Happily Confident Lukola Lurker

(Friends, I’ve just finished this and it is INSANELY LONG. Like, two looong book chapters long. But I PROMISE it’s worth it. I was gonna cut it into multiple parts to make it more readable, but I’m going to be super busy over the next few days, so I wouldn’t have a chance to post subsequent parts until probably Christmas, so I’ve decided to drop it all now so I don’t delay the final victorious conclusion. Sorry, it’s so long, but I don’t really have time to rethink it and try to tell the story in a more concise way. Again, I think you’ll be glad you stuck with it if you want to feel as thoroughly confident as I am that Nic and Luke are absolutely together.)

So I want to start by saying something I’m sure I’ll repeat. This is, of course, just my opinion and supposition based on the evidence available to me. But I also want to say, I am absolutely, positively sure now in a way I have never been. Genuinely not a doubt in my mind, and I think you’ll agree by the end of this.

It’s also worth noting that this may be nothing new to some of you. I’ve only been on this platform for a week and have barely scratched the surface of the great content here. So this is how *I* came to the final, joyful conclusion that everything is right with the world where lukola is concerned. I had long been sure they belonged together, but was afraid to embrace the theories about them actually being together now for fear of heartbreak, plus all the confusing signals about A & J, etc.

But all that changed a couple nights ago when I finally got the last piece of the puzzle I needed to see the big picture. There were just too many things that didn’t make sense, until they did! I literally couldn’t sleep that night (seriously only got about 2 hours) and then spent next day telling my husband the story for hours (in 20-30 minute increments as he could spare them during his slow, Christmas time work day).

My husband has been a patient, long-suffering skeptic through all of this. He’s put up with my rants and constant videos I just had to share, but he’s been completely convinced from day one that they simply leaned into their friendship to turn on faux relationship vibes for PR. He was absolutely sure it was all just make-believe for the fans. No matter what I showed him, he could not be convinced.

Until yesterday. Yes, I convinced the toughest skeptic in town.

I think it’s important to start with my journey into the Lukola fandom for context. I was a casual Bridgerton watcher until this season, and had never read the books. I liked season 1, I loved season 2, and I was looking forward to watching season 3.

I had planned to wait to watch the first 4 until the second half was about to launch (so I wouldn’t have to wait for more), but I realized after about a week that we needed to watch it immediately before everything was completely spoiled by timeline gifs and clips.

Needless to say, I was beyond hooked. Instantly. Season 3 was another level for all the reasons you all know. Finally I could engage safely with the fandom, but the process from occasional Polin/Lukola content to nonstop immersion took some time. So even following the second half, there was a TON of footage I hadn’t seen.

All of this to say, I basically missed all of the World Tour stuff as it was happening, and it took well into the summer to finally see so many amazing clips and edits that I was absolutely fucking sucked into the lukola wormhole. However, I was well behind many of you on the curve, and even to this day, I’m still catching up on things.

But by late summer, I was all in. I was sailing high on USS Lukola (or I suppose that should be the HMS Lukola!) because I saw exactly what you all saw. This was clearly real, their feelings were indisputable, and everything about their behavior and much of what they said was so far beyond PR, even “faking couplehood” PR.

They were real. Even if he had this dumb girlfriend. (I say that only in the good-natured, abstract sense that I wanted him with Nic, not in a personal “actually about her” sense. In fact, I’ve never said anything hateful about either A or J and I hope I never will.)

WHY AREN’T THEY TOGETHER???

I couldn’t resist the mystery.

It drove me absolutely crazy for months trying to understand why they weren’t together. Nothing made sense, but I mentally explored literally every possibility. They’re afraid of ruining their friendship? They’re afraid of disrupting the production if it goes wrong? These possibilities at least made some kind of sense and seemed to be the only explanations I could find. But in my mind, they weren’t good enough reasons to resist what these two so obviously had. Still, I’m not them, so that was easy for me to say. I had nothing to risk in this.

One or both of them is/are secretly gay? Soulmate besties instead of soulmate lovers? I didn’t think this was the case and nothing made me believe this. Yet, I was attempting to allow for every possibility. Still, with Nicola being the super vocal “gay icon” that she is, it was hard to imagine she wouldn’t live out and proud if that was the case. And apparently she lived with an unknown man for two years. Though she does always keep her private (romantic) life super private, so I suppose who knows? And, of course, Luke had two very public past relationships with women, but again, who knows, I suppose? This option doesn’t ring true at all, but it does exist in the universe of possible explanations for this inexplicable situation.

They love each other in a soulmate way, but somehow one of them just isn’t “attracted” to the other? Certainly, if the stories about Antonia were true, that might suggest that Luke might be attracted to an entirely different physical type than Nicola. But that didn’t ring true either because LOOK AT THEM TOGETHER! He can’t take his eyes off of her, let alone his hands. And the same for her. They are magnetized to each other. If that’s not attraction, what is?

One of them has baggage and isn’t ready for a real, serious relationship? This one seemed possible. People can have hang-ups or wounds for all sorts of reasons, and letting someone in – especially someone who might actually be your soulmate – can be terrifying. Self-protection by avoiding relationships and/or distracting yourself with less meaningful relationships is a natural way of coping with baggage. Yes, maybe this one? Neither of them seems obviously wounded, but what would I know? Most people don’t wear their wounds on their sleeves, least of all during a PR tour. Still, the energy flow between them seemed anything but wounded. It seemed like the healthiest, happiest thing in the world.

People kept saying, they’re blind and they don’t see it yet. But I don’t believe anyone can be that blind. Especially after watching all the countless edits and clips of their tour, which we know they did because Nicola is chronically online and sharing with Luke the best of it all (and sneaky Luke is likely lurking also).

So at the end of the day, I had no good explanation. It just kept not making sense.

Then those music festival photos of Nic and Jake (I’ll abbreviate sometimes for ease, but I do say their names) showed up. The fandom erupted into chaos with full reactions across the spectrum including a bizarre, almost immediate burst of (not yet named) jakolas, which felt like a disproportionate response to a few photos.

Admittedly, those photos did look quite friendly, and touchy, and yes, they stood arm-in-arm. But lots of friends stand like that at concerts. And Nic is known to be touchy-feely, so let’s not go overboard, I thought. However, I did acknowledge (in my head, I didn’t weigh in online at all) that it suggested that it COULD be romantic. I opted not to freak out, because either way, Nic’s love life is her own and I want her to be happy.

And it’s worth saying here that both of their private lives are none of my business, none of any of our business, and even writing this is completely at odds with that truth. I acknowledge that. But what I told myself, and actually meant it, was that I was going to stay out of it unless and until NicLuke got together. That was the only place I would invest my energy since they’ve both said they think it’s sweet that fans ship them. If they dated others, good luck to them. Be happy. But when the time comes…

Yes, friends, the time has come!!! But back to my story.

Note that (because again, I was still catching up), I hadn’t yet seen the swimming in Sorrento photos and had missed that piece of the puzzle at that point. Throughout this time, I’d see people refer to things on Twitter like everyone already knew what they were talking about, but hardly anyone ever took the time to explain. So I got lots of glimmers of things that others felt were notable, without actually knowing any details. Those pictures were an example. Another was the Claddagh ring.

I’m very grateful to some amazing deep dive blog entries by @threeacttragedy that explained the ring, “Bless the Telephone,” and other meaty, important history that I’d previously only heard mentioned in passing. In fact, one of her blogs is what first brought me here by referral from Twitter. And if you don’t follow her, you should!

In the past week, as I started reading blogs that broke down past dates and clues, I finally started looking them up one by one and trying to put the pieces together in my head. I’d seen the swimming photos by then, but I revisited them. I dug in to try to understand the references to a “New Year kiss” from the night the friend group (Rory, etc.) posted photos together from a Soho House party. I reviewed Hot Boy Summer, I rewatched the incredibly emotional video of Luke meeting Nicola’s mom, I looked at photos of the Claddagh ring and went to Chupi’s website. I learned about the LA photos from April, both Antonia’s version and the InStyle Polaroids. I reviewed all the photos of Luke and Antonia that I could find. And I reviewed all the photos and videos of Nic and Jake that I could find. Also, I listened to “Bless the Telephone” about one hundred times. Lol.

Regarding Luke and Antonia, I had the same response in this deep dive I’ve had every time. Weird. I mean, if I didn’t feel so strongly that Luke was in love with Nicola, and if I knew nothing about him except he was some hot actor, could I see him dating someone like A? Sure. But the fact that there are almost no pictures of them posing together, alone like a couple, is weird. Even if it’s super casual and she was just his date to some stuff. The fact that Luke looks grumpy in both sets of pap photos (premiere night and swimming in Sorrento), but A is smiling happily in at least one of the premiere night photos is weird. The fact that after the Sorrento pap photos, Luke seems to leave his friend group to come home early, and then stops liking any of his best friend Rory’s photos from there on, weird.

The fact that in the fall, she posts pictures harkening back to a place and time they were apparently together, but without any actual photos together, weird. And the continual drip, drip of Likes from Luke is weird. And then when a photo of Luke in a restaurant in Rome is posted by the restaurant, she immediately follows with a video story of someone making pasta in the same restaurant, weird.

Perhaps weirdest of all, the fact that she pre-posted the LA pictures, and then he gave other versions of the same shots to InStyle. Especially the switching seats thing. If my husband and I were taking pics of each other at a café, I’d take his picture in front of the traffic, and he’d take my picture in front of the restaurant, because that’s where we’d be sitting. Across from each other. So why switch seats to take the photos? It’s not like that street with traffic was such a fantastic backdrop that we’d each need our turn with that shot? And they’re the same, with the same table number, but different. Sure, traffic moves, but weird coincidence that they each had a white truck, but a DIFFERENT white truck. So, like I said, weird. Always implying they were together, but never actually saying/showing it. Weird.

I read all sorts of theories from pragmatic (we just have to accept that they’re dating) to hateful (they’re not together/never were, but she’s obsessed and keeps inserting herself in a pathetic, desperate plea for attention and followers) to seemingly far-fetched (some sort of NDA that means for some reason Luke is obligated to Like her photos). Only the first of these seemed plausible. I maybe didn’t like it (not maybe, I didn’t like it at all), but I thought, “Yes, I guess we just have to accept that they’re probably together until they tell us otherwise.”

(Though I held out a small sliver of “but we don’t know anything for sure until L and/or N tell us themselves” hope, which remains true even as I write this.)

Now, let’s talk about Nic and Jake. First, there were those shots from the concert (discussed above). Then, I believe, were the NYC shots (if I’m not confusing the order). In the NYC shots, they were both there, but they weren’t especially intimate in any interpersonal sense. Then, the pap shots on the street posted on DM, ostensibly catching them walking home together, holding hands and arm-in-arm after a night at the pub. With those photos came an onslaught of fandom fury and gossip site reporting about how “Nicola Coughlan confirms her relationship…” Same story runs across a bunch of trashy sites, all saying the same thing and citing an unnamed source talking about how besotted they were, or whatever the quote was.

Admittedly, I was among the furious fans. Not because of what the pictures showed. Again, I was trying to be serene and Zen about them and their private lives. I believed with all my heart that NicLuke belonged together, but if now wasn’t their time, I’d have to wait. I didn’t love that I’d heard he was only 24, but I was trying to balance my efforts to be a non-judgmental person with my discomfort over that issue and reminding myself that her choices are none of my business (unless she chooses Luke!).

So I did my best to refrain from judgment, even as I saw the fandom erupt into toxic madness about whether it was true, whether he was gay, whether the age gap was wrong, whether DM lied about the date, and if they did (which they did), why? But I figured, unless the photos were very, very old, things weren’t likely to have changed in their relationship over a couple weeks, so I wasn’t overly concerned about the date.

However, I was angry about all these stories (basically the same story across the board) announcing that she’d “CONFIRMED” the relationship. It made me very angry that they said she confirmed something when she’d done nothing of the sort. I wasn’t prepared to argue that she wasn’t dating Jake at that point, but why would they all run this story, with this headline, when what actually happened was a paparazzi photographer snapped shots and sold them, then the media drew conclusions from what they saw?

Nicola never confirmed a damn thing. So why were they running this headline so universally?

I was also angry that the photos existed at all. Photos in her neighborhood could reveal her location and put her safety at risk. Also, how did they happen to be there to take those photos late one specific night? Felt like they must have received a tip. But I moved on and forgot about that part.

Time went on and I saw more and more discussion of Jake’s sexuality. I don’t really want to get into that here because I don’t really feel comfortable speculating about anyone unless they choose to explicitly come out, but I did finally start poking around his page, Douglas’s page, etc. and began to understand why people were saying what they were saying. However, I reminded myself that bi/pan-sexuality exists and I wasn’t willing to partake in bi-erasure, so I held my tongue and kept watching.

Now, at this point, I want to remind us all that Nic has always been extremely private and uttered nary a peep in public about her romantic/sexual life. And fair enough. It’s none of our damn business. Also, she’s talked extensively about how women are not just men’s girlfriends and her feminist take on many things and how it doesn’t feel nice to know that people are more interested in her love life than her work. She’s worked freaking hard to achieve the success she’s now enjoying, and she certainly should not be reduced to a woman in a relationship. No matter who is on the other end of that relationship.

