in particular, leading to unpleasant consequences

▪️September 18: Following the previous evening's performance, Louis is immediately summoned by Simon Cowell to his Los Angeles offices, with a private flight. Officially, to complain about his drunken performance, but unofficially because, according to management, the affection between Louis and Harry on stage had gone too far and needed to be stopped by all means

▪️September 20: Harry tweets his first tweet to Caroline Flack; management begins to take action against Harry, involving him, who is still a minor, in a questionable "relationship" with the much older tv presenter

▪️September 25-29: The One Direction's team is extremely busy trying to secure a record deal in the US

▪️October 1: On the same day, tickets for the UpAllNight tour go on sale, and photos of Louis and Eleanor's first papwalk in London's Primrose Hill Park are published

▪️October 2: Harry retweets a tweet from a fan expressing happiness for Louis's relationship but also sympathy for Harry's heartbreak. Just 4 minutes later, Louis tweets "Always in my Heart", still one of the most retweeted tweets in history

▪️October 10: In an interview with Sugarscape, Louis confirms he's seeing someone, but that it's very low-key

▪️October 17: Harry and Louis pose for a photo with a fan at Ed Sheeran's concert in Manchester ("We saw Ed in Manchester...")

▪️October 22: Louis and Eleanor are photographed outside Tomlinson's house in Doncaster by a group of fans who were stationed there for some unknown reason; it seems that Jay warned them privately on social media, obviously after being pressured by management, who needed to prove the girl's introduction to the family

▪️October 23: Louis and Eleanor are photographed at Milkshakes City in London, while Harry is seen with Nick Grimshaw out and about in Manchester

▪️October 30: The Mirror also publishes an article about Eleanor, describing her as an underwear model introduced to Louis by Harry, and stating that the relationship between the two is so serious that he has already introduced her to his mother, despite Louis himself having described it as low-key just a few days earlier

▪️November 15: Eleanor's cousin, Emily, who had previously denied the claim that Harry had introduced Eleanor to Louis, states in a tweet that the two are just friends

▪️November 17: This date would mark the official beginning of Louis and Eleanor's relationship and will later be used as their anniversary date

▪️November 20: Louis's Twitter account posts a drawing supposedly made by Louis and Eleanor on his phone, with no location indicated, while Louis's next tweet is localized to Manchester; when a fan points out the discrepancy, the tweet with the drawing disappears, raising doubts as to whether Louis actually posted it

▪️November 22: Harry tweets that Louis just brought him a cup of tea and they're now in bed watching tv; this will be the last intimate and personal tweet between them. On the same day, One Direction finally signed a US deal with Columbia Records

▪️November 25: Louis admits for the first time in an interview that he has a girlfriend

▪️November 27: During an interview with Alan Carr and the boys, Louis proudly states that he lives with Harry

▪️December 11: After the band's performance at the X Factor final at Wembley, group photos of Louis and Eleanor with some fans are posted. However, the photos are believed to be from a Maroon 5 concert a few days earlier

▪️December 20: Photos of Louis and Eleanor visiting the Christmas markets, presumably Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, are posted

▪️December 30: Louis tweets photos from Disneyland Paris with Eleanor; that same day, Harry is in Manchester for his driving test with Stan, Louis's best friend, suggesting that Louis is present too and therefore the tweet from Paris is postdated; in April, Jay reveals that Louis and Harry only spent three days apart during the Christmas break, likely from December 27th to 29th, when Louis was actually in Paris with Eleanor, effectively confirming the story that he was with Harry on the 30th

▪️December 31: Harry and Louis throw a huge New Year's Eve party at their apartment, attended by about eighty people, including Eleanor; the following day, Dan Woollett, Louis's childhood friend, tweets that there was a lot of "man love" at the party, especially between Louis and Harry

★2012

▪️January 14: Eleanor opens a Twitter account; in a couple of radio interviews, Louis confirms that he and Harry share a flat and the other three live on their own, while Harry almost lets slip that his first drive after getting his license was to drop off his boyfriend ("My Bo... My friend")

▪️February 4: A video interview of the boys about who they would choose as Valentino, filmed in California on January 31st, is posted ("If you could have anyone in the world... Who would It be?" "You!"); on the same day, a photo of Louis and Eleanor shopping at Tesco, taken the day before, is posted

