#lukola

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....

🤭

Hope you guys are having a fantastic Friday!!!!!

So in the chat group I asked the question of what were the Top 3 things that have kept you on the ship, convinced you that Lukola is the real deal…End Game Confirmed!!!!

And this is the collated list of what everyone has come up with.

1. So no surprises the chemistry on the world tour was a big feature…obviously 😉. But it was specific moments. The Valentines event when Luke held the mic for Nic and she said I love you, it was the live feed when the sat on top of each other and Luke could not keep his hands to himself. And it was the consistent touching and eyefucking that was more than just a little obvious to us but also to every journalist and media personality that interviewed them.

2. It was Brazil….🇧🇷 and the rumors that swirled around afterwards

3. It was meeting her mother in Galway and having beers with her brother in law that whole interaction.

4. It is the Claddagh ring 💍 that was designed on the world tour, picked up in Ireland and worn ever since. For two years. It switched positions from taken to married. RING TRUTHERS UNITE

5. It is the not so secret baby bump…the continuous wearing of black for 6 months and then suddenly bump gone colour back in the wardrobe.

6. It was the glamour uk awards when you saw Luke in the background of Nic getting ready and heard him in the background

7. It was the SAGs awards and the way Luke referred to Nic and I as a happily married couple with a baby. The interviewer was trying to trip him up.

8. It is the Audio book misdirected that was a blatant clue for the fandom

9. It is the professional jealousy that Luke and Nic talk about and the visible jealousy Luke shows when Nic is in the vicinity talking to or about another man

10. It is the pic of Nic and Luke at the Beach and the pram pic of Nic

11. It is their long swaying hugs that say I love you.

12. It is chaos week and the shade that JVN throws at 🐜 because 🐜 constantly shades Nic

13. It is all the CDAN blind items….12 now so it is a full Forrest fire. 🔥

14. The Adjacents -

now this one is mine. I know it is a strange reason as to why it keeps me on the ship but hear me out. If the adjacent narrative made any sense at all, I would have gone full Polin Stan and supported Nic and Luke with there individual careers. But the adjacents never made sense and always gave me the ick. 🌈 was self explanatory never a threat just annoying, but 🐜 with her shelves water rage baiting and vicinity posts no real relationship does that. So that whole side BS kept me sturdy (frustrated for sure) but sturdy.

15. The way they match IG activities, go MIA at intervals or Tag team. The way we can predict patterns of their PR.

16. The sharing of cups and the times article.

If I have forgotten anything please let me know…

Fav tweets/observations so far:

This nerd smiling when a interviewer said "Nicola":

This adorable shot:

These freaks:

And these absolute dorks holding hands in public because they are permanently attached to each other now:

Luke has never gone a year without working. Jake has. Luke has never voluntarily stopped working. Jake has. Luke sits in interviews talking about how grateful he is to be able to work, about what it’s like going from audition to audition, and the anxiety actors deal with when they don’t know where their next job is coming from. Jake has openly said in interviews that after filming a very minor role for about two months, despite admitting he isn’t a particularly successful or in demand actor and that work doesn’t come to him unless he auditions, he decided he was tired enough to take an entire year off. The only reason he ended up working again was because his friends were working in s new tv show and he wanted to join them.

Meanwhile, Luke spent eight or nine months filming a project as the lead. After only a couple of months off, he recorded an animated film, few months later, he started a play, few months after that, he spent six months on a worldwide promo tour, barely three months later he started filming another movie. Throughout late 2024 and early 2025, he was splitting his time between Italy filming his movie, and the UK filming for Bridgerton. As soon as he wrapped his movie he flew straight to the states to do a play and the moment that finished he had to go back to the UK to film Bridgerton promo, and that’s not even counting brand jobs and public appearances which are also work.

This year is the first time Luke has gone more than a few months without actively filming something and that’s only if we ignore the reshoots and promotional work he did for Viana at the beginning of the year along with the brand commitments and events he attended which are still part of his job but certain people refuse to acknowledge because their boy doesn’t have brand jobs or gets invited to those type of events unless he’s someone else’s plus one. And I repeat you that even though Jake isn’t exactly my favorite person, this isn’t hate to him. Everyone gets to decide how they want to live their life and manage their career but what I do find interesting is that his “fans” are trying to push the narrative that someone who openly admitted he chose not to work for an entire year after a two month minor supporting role and whose years since have mostly consisted of small projects adding up to maybe three months of work out of twelve in each year, is somehow the hardworking and dedicated one but the guy that despite having millions of fans already, constantly talks about how grateful he is to be working, who has never stopped working and much less by his own decision, who inspires people speaking about his life bartending in a pub at night just so he could afford to go to auditions during the day, is somehow supposed to be the lazy, unemployed one.

They should honestly be embarrassed to be adult women carefully constructing lies to delude themselves and then act like if us taking them out of their delusional alternate world is somehow a crime to feminism because their existence depends on the copium they built to hate an actor that has never done anything to them.

They need those alternate realities to be true. Their fantasy only works if Jake even openly working fewer months a year than Luke and taking sabbatical by choice, is somehow the hardworking hero while Luke who's barely stopped working for years is the lazy who deserves to be mocked. It's a great example of people creating a fantasy where the one they've decided rejected them becomes the 'loser' compared to whoever they've chosen as replacement in their coping narrative. That's why we get such emotional reactions whenever someone brings up actual facts - public crying, obsessive fixation, wishing harm on people, and endless attempts to rewrite reality-

I feel bad for Jake. He keeps getting dragged into comparisons that are unfair to begin with because to some people he's less of a person and more a prop for whatever narrative they're trying to sell. He keeps coming up short when he's constantly measured against Luke but they don't stop, and it's not his fault, they expect him to be the one that helps them attack the one they hate and i think a lot of the criticism he gets comes from expectations that he's set up to fail. Luke and Nicola have surprisingly similar stories about struggling to establish themselves as actors and overcoming obstacles, people in a fandom centered on those two actors get disappointed with people like Jake with an easier path, one that involves more privileges and fewer setbacks and sacrifices. There's nothing wrong with that, it doesn't mean he doesn't work, it just means he isn't Luke or Nicola. If people insist on comparing him to Luke they're setting him up to look bad, and they don't seem to care that they're using him as a pawn.