(Again here, I feel the need to acknowledge my hypocrisy in writing this, but I really do genuinely love Nic’s work and spirit and activism, etc. as well.)

So, in light of her position on all of that, we wouldn’t expect her to go public with a new love interest. The fact that she was papped with this guy (if indeed he was a love interest) was just an indication of how much her celebrity and profile have grown. There’s greater interest now and she’s more recognizable now, so it’s to be expected that she’d have a harder time keeping her love life private now than in the past. Not so strange then, that she got caught a couple times in paparazzi photos at this point.

However, would she really then go public with that guy? That would mark a radical change in her behavior just when you’d think she’d want to be the most private because the glare of the spotlight is brighter than ever. Still, she allowed a public photo with him, Camilla, and Evan Ross Katz to go out shortly thereafter. If one believed they were dating, that could certainly be interpreted as a launch. Yet, as I said, would she really do that if she were dating him?

Then he started popping up everywhere. I won’t get the chronology here right because I don’t want to research the dates right now, but there was the Charlie xcx concert, in which she appeared with Jake and Dylan, who is out and proud. The Queer premiere where he was just caught in the background of a fan photo. The simultaneously released photos from the red and gold restaurant (with a mysterious third person taking the photos). There was the apparently brunch-time photo of her with Jake and two others, taken by Dylan. And most recently, Louisa’s photo with Jake and Douglas (who is also openly gay and close friends, if not more, with Jake).

I’m not mentioning all the players in all of these because it’s not critical to the story, and I may be forgetting some photos, but there is a point to all of this. First, there’s potentially a notable shift in what she’s allowing to be shared here. Again, historically, she’s never shared anything about her love life. Suddenly, she’s letting him be photographed everywhere. Also, at most of these events, there were other queer participants and/or queer content (the movie premiere).

And while she’s never allowed her romantic life to be shared, you know what she has often shared? Photos with all of her platonic friends, including her huge friend group of many, many gay men. So this trend in what she’s allowing to be shared suggests that she’s telling a story and clarifying Jake’s role in her life.

But then there’s that one mystery release, the simultaneously timed restaurant photo drops. Clearly coordinated, clearly indicating they were there together. No indication about the third party. Why? Just enough to hint that there might be something going on, and to continue wreaking havoc in the fandom.

Because remember that toxic fandom bickering over all of this? The jakolas swearing they’re in love and soon to be engaged and furious at the lukolas for “being blind and refusing to accept the truth and it’s so disrespectful to Nic ('who you claim to love') by disregarding her feelings and treating the love of her life so badly. They keep showing you they’re in love and you won’t listen!” Etc., etc.

Meanwhile, the lukolas fall into a couple camps. By this point, most have decided Nic and Jake aren’t dating, but some remain circumspect. Some scream back at the jakolas, ostensibly in defense of Jake, saying very similar things about “Jake and his friends are doing everything in their power to show you the truth and you refuse to see it.” And a variety of other responses. Everyone’s mad at everyone.

And all of it, every bit of it, keeps us ALL talking about Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton. Nonstop, every day.

Now, we are nearing the big mic drop of all of this, and I want to say at this point that we need to remember that Nic and Luke are HUMAN BEINGS who have a right to privacy. And they are celebrities living in a world that has an intense interest in their love lives. And sometimes, we might not feel good about the measures they must take to protect their privacy. We might hate those measures. We might feel manipulated, and we are. But if we love and respect them as much as I hope we all do, we can also understand and forgive them for taking such measures.

A quick review of important factors in all of this:

THINGS THAT TELL US IT’S REAL

The Galway trip and that very emotional introduction to Nic’s mom, which looked for all the world like a woman meeting her future son-in-law

The Claddagh ring and how she’s been wearing it

The things reporters, cast, and crew have said in passing and/or posted, not to mention recent open shipping from Ryan Wheeler and Shondaland’s IG

Everything we saw with our own eyes on the world tour, not to mention everything we’ve seen in the BTS

Little droplets of NicLuke over the recent months like Bless the Telephone and (not yet mentioned above) the S4 selfie and the photo of them in costume that Nic said she thought she’d shared, but now it’s ours (while she hasn’t posted any Jake)

The absolute consistency of all of this as a story that makes sense

THINGS THAT MAKE US DOUBT IT’S REAL AND/OR KEEP US GUESSING AND DISCUSSING

The premiere night pap photos (and though I didn’t mention it earlier, the fact that Nic went home that night so she wasn’t around for A’s attendance)

The friend group photos at Soho House with Luke, A and others

The weird LA InStyle photos

The Sorrento swimming photos

The multiple sets of pap photos of Nic and Jake, including grainy night-time neighborhood photos (with a woman walking a dog in the background)

The way every gossip news outlet ran the same “Nicola confirmed her relationship” story with the same headline and the same anonymous quote

The weirdly devoted, intensely defensive jakolas/Jake stans that seem to care about nothing but Jake/jakola out of nowhere and love screaming at and stirring up shit with lukolas

The chaos and constant discussion of all of this over the past 6+ months

The absolute inconsistency of any of this with anything in the top group

So, this mystery just gets deeper and deeper, and none of it makes sense. Every time I’d try to accept that they were just seeing these other people, something would bump in my head. There were just too many weird things that didn’t quite make sense and the biggest, weirdest one of them all was that NICOLA AND LUKE ARE CLEARLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER.

So while the pieces would always almost fit, the puzzle never quite took shape. Until two nights ago when I stumbled on @lukolafan ’s page after they liked one of my posts. I scrolled down their page and found a link labeled “Lukola PR Strategies and Fake Narratives.” I cannot scream this loudly enough. GO VISIT THAT LINK!!!!! (I’ll add the links myself later if I have time.)

I did and it led to a series of Reddit posts taking an academic approach to teaching us, the general public (and lukola fans) PR Media Literacy. Among the various topics it discussed were things like:

“PR Firms and Entertainment Media: Coordinating “News” Across Gossip, Entertainment, and Official Publications,” which talks about using anonymous sources, more about staged paparazzi, and repeated narratives (“outlets echo identical stories, reinforcing PR-approved messaging, for example, multiple outlets platforms describing a celebrity ‘rising above’ a controversy, quoting the same anonymous insider” – Sound familiar?)

“The Invisible Hand of Celebrity Privacy: How PR Fabricates Narratives and Manipulates Fans,” which includes ways that PR strategies intentionally manipulate fans to fight/debate celebs faking relationships, and more (sound familiar?)

There’s honestly so much meat in all of these (there are a couple others as well) that they are ALL worth reading. There is definitely some repetition, but still, the content is super insightful and revealing and can help us all be more savvy consumers of media.

But I want to focus on two CRITICAL posts, in particular.

“The Role of Staged Paparazzi and Gossip Outlets in Celebrity PR Campaigns”

The first part of this piece talks about the method for staging fake paparazzi photos to create narratives. Two items of particular note (and I’m excerpting directly):

Quality Control of the Image: While professional photographers use high-quality cameras, staged paparazzi photos are intentionally manipulated to appear grainy or blurry. This adds a layer of authenticity to the photo, making it look as though the photographer stumbled upon the celebrity by chance.

Extra Figures in the Background: Another key tactic in staged paparazzi photos involves the use of background extras—people who might be walking with dogs, pushing strollers, or simply in the vicinity.

Think of Nicola’s photos walking home with Jake, a woman walking a dog behind them. Some of them are clear, but some are quite grainy, despite the fact that professional photographers have great equipment and are more than capable of taking a night-time shot.

Another excerpt…

Gossip Outlets: DeuxMoi and the Symbiotic Relationship with PR Firms

With the rise of user-generated content and anonymously submitted tips, gossip websites have become integral to the modern celebrity PR machine. Sites like DeuxMoi thrive on rumors and speculation, providing a platform for fans and anonymous sources to share celebrity gossip. PR teams exploit these platforms to feed their desired narratives without appearing to directly control the flow of information.

How Gossip Sites Like DeuxMoi Work:

Anonymous Tips and Leaks: PR teams often send anonymous tips to gossip outlets, offering details about celebrity activities or sightings. These tips are deliberately vague, leaving room for interpretation and speculation. Once posted on sites like DeuxMoi, the stories tend to snowball as they are shared across social media and republished by larger outlets.

Fueling Speculation: These posts generate buzz and speculation, keeping celebrities in the public eye without any direct confirmation. Gossip sites become a key player in amplifying the narrative, as fans, influencers, and media outlets continue to discuss and spread the information.

Mutual Benefits: While gossip sites operate independently, there is a mutual benefit to the relationship between them and PR teams. Gossip sites thrive on traffic and engagement, while PR teams can ensure their client’s name stays relevant in the public discourse. By subtly feeding stories, PR teams maintain control over how their celebrity’s narrative unfolds.

The piece goes on to give specific examples like Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, Tomdaya, Gigi Hadad and Zayne Malik, etc. then talks about fake fan interactions and how to spot them.

It offers key questions to ask about the photos you see (like what story is it telling and why and who benefits?) and then it gives this example. If your ears aren’t already fully perked, this will do it:

Example: 37-Year-Old Famous Actress and 24-Year-Old Lesser-Known Celebrity

Narrative of Romance or Distraction: In this case, the 37-year-old actress is likely fueling rumors of a relationship with the 24-year-old to either distract from something else in her personal life (like a real romantic partner) or to refresh her public image. The younger celebrity could be hired to play a temporary love interest or interest figure in the media, leading people to speculate whether they are more than just friends.

Creating a Romance or Mystery: The photo of them walking arm-in-arm, laughing, or holding hands might suggest that a romantic connection exists. This could be used to make the actress seem more relatable, desirable, or single, even if there is no romantic involvement behind the scenes.

Diverting Public Focus: If the actress is privately in a relationship with another celebrity or involved in an ongoing controversy, the staged photo with the younger celebrity helps to deflect attention. By inserting a "mystery romance," the public is more interested in who the new partner is, leaving the actress’s real partner or issues to stay out of the spotlight.

PR Stunt to Revitalize Publicity: The actress might not just be looking for romantic gossip but also fresh exposure. A curated paparazzi shot could serve as a PR tool to keep the actress's name in circulation—be it through romantic rumors, new partnerships, or simply new media content to fuel speculation.

Potential Body Double for Real Partner: If the real partner is shying away from the public eye or trying to avoid the media, the younger celebrity might act as a "body double" or decoy. This helps maintain an image of the actress being in a public relationship, while allowing her to keep the real relationship.

Don’t think I need to explain the relevance of this very specific example. There’s a lot more in the post, but I’ll move on for now to the next key post.

“Breadcrumbing and Coordinated Campaigns”

In this piece, they offer first some key breadcrumbing tactics, many of which sound awfully familiar.

Common Types of Breadcrumbs:

Cryptic Social Media Posts: Celebrities post vague messages or abstract references, sparking fan theories. Example: Harry Styles posts cryptic images or quotes, prompting speculation.

Coordinated Social Media Timing: PR teams synchronize posts to create the illusion of a shared narrative. Example: Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss posted similar content at the same time, fueling relationship rumors.

Accidental Social Media Interactions: Liking posts or commenting on ambiguous tweets creates intimacy and speculation. Example: Kendall Jenner engages with fans on social media, fueling rumors.

Seemingly Innocent Photos: Casual photos subtly hint at a larger narrative. Example: Zendaya and Tom Holland posted photos together, teasing their relationship.

Cryptic? Like Bless the Telephone? Or a mysterious left-handed guy holding a phone in the background while Nic gets ready?

Synchronized like Nic and Jake at that restaurant? Or as far as that goes, like Nic and Luke with the S4 selfie?

Accidental social media interactions? I didn’t go into that here, but we’ve seen lots of odd likes and things, lots of Nic interactions, oh, and those RW and SL likes of late.

Seemingly innocent photos. Like very happy looking S4 pics and the “now it’s yours” BTS photo?

Perhaps most of this could be interpreted as just genuine fan interaction and fan service, which I think it is to some extent. It’s a natural part of the business. But it’s also very often done with intention.

But here’s the more important part of this piece. It gives some case studies (Ben and JLo, Shawn and Camila), then it gives two “abstract” examples.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS. Note that the second example changes to an actor and a musician, but don’t let that fool you. Keep reading for some unmistakable specifics.

Breadcrumbing with a Fake PR Girlfriend: Case Study of Celebrity 007

For Celebrity 007, breadcrumbing is used to create a false narrative about a relationship with a PR girlfriend. This helps maintain fan interest while deflecting attention from the celebrity’s true personal life.

How It Works:

First Breadcrumbs: The PR strategy begins with posts from both the celebrity and the PR girlfriend, hinting at a connection without confirming it. Example: Celebrity 007 posts a picture from a Paris restaurant or cafe in LA and the PR girlfriend shares a similar post from the same location but from a different day with different white trucks in the background (double check the Instyle Stunt images!!!)

Expanding the Narrative: Shared travel posts and indirect interactions continue the illusion of a relationship. Example: Matching geo-tags in posts from Rome suggest they were there together.