▪️February 5: One Direction are guests at Dancing on Ice in London, where Jay and Eleanor also attend; the show's account tweets that they saw Harry and Louis arrive alone in a Range Rover; that evening, Louis, Eleanor, and Jay are photographed outside the restaurant where they had dinner

▪️February 7-12: Louis and Eleanor are on holiday in the French Alps, even though Eleanor had previously tweeted that she has university classes from February 3-4 and 12; Eleanor tweets to friends to contact her on Louis's phone because she's lost hers; the only photos of the holiday, however, are one posted by Louis for his mother and one at Heathrow Airport upon returning from France

▪️February 13: Harry, having landed in Stockholm with the boys, sports a dark silver ring, later called the Promise Ring; it's assumed that Louis gave it to him the day before, as soon as they saw each other again; that same evening, they fly to Paris where, along with Niall, they pose for photos with fans in front of the Eiffel Tower and dine at a luxury restaurant

▪️February 14: Harry and Louis conduct the iconic Valentine's Day interview in Paris for Teenmix, the first and only time the two of them were alone. They flirt heavily ("he treats me very well"), Louis recounts the Chicken Stuffed with Mozzarella Wrapped in Parma Ham anecdote and stumbles when he can't immediately remember how long he's been with Eleanor. Harry teases him by saying "a year" (which is probably how long they've been officially together); the interview will be released three days later, but in an edited version. The boys return to London by train that evening, and some fans at the station report seeing them holding hands the entire time

▪️February 23: The boys leave for Chicago for their US tour as support for Big Time Rush

▪️March 10: Eleanor, who was accompanying the boys, leaves New York and returns to the UK, declaring she'll stay home for the entire month; however, she returns just eight days later, on March 18, probable "damage control" since in promotional interviews Harry and Louis were too expansive

▪️March 17-18: People connected to Louis, friends and family, welcome Eleanor on Twitter. Louis begins following her only now, two months after opening the account

▪️March 22: Photos of Louis and Eleanor, heavily papped in Central Park and shopping in New York, are released before Eleanor returns home the next day, March 23; the same day, the UpAllNight US tour ticket promotion begins.

▪️March 24: Eleanor shares her upcoming UK plans on Twitter; the boys give an unforgettable interview in Dallas, with a failed attempt to deny the Larrys, especially by Louis. Shortly afterward, their disheveled appearance, red, sweaty faces, and swollen lips led many to suspect that Harry and Louis had been deeply making out

▪️March 27/28: Eleanor cancels her plans in England, including attending a dear friend's birthday party, and flies to Los Angeles, where she is immediately snapped by paparazzi strolling with Louis at The Grove, photos immediately published by the Daily Mail; more "damage control" after the Dallas disaster

▪️March 31: One Direction performs at the Kid's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, with Eleanor and Jay in attendance, and Taylor Swift dancing in the audience (Harry's next stunt)

▪️April 4: After being exposed to paparazzi in early April, Louis flies to New York with the boys while Eleanor returns to the UK

▪️April 22: The boys, in Wellington for the tour, get drunk in a bar after the show; Louis, visibly drunk, shouts "Boyfriend" at Harry and goes to kiss him, but is stopped by Harry, who notices some fans' cameras

▪️April 24: Eleanor is photographed at Heathrow, ready to welcome Louis back from his tour leg in Oceania

▪️May 20: After about a month of paparazzi shots in public places in Manchester, Louis and Eleanor are photographed again at Heathrow, once again leaving for the US for the band's tour; until the end of the month, a routine of photos together around the venues and of Eleanor at shows, with wags and Louis's sisters, begins

▪️ May 29: Louis and Eleanor indulge in PDA on the balcony of a hotel/venue in Toronto, in the presence of the crowd of fans below and a sad and disconsolate Harry, on the balcony with them

▪️ June 2: Second failed attempt to deny the Larrys in an interview and the next day, June 3, Louis and Eleanor are photographed shopping and playing mini-golf in New York

▪️June 4: Louis is photographed accompanying Eleanor and Stan, who was also on tour with them, to the taxi to the airport to return to England; Eleanor will return to Louis for the California dates, producing a new series of photoshoots in Santa Monica and Disneyland and a photo commercial in twin Coca-Cola pajamas

▪️ July 3-10: After the tour, Louis and Eleanor are photographed at Nice airport, arriving and departing, to prove a romantic getaway

▪️July 27/August 12: Louis and Eleanor are photographed attending the opening ceremony and competitions of the London Olympics, exchanging seemingly unnatural kisses and affectionate gestures. On August 12, One Direction perform at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games