Indirect Engagement: Likes, comments, and ambiguous interactions increase intrigue without confirming the relationship. Example: The PR girlfriend comments, “Great to be here with you! 💖,” on Celebrity 007's post.

Paparazzi Shots: Carefully timed candid shots further reinforce the illusion of a relationship. Example: Paparazzi photos of Celebrity 007 and the PR girlfriend walking hand-in-hand, fueling speculation.

Note:

Café in LA, same location, different trucks?

Matching tags in Rome?

Likes and ambiguous interactions

Carefully timed (say at a premiere party) candid paparazzi shops w gf walking hand-in-hand

And then there’s the next one. In the interest of length since this is already hella long, I’ve removed some less relevant parts, but I encourage you to read it yourself.

Breadcrumbing to Hide a Real Relationship: Case Study of Celebrity 009

Why Hide the True Relationship?

In celebrity culture, the decision to keep a relationship private—or hidden—can be a strategic move, driven by a mix of personal privacy and professional interests. Some celebrities may choose to share their personal lives openly, but for others, particularly those who value their privacy or wish to control their public image, keeping a relationship private is key. This is especially relevant for two celebrities who are romantically involved but prefer to maintain discretion, despite public curiosity about their relationship.

Whether it’s a high-profile couple like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, or a less conspicuous pairing, the decision to hide the true nature of a romantic relationship often involves balancing personal desires with career strategy. In this scenario, let’s explore why two celebrities might choose to keep their relationship under wraps and the complex PR considerations that lead them to do so.

Media Scrutiny/Escaping Constant Surveillance: Navigating the Spotlight Together (I’ve combined two sections here for length)

When two celebrities become romantically involved, the media will inevitably take notice. The relationship can quickly become the focal point of constant headlines, paparazzi photos, and gossip columns. For celebrities who value their privacy, this level of scrutiny can feel overwhelming, as every public appearance or moment shared can quickly turn into speculation, even if the couple doesn’t wish to attract attention.

Romanticized Expectations: The Pressure of Perfection

Media scrutiny often creates an unrealistic, romanticized version of a celebrity relationship. Fans and the public tend to project their fantasies onto famous couples, imagining them as the perfect, unbreakable pairing. The real complexities of a relationship—differences, compromises, and struggles—often don't fit neatly into the idealized narratives created by the public.

For a couple like Actor A and Musician B, the pressure to live up to these idealized expectations can be exhausting. By choosing to keep their relationship private, they can avoid the constant pressure to fit into a preconceived mold. Hiding the relationship from public view allows them to keep things grounded and avoid being turned into a media spectacle.

Brand Control: Managing the Image of "Singleness" or "Availability"

For many celebrities, their public image is closely tied to their brand, and that brand may depend on their perceived "availability" or their status as desirable, unattached individuals. The way the public perceives a celebrity’s romantic life—whether they are single, dating, or in a long-term relationship—can have a significant impact on their professional success and marketability.

Creating Room for Desire: The Allure of the Single Celebrity

Consider Actor A, a leading man known for portraying romantic heroes on screen. The public’s perception of Actor A as a single, unattainable figure is key to their marketability, both in the media and as a brand. If they were to publicly reveal a relationship with Musician B, it could diminish that aura of unattainability. Similarly, Musician B may want to maintain a flirtatious public persona, which could be undermined if they were publicly involved with someone. By keeping the relationship private, both celebrities retain the allure of being desirable and unattached, feeding into the fantasies of their fans.

Avoiding the "Couple" Brand: Risk of Being Reduced to a Package Deal

When a high-profile couple’s relationship is made public, they may become known less for their individual work and more for their collective identity as a couple. In some cases, the couple's public appearances or shared brand messages may overshadow their individual projects. Think of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who have an incredibly powerful couple brand that often eclipses their solo endeavors in the media. For celebrities like Actor A and Musician B, the fear of being seen as a "package deal" might drive them to hide their relationship. This allows both to maintain their distinct identities, keeping their projects and brands separate and preventing the public from viewing them solely as a pair.

Respecting Boundaries: The Vulnerability of Celebrity Relationships

Even when two celebrities are involved, the vulnerabilities of a relationship can become the focus of media attention if they go public. Romantic relationships—especially those in the high-pressure world of celebrity—are often fraught with ups and downs. The public might demand to know every detail, fueling rumors of breakups, infidelities, or relationship drama. By keeping their romance under wraps, Actor A and Musician B can avoid becoming the subject of constant gossip and can maintain some semblance of normalcy in their private lives.

Avoiding Disruptive Publicity

Celebrity relationships often attract media scrutiny not only about their romantic lives but also about how their relationship affects their careers. The public and the media often delve into the smallest details, speculating about how the relationship might impact their professional trajectories, previous relationships, or future projects.

Career Disruption: The Challenge of Balancing Love and Work

For celebrities like Musician B, a new relationship can take attention away from their upcoming album release or concert tour. The media’s obsession with their personal life might overshadow the launch of a new professional project. Similarly, if Actor A is in the middle of promoting a film or preparing for a big role, the press could focus more on their relationship than their craft, disrupting the flow of their work.

I won’t bother reviewing the relevance of all of the above. I’m sure you can see it plainly for yourself. The examples are absolutely, positively referencing Nicola and Luke, and the reasons for hiding it are super relevant. Especially boundaries, disruption, pressure to be perfect, and being reduced to a package deal.

Now at this point, it’s worth asking the question, do we trust this source? I don’t actually know who posted this content, so I can’t verify their credentials. Perhaps this is yet another PR person’s tricky efforts to continually confuse us and keep us guessing? That seems unlikely since the entire purpose is to help lift the veil on all the other tricks. If you wanted the other tricks to be effective, you’d hardly be revealing them to your target audiences.

But even setting that very logical assumption aside, the reason I know with every fiber of my being that it’s true is that this is literally the only version of events that makes sense of absolutely everything.

All those mysterious and confusing signals, all those weird photos and changes in behavior, all the inconsistencies between what we all saw with our own eyes (they are IN LOVE) and what we saw subsequently with the adjacents, all the tiny Lukola crumbs keeping us hanging on, and all the fandom bickering, especially from bizarrely rabid jakolas.

Every bit of it makes complete sense if we accept that Nic, Luke, and their PR teams have been using a classic PR handbook to distract us from the very real truth that they are together and in love.

Does it hurt to know we’ve been manipulated? You bet it does! But I quickly accepted that because I was so happy to have the truth verified at last. And because I understand why they would do it.

Relationships are hard enough when lived in private. No relationship, no matter how much people love each other, is without challenge. Even soulmates have issues to navigate. Can you imagine the pressure on them if the whole world was watching?

And their lives have added challenges. Travel and separation. Long work schedules that may often be at odds. Possibly romantic scenes with future co-stars that could stir up uncomfortable feelings. Career ups and downs that may not always synch up. Fans and media watching their every move, dissecting them, judging them, rooting for them, and just putting massive pressure on them. What if they fail? They’re letting down the whole world, not just themselves.

And what about Nic’s longstanding demand for privacy? And her emphasis that no woman is just some dude’s girlfriend. She wants to be known for her own work and achievement and passions, not for who she dates or marries. Even if it is wonderful Luke.

Likewise, Luke is just now achieving a newfound level of success. This is a moment for him to seize and make the most of. Being a hot, sexy, ostensibly single guy is good for his brand right now. Even if we know he loves Nicola, his stans need to be able to fantasize about him, which is easier if his relationship is unconfirmed.

And let’s face it, if they come out as a couple, IT WILL BE LUKOLA all the time. That will be the story. Certainly if they’d come out during the World Tour, every question at every stop would be about them and their personal “friends to lovers story.” It would be irresistible to reporters. Too good a story to ignore. And they’d spend way more time talking about their personal lives than about their work. Does that sound like something either of them would want?

And one last thing. Back to their changes in behavior. Does it make more sense that Nicola, who has always been super private about her love life, would suddenly be willing to be photographed constantly with her new bf Jake? Or that Jake is not her bf and she’s keeping her actual bf (or fiancé or husband) secret?

Meanwhile, Luke, who has always been open about his relationships in the past suddenly decides to tighten up and share absolutely nothing about his private life? Well, that makes complete sense if he’s now in a relationship with a woman who is famously private and shares not one word publicly. Suddenly, literally everything makes sense and is entirely consistent.

So there it is, folks. To me, this is the Holy Grail. There’s not a doubt left in my mind about them. They’re together and everything else – literally everything else – is a decoy and a distraction, and every bit of it comes straight from the PR playbook.

I’d like to maintain a sliver of hope that they’re leaving much of it to their teams and they’re not in on the worst of it, but in any case, I don’t blame them one bit for trying to protect their love. It’s too special to let it be destroyed by public consumption. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Given that I don’t actually know them and haven’t confirmed anything directly, I’ll leave 1.5% room for doubt, and adjust my certainty to 98.5%.

And you may dismiss all of this and draw very different conclusions, which is okay, too. But if I’m being really honest, I’m actually 1,000% sure. And I couldn’t be happier for them.

What do we do now? That’s up to each of us. Personally, I’m going to be blissfully happy for them, not sweat any of the distractions, let them live as quietly as they like, and patiently await the day (whether it’s very soon or far in the future) when they finally go public. I hope you’ll do the same.

You know, I don’t ordinarily acknowledge or answer nasty anons or comments. I just ignore them. I don’t even block them because what do I care who reads my words? And I certainly have enough sense to scroll right past things that I don’t like or agree with without commenting. Unlike some people, apparently.

But I think this one deserves an answer, not so much for the nasty, holier-than-thou fool who felt the desperate need to send it and prove their hypothetical superiority, but for my fellow Lukolas, who deserve some support.

So, here is my response to this anon:

Nah, I’m good.

I’m rock solid on Lukola and not remotely shaken. I’ve seen enough things and know enough things to be confident and unperturbed by this obvious PR move. Nicola and Luke are together.

Yes, I’m annoyed that she lied, though most of the lies technically came from the writer, not Nicola. Yes, I’m annoyed she’s pushing the article so hard. And yes, I’d even go so far as to say I’m losing a little respect for her/them for continuing to play this game. I’m losing interest in following along because I’m not interested in being played and having my intelligence insulted repeatedly. That’s part of why I don’t blog much anymore. (That and I’m busy!)

But do I doubt Lukola? Not one bit.

I’m not going to list my reasons or justify my certainty to you. I don’t care whether you believe what I believe. I don’t care that you’re so desperate to win that you think a badly written article that talks about stalkers and the like, who literally everyone knows are specific Jakolas (who we all know by name), constitutes proof that Lukolas are crazy. Just because the writer didn’t research enough, or clarify her writing enough, to differentiate doesn’t mean that everyone in the fandom doesn’t know exactly who did what. So, you can celebrate your imaginary win and have fun with it. It has nothing to do with me and my certainty about Nic and Luke.

The worst thing I’ve done is to blog about the truth I’ve seen. I haven’t been explicit or outrageous, and I’m not taking one word back.

Nicola and Luke are together and if you want to know more, feel free to scroll back.

And if you want to believe the fake PR stories, go ahead. I’m not stopping you or telling you what to believe. As always, I’ll scroll past your content and won’t be coming into your spaces to mock you. I’m secure in my ship. And I also won’t be answering any more nasty anons.

So, I’ve been thinking about writing this one for a couple of days and I finally decided to carve out some time because it’s been weighing on me. And maybe now that it’s been a few days, we can let cooler heads prevail and look at this week’s mess with fresh, hopefully kinder eyes.

This week, Luke took a massive hit in the fandom because of a really, really stupid photo carousel that wouldn’t ordinarily deserve even to be discussed, if it weren’t for all the fallout that ensued. Then, the next day, he posted a story, and even more fallout crashed down from the fandom sky and onto an already battle-scarred landscape.

People were mad. Not mad, furious. How dare he post yet another carousel with another irrefutable image of her? And not only was there that video (is merely crossing the street really worthy of a video?), there was the TV stand, the pasta, the poster, and most damningly, the feet and hands. (Are feet and hands stepping into a crosswalk really worthy of a photo?) She was all over that grid. At least, that’s how they wanted it to appear.

I’m not, for now, going to discuss the relative truth and lies contained within that carousel. On the face of it, regardless of what was really going on in those images, it was terrible. Whether you believe it’s real or not (for the record, I definitely do not), absolutely nobody wanted to see that shit. If you think it’s real, you probably want it to end. Most people do because no one likes the sides (by design). If you think it’s fake af (as I do), then you still want the b.s. fakery to end. We are all getting sick and tired of the games.

And yes, it hurts. Every time the signs point to the stories dwindling, they find another way to jab the knife in anew. Whether you believe Lukola is real and happening now (which I 100% do) or you think they’re actually with the sides, either way, this stuff is exhausting and disheartening. And one has to question why they’re (I’m speaking broadly of the whole system of players) still doing it if they want their principals to remain beloved. Honestly, these games are systematically driving away devoted fans, one by one.

I would call myself one of their strongest soldiers. I am absolutely confident that Nic and Luke are together and I love them both, but I’m tired. And these games are enough to make even me consider turning away. Like, I love them and I know they’re happy together, but if you’re going to keep shoving this fakery and fuckery in my face, why should I keep sticking around for it? Exactly how much crap am I supposed to take before I decide to walk away? And believe me, if I walk away, at least 90% the fandom is already gone. One of my toxic traits is loyalty. So the fact that even I am in danger as a devoted follower should be a word of warning to the powers that be. But let’s set that aside for the moment because this is supposed to be a defense of Luke, and likewise of Nic.

So back to that horrific carousel, followed by that House of McQueen thank you story. This is where my defense begins. Because I won’t defend that stupid carousel. (Okay, actually I will, but later, and not as vociferously.) Everyone across the board, from the haters to the typically devoted Luke solos went after Luke hard twice over. First, for not posting about HOM and saying thank you, acknowledging his experience, etc. Then for having the audacity to do exactly what they wanted him to do, but doing it too late. And to be honest, I don’t think we as a fandom were very fair to Luke in that moment. The world called him out. He saw it and realized the world was right. He did exactly what everyone said, and then everyone got mad at him for doing it.

One of our big problems as a fandom is we make a lot of assumptions. So many assumptions. About absolutely everything. I suppose it’s the same in any fandom, but I generally don’t wade into fandoms. I haven’t been interested in any celebrity like this since I was a teenager. And I’m one and done with this one! But it’s certainly true here that we are daily making assumptions about two people we do not know at all.

Whatever you believe about Luke and Nicola’s love lives, it’s entirely based on your interpretation of the publicly available information. And based on that information, we can all agree on certain “facts.” Or things I’ll call facts because we collectively agree that we’ve all seen them.

But then there’s a bunch of stuff that we put together in different ways. Some people watch what’s going on and interpret it one way, the way I believe they want us to interpret it. Then others watch the same things and interpret them completely the opposite way, which is not what I believe they want us to see. Admittedly, I’m one of those people. I do not believe what they’re telling us. I do, however, believe what I see them showing us between the lines where we’re not supposed to look, but I think Nic and Luke hope (or know) that some of us do look.

And yes, we’re all interpreting what we see, but for my part, I work very, very hard to stay intellectually honest with myself and to only cling to the pieces of evidence that seem rock solid. Then I’ll lightly clasp the fun hints and bits of “maybe” evidence. And I basically ignore a lot of the stuff that seems particularly flimsy to me personally, stuff that’s based in no more than rumor or assumption. I don’t judge anyone who embraces those things, they’re just not part of the scenario I’ve sketched out in my own head. I try to keep my assumptions, inevitable as they are, to a minimum.

Oops, there’s that word again. Assumption. The biggest assumptions I see made are always about their state of mind and choices at any given time or in any given scenario. The way they act with the fake sides and what that says about them are the very best example of this. People say the most awful, hateful things about both of them based on believing these side narratives are true. People assume terrible things about both Luke and Nic because they think they’re dating these two young, inappropriate partners.

I do not believe they’re dating those two people, so I don’t believe those things. However, my side makes plenty of assumptions, too. We assume they’re happy and blissfully in love because that’s how they seemed on the WT. For those of us who believe in the “souvenir,” we assume they’re happy parents with a sweet young family, and we have fun imagining all the precious family time.

In reality, it’s possible they’re fighting all the time. It’s possible Nic had ppd or that Luke has checked out or that they love each other, but they’re constantly on the run and not seeing each other enough and it’s taking its toll. That last one, in particular, is why a lot of celebrity marriages fail. Plus, there are a million things that could be bumpy because literally every couple has bumps! Every couple including NicLuke.

It’s also possible that the toll of constantly having to hide their relationship, and pay off paparazzi, and scuttle around each other’s worlds like rats in the darkness, is proving more exhausting and stressful than they ever imagined. But obviously, it’s way more fun to imagine the fun stuff, so that’s where we linger with our thoughts. And yet, those are still assumptions.

In other words, no matter which side of the aisle we fall on, we make a lot of shit up in this community. Me included. Absolutely. Because we are interested in, and therefore imagining the lives of two people we don’t actually know.

Well, this week, the assumptions took a turn for the hateful. Because, yes, pretty much every bit of hate hurled at Luke like a gorilla tossing its poop was based on assumptions that might, in point of fact, have absolutely no basis in reality.

Now, at this point, I want to say that it’s perfectly fine to be angry at Luke sometimes. Or Nicola. Or both of them together. They’ve played a lot of games, both of their choosing and possibly not, but they’ve both done a lot to fool us and jerk us around. It’s very natural to get mad sometimes. I do. I get sick to death of being played, and even though I don’t fall for it anymore, I don’t like being treated like I’m stupid. So, for me, that’s a trigger that makes me angry. We all have triggers. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be angry sometimes.

But the key is sometimes. Because once again, most of our anger is based on assumptions we’re making about them and their motives and lives. This week, people freaked out (justifiably) because he had the audacity to put her in his carousel again. That’s a fact we can all agree on. He put her in his carousel. Or at least, someone did. (I’m not entirely sure who is doing these posts sometimes, but that’s a subject for a different blog.) But then he posted the belated HOM story and the fandom screamed a collective “How dare he?????” that would have made Munch’s Scream proud.

My problem with that second round of anger was that it was entirely built on assumptions that may not be remotely true. Was it bad optics and timing? Yes, absolutely! It couldn’t have been worse. But was it actually a terrible thing to post for terrible reasons? No. At least, it certainly wasn’t a terrible thing and we have no evidence that suggests the reasons were bad.

Everyone rushed to this very negative, dare I say hateful assumption that he was pathetically scurrying to do damage control after the carousel. That he saw everyone bitching and rushed to try to save himself by posting a “too little, too late” story. That makes him look pretty pathetic. But what if it’s not true?

Let me offer an alternative version that is equally possible. I can easily imagine a scenario where yes, Luke (or his team) was monitoring the response to his carousel and saw people commenting about how he should have done an end of HOM post. And he thought, “Oh, shit, they’re right! I should have done a post. I’ll do that now!”

And maybe he meant to do it when he finished, then thought, "no, I’ll wait until it ends so I don’t distract or confuse folks for the last two weeks." And by the time the last two weeks had passed, he’d gotten busy with the rest of his life and one day rushed past the next like happens to everyone and he simply lost track of it. And then it was time for him to post his carousel, so he did, not thinking about the fact that he never got around to the end-of-HOM post. No bad will. No ill feelings. No intentional neglect. Just life getting in the way as it does for everyone. (Especially for new parents.)

Then, the world reminds him through a lot of angry comments, and with the best will in the world, he does a thank you story. I know some folks wanted a grid post, but to be fair, everyone would have been happy with that story if it had happened before the carousel. It was mostly by comparison that the story seemed insufficient. If that story had hit a week or two earlier, everyone would have been perfectly happy with it.

And let’s not forget that Luke had already posted 10 times (TEN) about HOM and related press, including the three announcement posts that he recently archived. But he still had 7 HOM era posts on his grid. The show already had a lot of real estate on his grid. I don’t blame him for choosing to story his final message.

Plus, it’s worth noting that four of the photos in his carousel were very directly HOM related – the mirror, the opening night photo, the vodka, and the pic onstage. (And P.S. Mirrors also summon thoughts of Nicola, if we want to dissect this stuff that hard.) So even in his carousel, he was acknowledging the play repeatedly. By contrast, I count direct (and likely at least mostly fake) implications of being with A in 5 photos. Now, yes, that sucks for the aforementioned reasons, but the point is that HOM was very much represented in the carousel about his summer. And he’d already posted about it TEN times before that carousel.

Again, I’m not saying we don’t individually or collectively have a right to be angry sometimes. We all have a right to our feelings and anger is natural when things push our buttons. But anger makes us unhappy. It is a fundamentally negative, disruptive feeling that poisons us much more than the target of our anger. And if it causes us to nurse animosity against others, then yes, it can also hurt others, especially when their livelihoods depend on our collective good will.

I said early on in this post that I love Luke and Nicola, and that’s completely true. I don’t love them the way I love my husband or my friends or my family, but they are among my very favorite celebrities and they hold a special place in my heart. And they are certainly the only celebrities who get a sizable daily portion of my time. I don’t love that part, but it’s where we are. Those two lovable fools are addictive and beautiful together, so they’ve hooked me, and for the most part, I’m happy to sail along on the Lukola enjoying the waves. It feels good.

Being angry at either of them for the bullshit games they play does not feel good, so each time it happens, I try to shake it off as quickly as I can. It helps that I genuinely believe they have contractual obligations that are likely driving most of this b.s. I like to think that they’re as sick of this shit as we are and are eager to be done with it as well, but contracts and timelines being what they are, they are obliged to keep going.

That’s why I can’t get too mad when Luke posts a TV stand that A posed in front of a couple months ago, or the literal exact same poster from the Italian restaurant, clearly taken at the exact same time. Or some stupid hands and feet that may or may not be theirs. Or, worst of all, that horrible video of her crossing the street like she’s Mary Tyler Moore turning the world on with her smile.

Btw, did anyone notice that this is pretty much an exact duplicate of the In Style debacle? A posts a bunch of seemingly random things first. Then, awhile later, Luke shares stuff that proves to be the same places as A’s, thus poof! Magically implying a relationship. It’s a literal PR playbook of b.s.

Yeah, I hate that stuff because I’m ready for it to be done. My patience is wearing thin and I can’t believe we’re still playing these games a full year and a half after those ridiculous In Style photos hit. The good news is that the very intentional efforts to draw connections make it all look very fake. And I like to think that’s what they want. That in their own ways, while they’re obliged to continue with this foolishness, they’re lifting the curtain to let us see the seams. How it’s all pieced together. Because again, I like to think they’re sick of this, too.

Of course, that is also an assumption. Or not even quite an assumption in that case because I’m very far from sure how they feel about everything. They may be driving every bit of it for reasons of their own and they might feel great about it because of their reasons, which we’ll never know. Or maybe making a game of it is fun for them. Who knows?

Or maybe Nicola is simply fanatical about maintaining her privacy, which I do still believe, so they continue to do all of this simply for that reason. But they can be private without being secret. Many couples have successfully done that. There are lots of celebs who are married with babies that we never see. We have no idea about their private lives, and that’s just fine. We don’t need to know. But they can walk red carpets together and not have to hide their truth. That to me seems better than always living in darkness and swearing every person they know to an uncomfortable secrecy. But if that’s the case, I don’t have access to that information.

All I can do is interpret their actions in a way I can live with. So I like to think they’re under contractual agreement with a designated timeline because that makes sense to me. That helps me understand why they would keep playing all these games while also dropping hints like Nicola’s big, honking Claddagh ring on her left hand this week, followed immediately by Luke sharing her post.

And even that was a cause for anger among some fans. It was seen as an effort at distraction, which pissed people off more. But being pissed off feels bad. So I prefer to think that after the b.s., Nicola took advantage of the moment of increased attention to point it toward something worthwhile while reassuring us with the ring. And Luke gave us the gift of reassurance by immediately sharing it.

The point is, everything can be seen multiple ways. I do wish the fandom wouldn’t rush so quickly toward the negative options. Giving them the benefit of the doubt more often would do wonders for our collective mood. I know social media runs on pure, unadulturated rage most of the time, but don’t we all feel happier when we eschew the hate in favor of the love? I know I do. So I embrace the best possible versions of Lukola whenever I can.

Sometimes I get mad or annoyed, and yes, it’s possible they could push me too far. But for now, I’m holding on and giving them the benefit of the doubt because that just feels nicer all the way around. Instead of drinking poison and expecting the others to die, I’m drinking ambrosia and waiting for the others to reveal their love. It will come.

Remember when I said I was back, but also too busy to really be here? Well, here I am (how much later?) at last with a post I've been wanting to write for weeks if life weren't complete chaos. I hope y'all had a good summer and are enjoying these earliest days of fall.

But enough of that. We're here to talk about Lukola and the relative safety, or lack thereof, of shipping them.

Now, first, I'll say what I have often said before. If you don't believe that Lukola is real, if you fully believe in and embrace the stories with their young adjacents as real, then that's fine. You believe what you want to believe and I'll believe what I want to believe. I will not try to change your mind or yell at you for your preferred narrative. After all, none of us have access to all the facts, so all any of us can do is put together what we've seen in the way that makes the most sense to us.

But today, I want to talk to the wobbly believers, the ones who believe Lukola is endgame, but maybe not happening now. Or the ones who want to believe all the signs that Lukola could be real, but they're afraid to believe and be wrong. There are a lot of folks out there who love what they've seen between Nicola and Luke and desperately want to believe they'll end up together, but are afraid to believe it's actually happening right now. I get that. Having faith is hard.

Again, I'm not talking to the folks who are set in their beliefs, only to the folks who want that thread of hope to grasp. This is for you.

One thing I've heard many times from lovely people who want to believe is that they choose to embrace the side narratives because they're protecting their hearts. They don't want to believe in Lukola and have their hearts broken if it ends up untrue, so instead they accept the (I believe very false) narratives about the younger SOs. Even though believing those side stories makes them think terrible things about Nic and Luke.