▪️Second half of August: Louis and Eleanor are photographed traveling around the country, at the V Festival on the 18th/19th, at a Harry Potter exhibition on the 25th, and shopping in London on the 28th

▪️September 14/15: Louis and Eleanor are photographed again at the airport, first in Miami, then in London, after yet another holiday. On the 15th, Louis, Harry, and Niall are guests at James Corden's wedding in Somerset, to which Eleanor is also invited

▪️October/November: The boys make promotional appearances at various shows in their homeland and other European cities, where Eleanor is always present

▪️November 17: Eleanor wishes Louis a happy first anniversary on Twitter using an old photo of them

▪️Early December: Two separate sets of New York paparazzi shots: Harry and Taylor Swift in Central Park and other locations, and Louis and Eleanor on Broadway, with their usual shopping and hotel routine

▪️December 21: The day after performing with One Direction at the X Factor US finale, Louis returns to England and is photographed at Heathrow with Eleanor.

▪️December 24: For Louis's birthday, Eleanor posts an older photo with him. The next day, she posts a Christmas photo of her and Louis posing together in her London flat, followed by another, unclear photo of them and Louis's sisters skating in the Tomlinsons' garden. All this to imply that they're spending Christmas together, when in fact Louis is likely with Harry, who has returned from New York for a few days on purpose

Conclusions:

Elounor 1.0, as mentioned, is a product designed to construct a reassuring het narrative that opposes interest in the relationship between Louis and Harry. We saw it get off to a flying start in the early days, with constant pap shots and Eleanor's assiduous presence at public and "private" events, concerts, award ceremonies, shopping and countless airports. It's also worth noting that in the early days, the "real" relationship between Louis and Harry was still young and passionate, and the two had a much harder time hiding their feelings in public, so it was necessary to create as much distraction as possible. However, it's noticeable how enthusiasm for Elounor gradually faded starting in mid-to-late 2013, limiting itself to official appearances, a few holidays and a few family obligations here and there. Maybe because Louis and Harry, even with their ups and downs, have learned to manage their situation better, or maybe because his tolerance level is close to the limit and this is all Louis can give.

Let's assume that during this period he began looking for any way to get out of the contract, for himself, for Harry, and for the other boys, making some mistakes along the way, such as the weed affair, which, rather than releasing him from the contract, likely tied him even more, or the preconditions that led to his "paternity". As I've already stated in a previous post, Louis's "paternity", whether real or presumed, is intended to put a definitive end to the rumors about Harry and Louis's romance. It's logical to assume that the makers of this masterpiece of genius considered involving Eleanor in the first instance, possibly even through marriage, but that she refused. Whatever the reasons for her refusal, ethical or opportunistic, she deserves credit for not falling so down as to allow this to happen. Louis and Eleanor's relationship ended completely, with him deleting her from all his social media on the eve of his new pr relationship with Danielle Campbell, to eliminate any association with his previous one, only to refollow her immediately after the breakup with Campbell.

What differentiates Eleanor 2.0 from the first version? The fact that this time it was likely Louis himself who chose her, to protect himself from potentially traumatic new moves by his management, by leaning on someone familiar and, perhaps in its own way, "comfortable". It's not hard to understand that this is one of Louis's least happy times, so his choice is at least explainable. Eleanor, as mentioned, is no longer a university student but has launched herself into the fashion world as a fashion blogger and influencer. Her collaboration with Gigi Hadid could be the result of her bond with Zayn, with whom she likely remains friendly. And at this point, the rekindled "relationship" with Louis becomes a useful career boost for her too.

Throughout Elounor's second act, we can count very few noteworthy episodes: the incident at the Los Angeles airport, the two bizarre initial couple's tattoos, the pap shot in Portofino. The rest is limited to sporadic mentions of her during Louis's promo interviews, a few holiday photos or at airports (airports have always been a central focus in both Elounor 1.0 and 2.0). Low profile. The bare minimum, and that's it. It could have perhaps continued forever, but the needs of one or both of them have likely changed. Louis probably believed he was safe enough at the time, that things could soon change.

It seems the tabloids have dusted off Elounor for the umpteenth time, at the beginning of the year, describing Louis as still heartbroken following Liam's tragic death, and as clinging to the woman the media had always considered his only companion. As we've seen, this wasn't the case. And perhaps the current unpleasant stunt also served to silence these rumors once and for all.