If one accepts the versions of Nicola and Luke where they are dating these two much younger, less professionally successful, possibly gay partners, then one must believe some pretty awful things about both of them. Nic is sad, pathetic, immature, and emotionally stunted. Luke has been broken by Nic and is a serial monogamist dating a woman he hates, treats horribly, and hides from the world, but can't break up with. These are things that many people believe.

And yet, we love Nicola and Luke, right? How could that smart, talented, beautiful artist and passionate advocate be so stunted and settle for someone so unsuitable? And how could that sweet, patient, kind man at the stage door, who every coworker he's ever met has said was an absolute gem, treat his girlfriend so despicably?

Believing these terrible things about Nicola and Luke hurts, especially when you also want to love and respect them, which I know we all (or at least mostly do) want to do because that's why we're in the fandom together to begin with. Yet, this cognitive dissonance creates a very agitated emotional state where you're constantly judging two people very harshly while attempting to also maintain good feelings of admiration, respect, etc. for them. It's complicated, uncomfortable, and even painful.

So this is where that French philosopher comes in. Blaise Pascal was a 17th century writer, mathematician, and physicist whose Pensees (or "Thoughts") were published posthumously. Among these thoughts most famously was what he called The Wager. Pascal's wager was about God.

To very loosely paraphrase (my French degree is many, many years ago now), the wager is on whether God exists. Pascal said, if you wager that God exists and live your life accordingly, living a good, virtuous life, you stand to gain an eternity of heavenly rewards. Whereas, if you wager that God doesn't exist and live your life in sin consuming pleasures and luxuries, you may pay in an eternity of Hell. His conclusion is that the only sensible wager is that God exists. And if you reach the end of your life and find that God doesn't exist, the worst that happens is that you've lived a virtuous life and missed only mild pleasures that don't matter anyway.

Now, I'm not going to weigh in on the existence of God here. I have my opinions, of course, but this is not a religious sermon. This is, however, a bit of a philosophy lesson. Because the concept of the wager translates directly to Lukola.

For people who say they don't dare believe in Lukola because they want to protect their hearts, I want to offer another perspective. By not believing in Lukola, you're embracing a story that makes you unhappy every day. You're accepting a version of the facts that makes you dislike two people you want to love. You're watching each day feeling angry, frustrated, disgusted, or annoyed about the stories you're choosing to believe.

And yes, you're choosing to believe those stories, just as I am choosing to believe that Lukola is very real and happening right now. We're all choosing to believe some version of the facts, and that's okay.

But here's the thing, my version of the story makes me very happy every day. Every day, I see those two beautiful people in love and I feel good about it. I hate the side narratives as much as everyone else, and yes, I get annoyed with them. I want them to end. Badly. (And I think they will soon, but that's a topic for another blog.) But big picture, I rest easy each day knowing that behind the scenes, the lovebirds are together and building a happy family together.

So, what I'm saying is that believing in Lukola is our Wager and we each have to decide for ourselves whether to believe. But the risks and rewards are different for us. Yes, it's possible that if you believe in Lukola now, someday you could find out it's not real and be disappointed. I freely admit now, as I have done many times before, that if I find out I'm wrong and they're truly not together, I'll be heartbroken. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, but at least I'll only have that heartbreak once. And if I'm right, I'll be richly rewarded and deeply gratified to see my belief confirmed.

And in the meantime, the worst that can happen is that I'll enjoy every day between now and then celebrating their beautiful love and feeling happy about them.

But if I spent my days until then believing they were with these entirely unsuitable, fake sidepieces, I'd have to feel angry and disappointed every single day. I know this from personal experience from the brief period last fall when I thought maybe those side stories were true. So, I really do know how it feels to think they could possibly be dating Jake and Ant. And at the end, I'd either be proven right and continue being disgusted (which doesn't sound that great to me tbh) or find out I was wrong and wrestle with all those months of unwarranted anger when I could have been enjoying myself instead. Neither of those options appeals.

In a way, this wager is almost the opposite of Pascal's, because in ours, choosing to believe is the fun option, where we get to enjoy ourselves all along the way AND maybe be rewarded at the end. Or we can be miserable all along the way, and at the end, either continue to be miserable (if we're right) or feel foolish (if we're wrong). So, like Pascal, I conclude that there is only one sensible way to go.

For my part, I wager that Lukola is real. I wager that Nicola and Luke are happily married, and yes, have a precious little one in their family as well. I wager that they are a team who supports each other, who steps back and gives the other their moments to shine, who schedules their work and lives in a way that allows them to share the load at home while reaching for their dreams. I wager that Antonia and Jake are just convenient distractions written into the story to keep Lukola private and safe until such time as they are ready to go public. A time that I believe is coming very soon.

But in the meantime, we all have to choose what to believe. And as I said before, if you're set in different beliefs, then that is fully your right. But if you want to believe in Lukola, if you find yourself wavering but afraid to be hurt, I'm here to tell you, it's all good on this side. And I believe the evidence is very much on our side. Honestly, there is so. much. evidence.

In the meantime, I have some things to say. Now, to be honest, I'm fully swamped at the moment, so I won't be able to dig in like I used to. I just don't have the time. But I think it's time to come out of the shadows.

A long while back, shortly after BOSS, I took a step back. It was my feeling that they were asking us loud and clear to back off. Out of respect for Nic and Luke, I did exactly that. I stopped blogging. But even then, I said I would reassess as time went on.

Well, it's been 6 months and I personally feel that things have changed enormously. Things are shifting and I'm ready for an era of open Lukola. And I don't just mean myself as an open Lukola, but I mean NicLuke. For just as I am ready to come out of the shadows, I think it's time for them also to come out of the shadows. And I think, pray, that they are themselves getting close to doing so.

Rest assured, I've not been out of the loop. I have been daily plugged in to the group chat world and followed every move with interest. And yes, I still believe in Lukola. In fact, I'd say I'm more sure than ever. Nicola and Luke are real and together. And yes, they have "a souvenir" from the World Tour.

Last week's blog from CDAN was a beautiful thing. It was clearly about Nic and Luke and it lit a fire. My sincere hope is that it was dropped by their teams. We've seen so many signs this summer that the side piece narratives were winding down, and then this. This blind is a great way to smooth the path and prepare folks who believe in the side pieces for the truth. It opened a door.

There's no way to know if NicLuke's teams were behind it. CDAN could just have gotten wind of the same things the paps and the SAGs reporters and every eagle-eyed, plugged in Lukola has, and decided he had enough evidence now to post a longer blind. That in itself would be wonderful.

But I'd like to believe that their teams dropped it for several reasons. For one thing, if they did, then it means it's true that they are nearly ready to go public. And believe me, I am 1,000% ready for that! But I also wish for them to be in control of the story. I want them to come out because they are ready and they want to be honest with the world and share their love publicly instead of hiding it. (While still keeping the details of their life private as they deserve.)

I've never wanted them to be forced out, or to feel the world spinning too wildly out of control. They have a new family to protect, and careers to build, and they deserve to do that in relative peace and tranquility (setting aside the state of the world and all the stuff that none of us can control). And they deserve to be seen as separate entities, actors with capabilities and identities far beyond the beautiful love story that emerged from Bridgerton, both onscreen and off. They deserve to be seen as the individuals they are.

So, I don't blame them one bit for all the shenanigans of the past year-plus. Even though I personally have hated a lot of them, and yes, some of them did cause me to second-guess a bit and doubt what I thought I knew.

As the blind said, this has been a "heavily stage-managed public relations cover-up" and it was designed to be persuasive. Is it any wonder we were all at least shaken from time to time? And I can't blame anyone who has been persuaded by the fake story papering over the truth. They've worked very, very hard to convince us of fake things to keep us distracted from the real thing.

But in the end, I always circled back to the big picture where there was only one option that actually, fully made sense. Lukola is real. Lukola is happening now.

She's not the desperate, immature woman clinging to a younger man who's obviously not into her, as some have painted her. And she never was. All she's ever shown to us is Jake looking exactly like all of her other gay besties, including the hugs and hand-holding. Show me a romantic photo. Show me one. I'll wait. She's not dating him, and never was. But she's allowed people to believe she is, complete with all the hate that people pour on her for it, because it allows her to hide something much more precious and important. As always, she's been keeping her love life private.

And he's not the cold, unfeeling, controlling man who won't let his much younger girlfriend post photos and leaves her in hotel rooms while he flirts with another woman for all the world to see. He's not being cool in photos with her. He's trying to tolerate her. Because in reality, she is only there to do a job and she's paid in free trips, event attendance, small PR pushes, and a modest cash stipend. I don't know how he feels about her in reality, but I suspect he doesn't even like her. Regardless, however, she is just a ruse put in place to make sure we're always looking her direction instead of the direction of the irresistibly handsome fella and the beautiful blonde bestie love of his life.

So, yes, I still believe absolutely, and I'm ready to talk about it openly again. I hope and pray that the reveal is coming soon. It feels like the time has come. The pressure is building and more and more people are seeing the truth. Fans aren't falling for the lie anymore, so at this point, it's just more sunk costs. And worse, it shifts from disbelief to anger a little more each day. Not for me. I love them. I'm not angry. But I see it out there, and it's a strain that is turning on them. I want them to come out before that strain grows and turns completely. I want them to come out as their shining, beautiful, happy together selves. So coming out soon feels important.

But either way, I'll be here watching. And while I won't do as much analysis as I did previously - both because I don't have the time and because I don't want to arm them with "things to fix" to support the lies - I will be here talking about it with all of you.

Just hoping Nicola and Luke give us something truly wonderful to discuss very soon.

Come on, Nic and Luke. Step into the light.

Let’s face it, Nic did not need any help to find him sexy. And neither did we. But also, S3 Colin Bridgerton/Luke Newton, you are indeed sexy af.

Happy Birthday, Lukey Newts!!! Enjoy your sweet treats and creamy cakes, sir! 🥳🎂🍰🧁

This is a really good question, and one of the reasons Option 1 still makes the most sense. Why launch her now, after hiding her for so long and after actively cleaning up the internet of all the past pap stuff? If they were together and always going to launch eventually anyway, why waste time and money erasing evidence that you were together before? They could still stay private and launch when ready without investing in that deep cleaning. Assuming he wasn’t with Nic, he was allowed to be with anyone he wanted. There would be no need to erase the trail.

Actually, Anon, this take is the exact opposite of what I said. I explicitly said that I do not believe Nicola and Jake are romantically involved. I also said explicitly that IF Luke is really dating A, I cannot respect that choice and I don't think it reflects well on him.

In fact, I'll go further. If by some wild twist of fate Nic and Luke really are dating these other people, and they go on to have the longest, happiest relationships in all of celebritydom, then good for them. I'm glad they're happy. But I will never ship those pairings. Not ever. The only ship I care about is Lukola. That ship is why I'm here.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is my one and only real world celebrity ship. Lukola is special. And I never said I believed the story we were told this past week in N's interview and L's hard launch. I said, they've told us something very clearly and we owe them the courtesy of listening and considering the possibility that what they've told us is true.

I also said that the only version of all of this that actually makes complete sense, even now, is Option 1 (where they are together). However, they have asked us to take a step back this past week, so I am respectfully doing so because I believe this is a critical time in their lives. I want to give them the time and space they need, so I'm turning down the heat for my part. I'm just a tiny nobody account and my choice to back-off will likely make little difference, but I want to respect their wishes in a time that feels especially important.

And if you read between the lines, what I've just said is the literal opposite of jumping ship.

For reference, here’s the blog post in question.

Well, this has certainly been an interesting week, hasn’t it?

Last Saturday, I was the happiest of shippers, sharing why I’m so sure it’s Luke. By Wednesday, I was sharing my thoughts on why Nicola’s “just a friend” comment was nothing to worry about. Yes, truly, Nicola’s comment was a hit to the ship. A very palpable hit. Yet, we sailed on. Then on Thursday, well, the ship very nearly sunk with Luke’s Hugo Boss “hard launch” of Antonia. Nearly.

There’s one thing I’ll say I know for sure. Nicola knew she was getting that question about fans wanting her to marry Luke and she had her answer prepared. I have no doubt about that. In all likelihood, her people asked him to ask that question. Otherwise, it’s out of the box for that kind of industry/awards promotion interview. It’s not an interview for the fans, it’s for the voters. She WANTED to dispel the idea that she and Luke might have fallen in love on set because that perception would hurt her chances at the SAG Awards.

There’s no question that Nic and Luke decided together that the time had come to send an armed nuclear torpedo into the ship for once and for all. And so, they did. Indeed, it’s only thanks to our wits, grit, and some very skillful maneuvering that we managed to keep the ship from sinking to the bottom of the ocean. We may be taking on water, but we’re bailing it faster, and we’re still afloat, if only just.

This does not, however, mean that I’m ignoring what they’ve said this week. On the contrary, I’m paying very, very close attention. I’m paying attention not only to their words (or in Luke’s case, the story he’s telling with that hard launch), but also to the subtext, the backstory, the character histories, and the outtakes. I’m paying close attention both to what they’ve told us and to what they haven’t.

I’m thinking about every bit of it. I am, by nature, very analytical. In the Lukola intelligence community, I’d say I’m more of an analyst than a detective. I don’t go out there gathering information (tracking every tag, monitoring friends, family, adjacents, finding old, hidden content, etc.). I don’t even know how to get metadata from Instagram. I’d be grateful if someone could tell me.

But when the detectives bring me evidence, I analyze the hell out of it. There are great detectives out there, but that’s not my skillset. I’m great at sitting at my desk and studying the evidence presented to identify patterns, interpret clues, and assemble those clues into a watertight case.

I thought that’s what I had, a watertight case. And you need your case to be watertight when you’re sailing these rough seas, right?

Then this week, Nicola and Luke decided to tell me my case had fallen apart, and to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel. I’m not as devastated as I thought I might be. I think that’s because I’m still not sure I believe them. They’ve both told us the same thing this week, that they are absolutely, positively not together. They’ve told us in no uncertain terms. And I always thought I would believe them if that time came. And yet, there’s something just a little too suspicious and convenient about the timing for me to trust it entirely. It doesn’t quite pass the smell test.

To be clear, I’m not saying I definitely don’t believe them. I think it’s very possible they’ve told us the truth this week and we simply have to live with it. We have to shift our ship back to “endgame” mode, and out of “happening now” mode.

In some ways, this would be a relief. If I actually accepted that they are not together at all at this point, I could begin to let them go. If I don’t see their launch coming, why hang around? The wait for endgame could be eons. I love them together, but I could do a hell of a lot of other things with my time in the meantime. Why do I need to follow and discuss their every move if it’s not headed to the only result I care about? I could check out completely and let them do their thing.

I’ll watch Bridgerton, and their other work when it looks interesting, and otherwise peace out. I don’t have to be “a fan” to enjoy their work. I have loads of favorite actors whose work I love, and I follow very few of them on socials. I could simply shift NicLuke into that category and move on.

I don’t actually have to care so much about them. All this parasocial bs takes a lot of time and energy, and while that investment of time and energy is good for them because we keep them in the public discourse, it’s not necessarily the highest, best use of our time for ourselves, is it? I could just let it go. We could all just let it go. Wouldn’t that be a relief?

The problem is that I do care about them. They got us hooked during that World Tour and now we’re invested. I’m invested. I’ve put a lot into them and I’d like a return on my investment, thanks. I want to see them happy. Together. I want to see them happy together. Many of us do. So, what if we don’t get that?

Well, I’ll come back to that question. But right now, I’m more interested in the question of WHY. Why did they decide now was the time to torpedo the ship? After all these months of weird, yet skillful combination of utter silence and semi-explicit hints and breadcrumbs. Why now, after a year of active shipping, seven full months after the WT ended, long after Bridgerton 3-month ratings were locked, why spontaneously this week? And why did they do it in such a coordinated way? The SAG nomination, yes, but is there more to it?

I have more theories and variations on theories than I can count. But here are the four key interpretations I want to explore.

It’s exactly what I said this week with Nicola’s interview and my quick post on Thursday. They are still together, with major life changes ahead, and Nicola is up for a SAG. They need more privacy than ever AND Nicola needs to distance herself from the “they fell in love on-set” narrative so that she can be taken seriously as the terrific actor she is, who acted her ass off in Season 3. She doesn’t want to be seen as someone who was only that good because she was “really falling in love.”

They’re genuinely not together, Luke is actually with Antonia (whether on-and-off or all along) and they decided to shut down the shipping now purely because it was impacting Nic’s SAG nomination (see 1 for details). Or maybe L also decided it was time to launch to take the invasive scrutiny off his family.

They’re not together, L is with A, and Nic knew he was going to take her to the HB event, so she prepared fans and pre-empted any “poor, rejected Nicola” perception by saying what she did during her interview.

They were together, and now it’s over (not mutually exclusive with 2 or 3).

You’ll notice none of these theories turn on Nicola’s hypothetical romantic relationship with Jake. This is largely because I have always said that simply isn’t a romantic relationship. And regardless, it’s not relevant to this week’s developments as the state of her relationship with Jake is unchanged from the past few months. That’s not a new factor in this week’s decision.

Obviously, number 1 above is my preferred explanation. It still continues to be the only explanation that makes sense of absolutely everything we’ve seen. INCLUDING Nicola’s words in that interview, and even Luke taking A to that event if you follow the logic of protecting themselves at a critical time both personally and professionally. It’s easy to forget all the extensive evidence pointing to this, but a review of my recent posts will refresh you. There is much to this saga that literally only makes sense if Lukola is real and the other apparent relationships are PR fakery/fuckery to keep our eyes off the truth.

However, this week, they have actively told us that is not the case. So, we owe it to ourselves to be emotionally and intellectually honest and to be open to the other possibilities as well.

Okay, so let’s talk about options 2 and 3. Both posit that Luke and Antonia are really together. Or at least casually dating. It is certainly possible that Luke simply wanted or needed a date to this event and Antonia is a casual date. Certainly, their body language is not particularly close or affectionate in most of the photos or videos. And A clearly does not calm Luke’s anxiety and event nerves like Nic always could and did. And they didn’t seem to hold hands naturally, nor did their arms around each other seem particularly close or natural in most of the photos and videos we saw. And yet, they did walk and pose arm-in-arm as a couple. No arguments there.

It has been widely noted that the Daily Mail story featuring Luke attending this event with his “girlfriend Antonia” was published mere minutes after the first event photos were published. And the story talked way more about A and her vague resume/background than about Luke. For all the world, it sure looks like this appearance was designed to give Ant a PR boost with a story pre-planted and ready to roll. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t together.

There is one video recorded inside that shows them in a different light. They seem to be enjoying themselves together, laughing, smiling, and talking close. However, there was loud music, it seems, so all talking needed to be close. We saw this when Luke talked to David Beckham as well. David was leaning in and Luke was talking directly in his ear, so clearly, volume was an issue. But he did have his hand on her back and she even copped a feel of his celebrated lukey newts butt. Yes, that video looked very couply indeed. Again, no arguments.

Did I like it? Of course not. Obviously, I hated it. I loathed it even. Do I wish the whole evening would crawl away and sink itself into the bottom of the ocean in lieu of our very leaky ship? Yes. But that video still exists, as does the other photographic and videographic evidence.  So, it’s irrefutable, right?

Almost. There is one thing that rankles a bit in that video. And indeed, about all the Luke & A stuff that came out so quickly. Literally, it all dropped faster than even the Beckham stuff, and Beckham was the host of this event. Why did it all hit so fast? Okay, sure, we already established it was at least partly planned PR for A. But why was that video so exclusively focused on the two of them specifically? What was the videographer doing shooting them from behind, ostensibly “in secret and candid,” for so long? Why so much footage (edited from pieces, therefore taken over time) of the two of them specifically, including that saucy, little butt grab?

If indeed this evening were intended to launch A with the explicit intentions of 1) blowing up the ship and 2) promoting A as the official girlfriend, then it’s not hard to imagine Luke’s PR handler/escort for the evening whispering a little encouragement in his ear. Something like, “It’s not really playing yet, you need to give it more. You two need to get cozy, amp it up, and we’ll get it on video.” Of course, it’s also entirely possible that this “canoodling inside” video was always planned as the final blow to seal the deal after the red carpet content hit.

And, to be fair, it’s also possible that they simply relaxed once they got inside and started having fun. If theirs is a real relationship, whether long-term, serious or a casual dating one, then that would make sense. But why were they so tense on the red carpet to begin with if they’re so close? Why did they look so uncomfortable? Either way, it seems someone had a very clear intention to capture “proof” of the relationship.

Now let’s shift gears and talk about Nicola briefly. Let’s start with this. Nicola is a terrific, gifted, hard-working actor. She deserves all the accolades. She’s worked hard to achieve the success she’s now enjoying and she sure as hell deserves her SAG Award nomination for her beautiful, delicate performance that was by turns moving, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and hilarious. She’s the real deal. And she’s unbelievably, ridiculously beautiful. To my eyes, many times more beautiful and sexier than the other woman who appears in this saga, for what it’s worth. That’s perhaps beside the point, but I wanted to throw it in anyway because what can I say? I’m feeling a little petty and in the mood to spit truths.

She’s also a woman with a right to privacy. And a woman with a career to maintain and grow. And an award nominee who’s campaigning for a win, knowing even if she doesn’t win, the nomination will open doors for her as long as she is taken seriously. And maybe, just maybe, a woman with big life changes coming up fast. I fully support her in doing what she needs to take care of herself and those she loves. And knowing what I know, having seen what I’ve seen, believing what I believe about her, I still believe she would absolutely do what she needs to do in this critical moment.

So, I’m just going to be honest and say I simply don’t know what to think at this point. I still believe number 1 above makes the most sense, both logically and emotionally. But… but… sigh.

There’s also another very real possibility, which is that Lukola has indeed been just as real as we all believe – and now, sadly, it’s over. I actually believe this could be a very real possibility, though this possibility breaks my heart most of all. But I think it’s distinctly possible that they tried and it just didn’t work out for any of the millions of reasons couples don’t make it all the time. Plus, as I’ve written about before, all the reasons they have extra challenges because of their lives and jobs. So maybe the shipping was sweet to them while the relationship lasted, but is painful now that it’s over.

I wish this didn’t feel so valid as a possibility, but it does. And this, too, would make sense of just about everything, unlike the alternate versions where the adjacents (or at least one of them) have been real partners all along. But who knows? As ever, none of us (and none of the Jakolas) knows them, so none of us will ever know anything for sure. Unless they one day decide to come clean.

I’m a big fan of the show Castle. Castle and Beckett, or “Caskett,” is one of a small handful of fictional couples that I have shipped with devotion. I LOVED Caskett and could not wait until they finally got together. The delicious tension, the longing, the near misses, the banter, the micro expressions that broke your heart. They were perfect together. Unfortunately, in reality, they grew to hate each other by the end, but onscreen, they were fire. I will never not love Caskett.

Lukola is my one and only real-world ship, and I will never not love them. Unless they really blow it with too much BTS fuckery. I feel as if they are continually jerking me around and playing games, and I’ve been A-OK with that as long as I knew where it was headed. I was willing to ride the waves of the choppy seas because I knew where the ship was sailing and I loved the destination. I didn’t begrudge them hiding behind PR fakery (or fuckery) because I had faith it was in the best interest of their careers, privacy, and more recently (once I settled into my personal opinion regarding the delicate matter), their family.

That may yet be the case. And if it is, I am 100% there for it.

But if it’s not, if Antonia ends up being a real relationship, that’s going to be very, very hard for me to accept. I’ll do my best to stay the course for Luke as an actor, but the side I see of him as someone dating her is not the same good guy he sold us on the tour. Not the same sweet Colin-alike that the cast has told us he is. Not the same perfect man Nic has told us he is. Because the choice to be with her – based on what I know of her (as well as her youth) — reflects poorly on him, in my opinion. I’m not sure about his “treatment” of her because there’s so much we don’t see and a lot of assumptions are made on that front. But simply based on who she has shown herself to be through her posts and the jobs she’s taken, I can’t respect the choice. I would accept him with many people who aren’t Nicola, but not her.

And my feelings about Nicola would also be dented because she’s posted so many of the crumbs that have (intentionally) kept me hanging on. And if, by some strange twist, she is dating Jake, well… I have a higher opinion of Jake than Antonia. I have no real issue with Jake. From what little I’ve seen of him speaking, he seems like a good kid, earnest about his work, maybe even sweet. But like Antonia, he’s so young. Setting aside aside all the other reasons I don’t believe they’re dating, he’s still 13-14 years younger than her, and just starting out while she’s sailing the heights. I have to be honest and say that the age difference and the power differential do make me uncomfortable.

Her relationships are still not my business. Nor are Luke’s. But as a consumer of media, I do get to have feelings about the people I stan and where I choose to devote my energies. As I said, Lukola has been my one and only ship. I’ve loved them individually as well, but if I’ve been played for a prolonged time, if they’ve been stringing me along with a fake ship, how can that not sour me on them as individuals?

So, yes, if these particular, adjacent relationships are real, my respect for each of them will take a hit. But they can date other people. I’ll get over it. I’ll be disappointed. I’ll think they’ve missed out because they clearly have something truly unique and special, maybe more unique than either of them realizes yet. I still believe they’ve gotten together at some point, but if they’ve now moved on, I’ll sigh and move on as well. And hope that one day, they find their way back to each other where they belong. That’s what endgame means, after all.

However, I will say again that I am not yet entirely convinced that the adjacents are anything more than I’ve long thought they were, decoys and distractions. Or that these latest hits to the ship (the mom comment, Nicola’s interview, and the “hard launch”) are anything more than ramped up efforts to camouflage the truth at a crucial time.

But the one thing that is crystal clear is that they want us to back the fuck off. Whether it’s out of a time-sensitive need for greater professional separation for career reasons (awards consideration chief among them) and greater privacy for family reasons… or because it’s actually true that they are not together at this time… either way, they’ve clearly decided to shut down the shipping this past week.

And this brings me back to Castle. If you know Castle, then you know there was a long-running throughline story about who murdered Kate’s (aka Beckett’s) mother. For years, Kate was obsessed with finding who was responsible and what happened, and more than once, that fierce dedication led her to go too far on the job. She’d stay on cases when she had a clear conflict, she’d hide things from her superiors, she’d go rushing into danger in a ruthless pursuit of the truth. Needless to say, this behavior eventually led to a suspension even though she was the best detective in the precinct. But instead of accepting the suspension, Kate tossed down her badge and quit, because OBVIOUSLY, she was going to go right on investigating privately.

So, am I going to pull a Kate Beckett and charge forward, despite every warning, to investigate every lead until I get the truth? No matter what it costs to me or those I love (namely, Lukola)? Or will I sadly accept my suspension, hang my head, and take some time at home to catch up on my Netflix until the clock runs out? Hmm… Maybe, a little of both?

Here’s what I’m going to do. Keep watching. Keep collecting information, analyzing, and seeing how I think the picture most clearly takes shape. And I will keep sharing my thoughts with all of you.

But since they want us to back off, I will slow roll those observations. For my part (NPC that I am), I will politely take a step back and give them the time that I believe they need for certain very specific reasons. If they need folks like me to back off, then I will. At least for now. And I’ll see what the next couple of months bring.

At some point down the line, depending on how things shake out, I may feel comfortable going full force again with my thoughts and opinions. But right now, it’s my belief that there are things important enough that I’m willing to take a step back to support them, because my intention has only ever been to share my thoughts and bolster the spirits of my fellow shippers. Never to harm Lukola.

In the meantime, I won’t disappear entirely. I may blog a little less, and maybe shift a bit to lovely Polin. Or maybe I’ll end up blogging more with short, fun stuff in lieu of the analysis. Who knows? Got to keep busy somehow, at least unless or until I decide to step off the ship entirely.

I only have a minute right now and don’t have time to go deep, but want to share the sentiment I just posted in GC.

I just want to say, all of the reasons why Nicola would lie in the interview that dropped the other day are all the same reasons Luke could show up at an event (looking miserable) with A. In the same week as the drop.

It feels very coordinated. Like, they clearly made a decision that it was time to shut it down. Two definitive “statements” in one week (after all this time) is too much of a coincidence to actually be coincidence.

The thing we don’t know is WHY. It’s entirely possible that it’s true and we’ve all been wrong. It’s also possible that they’re both doing what they need to do right now to protect themselves and help her campaign, etc.

I don’t want to be delusional about this and I know it looks bad. I’ve always said I’d be honest and I’m doing that. But also, it does seem coordinated, so it’s very possible this is just more PR fakery.

First, I want to say, I restrict my Lukola musings to this place (and the discord I recently joined). I’m not sharing my theories out in the big, wide world out of respect for them. I don’t want either my certainty or my candor about the game our lovebirds are playing (out of necessity) to hurt them in any way.

That’s why I’m so glad to have found this place. The quiet, little tumblr community and the serious, closed-lip Lukola community is relatively small and respectful. True blue shippers understand what’s happening and we keep the faith (and keep our mouths shut to the outside world). My musings are for this group alone.

I mention this because I believe that anyone reading my blog, or fellow bloggers, who feel that Lukola is real and happening now, both love and respect Nic and Luke. We want them to be happy.

We support Lukola in making the choices that are good for them. Let them say and do what they need to in order to keep themselves safe and peaceful. If we’re rooting for their happiness and success, then we need to let them publicly create the narrative that enables them to do that.

But for those of us on the ship, we sometimes need to prop each other up and remind us all why we’re willing to sail these sometimes choppy seas. With yesterday’s release of the Gold Derby interview, and the much discussed “just a friend” line, now seems like one of those times.

Because rest assured, friends, this line is no cause for concern. I know the jakolas are celebrating this as a win, and good for them. I’m glad they’re happy. They’re saying (and will continue saying) that we’re delusional. “After everything we’ve seen,” they’ll say, “she finally said the words you’ve been waiting for. Now do you see?” Cool. We can agree to disagree, and I support them in their opinions.

Because I know exactly what I see.

I’ve covered the reasons NicLuke would lie about/cover up their relationship several times, but with this latest interview, those reasons bear a quick review:

- Nic is a feminist who doesn’t want to be defined by her relationship or a man. She doesn’t want to be “someone’s girlfriend” (or wife), which she has said explicitly.

- Nic has always been intensely private about her love life (even before she was an uber famous It Girl). Would she really decide to change that now when the spotlight is even brighter?

- Not wanting to be branded as a couple and lose their identities. Both Nic and Luke are hitting new levels of success with Season 3. They need to capitalize on that as individual actors respected for their performances.

- Nicola is the moment. She deserves her time in the sun without being reduced to half of a famous couple (even if the other half is “perfect” Luke)

- Luke is a hot guy with newly opened doors after season 3. The SMA spread helped cement that perception. Remaining “single” publicly helps maintain that persona, increasing his marketability.

- Public scrutiny and pressure on famous couples is enormous. There’s an expectation of perfection when, spoiler alert, they’re actually human beings who probably get pretty messy sometimes like everyone else. And might even have had a messy road to this point that they’d rather not lay bare to the world. Scrutiny also means every action gets judged, and should things not work out (heaven forbid!), the whole world would watch their heartbreak.

And those are just the highlights.

In addition to all of this, there are even more reasons they might want to be extra careful and private right now:

- Nicola is nominated for a major acting award, by her peers no less. The absolute last thing she’d want would be for industry peers to dismiss her performance because they think she was actually in love with Luke, not acting. We’ve all watched it (doubtless many times) and know how beautiful and nuanced both their performances were throughout, covering the gamut of emotions with huge range, regardless of any personal feelings they may have had at the time. But “story” is important in an awards race and she definitely does not want THAT to be the perceived story.

- Besides which, quite apart from actually winning the award, just the nomination will open doors for her. But again, she needs to detach from that story to ensure she’s taken seriously.

- There’s also the delicate other matter that is 1,000% reason enough to batten down the hatches and shut down the scrutiny asap.

But if people are still anxious, here are a few more things I’ve been reflecting on that have reassured me and might just reassure you as well:

- The video where Bessie says, “A couple of people fell in looove, I gueeesss.” I mentioned this in my previous blog (linked below) and @dianis307817 asked about it, so I’ll attach it at the bottom for your delight and reassurance (that part specifically is at the end)

- I had a little switch flip yesterday about Nicola’s “a lot of people want me to marry Luke” comment in the Time interview. We all said then, “Nic, we just wanted you to be together. Nobody (fans) was talking about marriage! That’s all you, girl.” But yesterday, I processed it in a different context and thought, “that’s what a mom who says ‘that’s the one’ says to her daughter.” I thought about this briefly back when this first came out, but something about it clicked into place for me yesterday. Marriage is the thing friends and family push when they know she’s with the right guy. And she didn’t say, “a lot of people want me to BE with Luke” or “get together with Luke.” She said marriage, which is predicated on them already being in the relationship. (I’m sure others thought about it this way previously, but this clarity in this moment for me was useful perspective.) As we see again and again, Nic has been telling us all along.

- In that interview and in Paris, she is STILL WEARING THAT RING. And in fact, in Paris, she had a small gold ring on her left ring finger, which we saw when she was caught spontaneously for the magic trick. That finger change could purely be due to the delicate matter. But a gold ring of any ilk, Claddagh or otherwise, on that specific finger is 👀

- Notably, she removed her rings entirely at the Dior show when she knew she’d be photographed extensively. Or again, possibly for the above mentioned reason.

- And finally, there continue to be signs of the delicate matter that I prefer not discuss. But she’s not wearing acrylics lately (interview or Paris), she had non-alcoholic beer at the Big Boys premiere, and several of the designs she’s worn have had an M (not size Medium) on them. Also, she hedged in the interview about who would go to the SAG Awards, saying she wasn’t sure about the shooting schedule. But since she’s the only solo nominee and LW, if Shondaland is sending a contingent, they would definitely clear her schedule to be in it. So why hedge — if she’s able to travel?

To me, all of the above assure me the story has been and continues to be consistent.

Indeed, saying “just a friend” is entirely consistent with the camouflage strategy to date. All the reasons she’s avoided being open about the relationship until this time are all the reasons she would finally force herself to lie in this moment.

In fact, if I had to guess, I’d say the questions were agreed upon in advance and she was prepared with that answer, braced and ready to say what she has to say. Gold Derby is very much an industry awards focused site, featuring and hyping nominees. Interviews generally focus on *the work.* It’s not an entertainment gossip site or morning TV show. All these months later, when NicLuke hasn’t been seen together in 6+ months and the larger cultural conversation has very much moved on from World Tour chemistry, would an industry guy really still be asking a salacious question about her love life? And expecting that she would spontaneously admit to something *now* when she hasn’t uttered so much as a single peep until now? It feels much more like a set-up to give her the opportunity to explicitly say the words she hoped she could avoid saying.

Nic has said before that she finds it really hard to be disingenuous, and I think anyone who’s watched her for more than five minutes can see that. She’s so authentic and as real as she can be, which is why until now she’s found a hundred different ways to deflect the question without saying, “just friends.” She didn’t want to say those words because they’re not true. But when push comes to shove… when the crucial privacy of her family at a critical time is at stake… let alone careers and future gigs and maybe even awards are at stake… she will do what she needs to do. She will smile and say the words she doesn’t want to say.

Remember, Tomdaya said they were “just friends,” too. Have you seen the ring on Zendaya’s finger recently? And speaking of rings, have you seen the ring on Nic’s finger?

Meanwhile, right after the begrudging “just friends” line, she’s asked if there’s anything wrong with Luke. Do you see the way her face lights up when she says he’s perfect? That’s her real answer. She can’t even find one single thing to tease him about? Not a single flaw that she would reveal to the world? Something small and good natured? That’s a girl in love and I don’t care what you say.

Let the antis and the jakolas and everyone else think what they want. It just doesn’t matter. And in fact, the more people who buy those stories (including all the variants of the story), the better for Nicola and Luke. People believing those stories is the goal and helps protect them. Especially Nicola, whom I believe needs safety and peace more than ever right now.

As always, we don’t know them, and I allow for the possibility that I could be wrong. But despite Nic’s protestations (the lady doth protest too much, methinks), I’m sitting tight on the Lukola, ordering another drink.

Only Nic and Luke matter and they get to write the public story. I still believe they will come out some day, when they’re ready. When they feel safe, when they feel secure, when they have less risk to their professional brands and careers. Nicola has never gone public with her love life before, and she will always want to be private. As does Luke now, clearly. But I believe they will want to share their truth at some point, and they know how much we want to share in their joy. But it has to be on their terms.

In the meantime, for anyone who needs shoring up, let this bolster you. The ship sails on.

Here’s the full interview if you haven’t seen it or would like a rewatch:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tBPOWQYU2sQ

I've been pretty quiet here for a while. Much of that is because of the state of the world. I had a bit of a deep spiral last weekend about things happening in my country.

And I confess that the FB comment and funeral hubbub sent me into a corresponding (though temporary) Lukola spiral to which I was doubtless more vulnerable due to my already depressed state. Did I really have to lose my daily dopamine drip (aka, Lukola) just when I needed it most?

Short answer: Absolutely not.

I had already started to pull myself out of my Lukola spiral by Monday (the other spiral is still very deep), and video and photos of Nic that emerged on Tuesday and Wednesday shored me up until I was back to effing rock solid.

I often see things I don't agree with, even on the blogs of folks with whom I usually agree, and I simply move on most of the time. I don't comment. I feel no need to argue with people in their own blogs. In friendly spaces, I'll sometimes share counter opinions because I believe respectful dialogue and debate are important — and have all but disappeared in this era of instant blocks. And we all want to share information and opinions that help us fine tune our perspectives.

But if they're clearly dug into an opinion that I view as wildly wrong, there's little value for me in arguing with them. Let them think what they want. It's not my job to change anyone's mind.

The jakola takes are the easiest to ignore for obvious reasons. I've written extensively about JD's role in Nicola's life and there's no need to do so here. (Feel free to read my other posts if you need clarity around N & J's non-romantic relationship.)

Instead, the takes I find the most frustrating are from the Lukolas who have lost hope, the so-called "realistic" ones who think that we "just have to accept that they're not together," and maybe even that "Luke is with Ant."

To this, I respectfully say, we absolutely do not have to accept any such thing because the evidence is fully on our side.

Truth be told, I suspect I'm most vexed by these posts because I used to be one of those "realists." In late summer/early autumn, I had fallen victim to the fake narratives created by the paparazzi shots of both Nic and Luke, all designed to imply a certain narrative without either of them actually saying those things were true. I always believed NicLuke belonged together. However, I reluctantly accepted that "I guess Luke is probably seeing her" and "not sure about that guy, but the photos of Nic and him do look cozy."

I understand the impulse to surrender. It's so hard to have faith, to keep believing in something when there's an apparent narrative being constructed in the public eye that tells you you're wrong. It's painful (and feels delulu) to keep believing when you've been let down repeatedly by pap photos you assume are true.

It's very easy to accept a false narrative if you don't have the energy to dig in and really pay attention to all the signs and information available when you look for it. (This is true on the world stage as well, and we should all think very critically about the stories we're being told, but I digress.)

I wrote extensively and in gory detail about how and why I'm so sure about Lukola in my blog post "Nicola and Luke Are Absolutely Together...," which I'll link here for anyone who wants persuasion or reassurance. I won't rehash all of that here, but I do want to touch on a handful of milestones & crumbs, many of which are recent, that make me quite sure about Luke being the man in Nicola's life.

One of the recent assertions I saw was that we need to let go of the significance of the Claddagh ring. (I'm not putting anyone on blast. I can't even remember who said this, and I think it was someone I like, so no offense.) But I could not disagree with this more.

Claddagh rings are worn to represent relationship status more than anything. Yes, they can be given in friendship, but the orientation of the ring on the wearer's finger is fundamental to understanding the ring. Only someone with no connection whatsoever to its heritage or meaning would throw it on willy nilly in any direction they pleased.

Not everyone follows the rules closely. I wore mine for years, on my left ring finger, heart down when I was free, heart up when I was taken. I only stopped wearing it when I replaced it with my engagement ring. (Obviously, I was not following the traditional 4 steps.)

Some wear it just on a single hand, whichever they choose. Some might wear it just while single (even engaged), then replace it when married. Some use it to indicate engagement and marriage when that time comes, others focus solely on taken or not. Admittedly, not everyone follows every step closely.

However, Nicola is from Galway where the ring originated. She is deeply proud of her Irish heritage. There is no chance she would put that ring on any finger with the heart pointing toward her heart unless her heart was taken.

Now, let's remember that she picked that ring up while she was in Galway during the World Tour. She modeled that ring in Chupi photographs, with the heart pointing up (heart taken) wearing the same outfit she wore to the screening. The same screening where she hugged her mother to within an inch of her life, then introduced her mom to Luke. That was the most tearful, emotional intro I've ever seen between a guy and his platonic co-worker's mom, huh?

Hypothetically, could her heart have been taken by someone else at that stage? Well, do you really think a secret significant other — who was important enough to warrant a "heart taken" ring orientation — would be okay with Nicola not only getting the ring while she's physically with Luke (and flirting heavily), but also making that showy, deeply emotional introduction between her mother and Luke? If you were her secret, non-Luke SO, would you be okay with it?

There is literally no chance.

Chupi told us that ring was to commemorate Season 3 of Bridgerton. Again, would a secret, non-Luke SO be fine with her wearing a ring that symbolizes her Polin season with Luke as a symbol of this secret, non-Luke SO's love?

I won't even bother digging into the symbolism of the rings on the hands, but say it were true that she just wanted it to commemorate a special season. If her heart weren't taken, that ring on her finger would have pointed down. She told us the moment those photos were snapped that her heart was taken, and logic tells us that, at that moment in time, it could only have belonged to Luke.

Since then, lots of things have happened. There were pap photos galore, all telling a very different story, right? Again, it's very easy to accept a false narrative when it's spoon fed to you. But gosh, wouldn't those pap photos also provide excellent cover for two people in love, possibly nesting together, who also wanted to keep their love very, very private?

I talk a lot more about this in the above linked blog (and others) and I'm not going to tackle it here. If you don't want to believe it, that's your prerogative, but if you're curious about whether it could possibly be true, I encourage you to have a read.

So set aside the adjacents for now and focus exclusively on our girl Nic. What we know is that she wore that ring consistently through the summer and early fall, on her right hand, heart pointing up (heart taken). Then, in October, she switched it to her left hand.

Again, not everyone follows every traditional Claddagh step, but Nicola is a Galway Girl. If she's been wearing it consistently on the right, then suddenly switches it to the left where she continues to keep it consistently, she's not oblivious to the meaning of that switch. That switch is deeply significant.

Remember, the left hand is traditionally the hand where it's worn to indicate engagement (heart down) and marriage (heart up). And when she switched, she kept the heart pointing up.

Does that absolutely mean she's married? No. As always, we don't know any of them personally, so we can't say for sure. But simple, not-a-reach logic tells us that the way she's worn that ring is significant.

With that ring, Nicola has told us in no uncertain terms that she is in a significant, committed relationship (possibly engaged or married since October). And she's been in that relationship (or at least committed in her heart to that relationship) consistently since at least June (really, late April/early May when she commissioned it).

Will we ever know exactly what happened last summer while she and Luke were apart (Sorrento, Spain, Malta, etc.)? No, we won't — and frankly it’s none of our business (as curious as we may be).

But we know that Nicola's heart was taken by the same person throughout. Because logically, would she really have been so into Luke in June when all of the above happened (commission, putting it on, meeting mom)... then break it off... then, by October, find a new person to be so committed to switch her ring to the left hand? The math just doesn't math on that one.

It was Luke in June and it was Luke in October. And she's still wearing that ring in the same direction as of Wednesday night. So yes, it's still Luke.

But I promised you more recent hints and crumbs to support my certainty. Honestly, @frantastical has this stuff so magnificently catalogued that you really should check out that incredibly comprehensive "Multitude of Morsels" if you haven't already.

Still, here's a small handful of (by no means comprehensive) things I've seen with my own eyes in just the last month that have told me I'm sitting in exactly the right restaurant on exactly the right ship:

New Pink News story posted with an old quote (that would have been approved by Nic's team) where Nicola says, "That's all I want, is the girls and the gays. And Luke."

Both Ryan Wheeler and Shondaland openly shipping Lukola ("get married for real")

Nic's year-end photo dump threaded through with Luke, both directly and indirectly

Luke's year-end photo dump threaded through with Nic

Even one of Nic’s Doctor Who photos, which isn't associated with Bridgerton at all, managed to nod at Luke

Video clip re-emerges of the Featherington women giggling when Bessie teases, "Well, two people fell in looove, I gueeessss," then they all giggle and agree that they can't say who

Both of them unaccounted for over Christmas and New Year's (days that are usually spent with significant others) while the adjacents were both accounted for on both holidays

Old story somehow emerges in which Nicola says Luke makes everything better, and Luke says about the "friends to lovers" story that "that's what happened to us when we met." (I'm probably slightly paraphrasing, but close enough.)

Nicola turns up with a tan

Luke turns up with a tan

Luke comes online very briefly, just long enough to congratulate Nic on her SAG nomination, cheering on his queen, and then he's gone

Nicola posts a birthday photo that appears to be a cozy dinner for two with several hints of Luke, most notably the red and yellow flowers (red is for love; most people focused on yellow being for friendship, and I think that's true, but I also very much think it's for Polin. And either way, "friends to lovers" or "love and Polin," those flowers say Luke.)

Luke likes a Jack Rooke post about Big Boys. Bearing in mind that JR is one of Nicola's longstanding, closest friends, this clearly suggests Luke is getting to know him

Nicola swoops in to distract from last weekend's mess with a new, obviously staged pap drop (based on weather, likely from a while in the past and kept on hand for when it was needed), once again protecting Luke and his family

And then there are a handful of crumbs and hints that point to something else that I've been reluctant to talk about. I still won't get into it here, but I will say that there are definitely recent things that are suggesting to me a very specific, very happy story. These include:

ETA: Photo of Nic with two Dunkin drinks & two straws (drinking for two?)

"Shit Stirrer" tee-shirt, holding shirt just so with photo cropped very particularly (who exactly is the shit stirrer in that photo?)

"May your 2025 be as happy as this potato made me" (which potato?)

Video with the hot water bottle

Big Boys (clearly wearing the ring)

And that is literally all I will say about that. But let's just remember that all of this has taken place while Nicola continues to wear that Claddagh ring on her left hand, pointed toward her heart. Even in those silly pap photos with Jake from Monday.

The only times we've seen her without it were when she wore special, fancy jewelry for events (showy hand jewelry that she could prominently display by placing her hands in front of her stomach instead of on her waist or hips). Every other time, it's either there or her hands are (perhaps intentionally) hidden.

Doubtless some "realistic Lukolas" will read this and say, "But you're ignoring all the photos of Jake and obvious proof of how close they are."

To which I reply, "Yes, I am." Because I've written loads about that relationship, what it is, why it is so heavily documented, and what they each get out of it (other than friendship). Again, if you want to know more, feel free to read my blog. But those photos mean nothing to me because I understand the truth that lies beneath them. I have absolutely nothing against Jake. I think he's been a good friend to Nic, but that's all he is.

Meanwhile, we've seen nary a peep from Luke except to cheer on his girl, and going back a bit further, that very happy looking S4 selfie with Nic. Has anyone ever noticed how much more he smiles with Nicola than anyone else? His actual smile ratio with Nic compared to literally anyone else is off the charts.

So, yeah, it's Luke all the way. I don't know for sure when it started (might tackle that in a different blog), and I'm not sure how many times they've pressed the on/off button before locking in, but I absolutely believe they are fully locked in now. The evidence is everywhere.

As always, I say these two things. First, we know nothing for sure until Nic or Luke or both of them together make it absolutely, incontrovertibly clear to us. So could I be wrong? Yes, it's certainly possible. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it, and I admit right now that I will be heartbroken. I'm not going to front about this. But I don't think I'm wrong.

Second, you are very free to draw different conclusions. However, if you wish to do so, I invite you to consider the evidence as presented first. Especially if you've given up the ship because you're afraid to believe.

Have no fear, Lukolas. The evidence is on your side.

First of all, she’s a goddess, isn’t she?

Second, I have no doubt in my mind that she is NOT dating Jake. It’s really crystal clear on so many levels, which I’ve talked about before, so forgive me if I belabor them again here.

It’s very clear to me that he is part of her friend group and has become a go-to friend “date” for lots of reasons. For one thing, I believe they’re genuinely friends, and if you don’t want to (or can’t) take your significant other to public events/on trips for whatever reason, it’s nice to have a companion.

In addition, he’s helping her provide cover for her real relationship with Luke. Being seen regularly with the same guy creates confusion and distraction among the general public, keeping eyes off her true private life. It’s a classic play out of the PR handbook. Fake PR relationships happen (and are “documented” by paparazzi) all the time.

She never says she’s dating him, and never even willingly appears in posed “couple” photos, so no one can ever say she lied, or even implied a romantic relationship. It’s a carefully crafted PR scenario that allows the public to do all the heavy lifting creating a narrative (with help from pap shots and “anonymous quotes”) while keeping her in the public discourse and keeping the real relationship she cherishes out of the public eye.

The reason I’m so certain about this is because Nicola has herself made her position on sharing her private life very clear many times. She’s said how inappropriate the questions she’s received about her relationship were. She’s talked about how no woman is just some guy’s girlfriend (“that’s not a thing”). She doesn’t want to be reduced to a girlfriend or a couple. She wants to be seen and respected as herself, for her work, talent, drive, kindness, activism, etc.

And she doesn’t want to give her private life to the world. To this day, no one knows who she lived with for TWO YEARS. Usually, that stuff would be all over Wikipedia.

Does it make sense, then, that after pap photos come out, she would suddenly decide to go public with her alleged “love life with JD” this time, when the spotlight is brighter than ever? She has never shared her love life, but she does share the things she does with her many platonic friends, including many queer friends.

She allowed the narrative to linger for a while, then began slowly setting it straight by showing folks who were paying attention the truth. (In tandem with others in their friend group.) But the narrative was already out there with a life of its own by then, which suits the purposes of the PR playbook very well. She tells the truth with every photo she permits to be shared within her circle, yet people continue to be confused and keep discussing it.

So, as I've shared in past blogs, I'm still catching up on Lukola details and lore. Although I've got a handle on most of it, I still wonder about a handful of assorted things and I thought you all would be the right folks to ask. Some are new, some are old, longstanding questions.

So here are some of my questions. If you know answers, I'd love it (and be so grateful) if you'd sound off in the comments or message me.

In no particular order:

Why do people keep saying that Dylan, Jake, and co. were celebrating NYE in Nicola's apartment? What makes folks think it's her apartment?

Anyone know when Luke and Jade broke up? I've heard anything from late 2022 to March 2023, but I don't know where people get these dates. (Of course, when folks go public isn't always the same as when it happened.) Also, anyone know anything about why they broke up?

I've heard this thing about the intimacy coordinator telling Nic and Luke to cool it for six months, but how do we know such a thing since I'm sure none of them would talk about it (especially before they come out as a couple)? Any idea where this speculation started?

Hot Boy Summer still eludes me slightly. I think that there have been two so-called HBS, 1.0 in 2023 and 2.0 in 2024. Is this correct? And what are the theories on what happened to blow up HBS 2.0 this past summer?

Everyone talks about the Malta trip like it’s universally known and understood. But I don’t see it on her grid (except, I guess, one photo from her year-end dump?), and I see some photos on Jake’s grid that COULD be Malta, but they don’t say that. I haven’t seen any obvious evidence of this trip on any of the other usual suspects’ pages either. Can anyone fill me in?

Okay, I think that’s all I’ve got for now. But I would be grateful for any help you can offer in coloring in these gray spots on my picture.

Also, do you have questions about stuff that’s nagged at you? Ask and let’s see if we can get them answered.

Friends… ARE WE ALL DATING NICOLA?!?!??????

❤️🥹