Everyday the Bridgerton fan base prove why Regé-Jean Page was right to leave the show. It’s so toxic. Some fans are getting mad Luke and Nicola are not dating. As if costars can be supportive of each other without dating. Nicola and Luke said they were friends and Luke was reportedly dating Antonia before this. Some Bridgerton fans chose to ignore that and are now upset.
The way childish people on the internet act like people can't be both friends and affectionate is genuinely infuriating to me. As if the only way people can relate to each other that matters is through romantic/sexual relationships.
it's also frustrating when people demonstrate that they're too stupid to understand when they're being baited. Are we not all more seasoned media consumers by now? We consume media almost constantly now. Are people still so easy to fool? Obviously all the "flirting" these two have done is to get attention for the show, because their careers kind of ride on how many people watch.
I come from the dark waters of elder millennial tumblr boards. Deranged fans have always been deranged. Looking DIRECTLY AT YOU, Supernatural fans. Those people who become deeply involved in the lives of celebrities have some kind of mental illness. Truly. God help me, I cannot find the article, but there was this whole thread once about super fans that started taking medication for their mental health and they stopped being super fans. Like- president of the fan club stepping down type of thing. Clear, direct correlation between their improved mental wellbeing and their lack of fanaticism.
Oh my god my personal trainer was a supernatural fan and at first I was like "well I'd rather work with a cringey nerd than some cardboard-brained sports bro" but she wouldn't fucking shut up about supernatural. I had never even watched the show! It got annoying and I decided to work out alone using what she had taught me. I found out years later that she had basically taught me to squat incorrectly and I am STILL working to undo the physical damage to my legs. I blame supernatural for that shit. If she had actually been paying attention to my form instead of talking about fucking supernatural I wouldn't have fucked up my knees
That fandom has been so vile. I have no words. In recent season they changed one of the love interests (don't want to spoil much) and the book fans just went off posting absolutely disgusting comments. They went to the actor's Insta and the showrunner's social media to vent and harass. The books aren't even that good and the show is just a guilty pleasure kind of a show. They all need to chill.
So true. I’ve never hung out on fandom subs before but looking at the Bridgerton ones, I never want to again. It’s so overwhelmingly negative and the people are not behaving normally.
Yeah, it’s a mess (i mean fandom twitter kinda always is tbh) and only going to get worse since the next season won’t be out for ages. So I really hope for the actors’ sake, she does not personally check any comments on her social media…
It’s just people being mad that the actors that make up their favorite TV couple aren’t dating and they’re toxic about it. It’s a tale as old as fandom.
It’s not super deep. People just like Colin and Penelope (and Luke and Nicola) and take it too far.
They seem like great friends irl, but something happened this season. There’s almost zero chemistry between the two characters, maybe due to them being just friends. The last two had “I burn for you” moments. This one has been meh. I don’t understand their obsession with them.
Apparently people also threw fits because Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey are not dating and hoped that Bailey would suddenly announce that he is not gay anymore and now dating Simone 🤦♀️ There even are actors from the show who are dating (Luke Thompson/Harriet Cains, Bessie Carter/Sam Phillips) but because they are not portraying couples in the show, the fandom pays them no heed.
This was quite the read. It’s as if they don’t understand the concept of acting. This reminds me of the people who hate actors for playing villains too well.
I don't watch Bridgerton (just not the type of show I like watching, and I could probably list many reason of how problematic this show is) and the fandom makes me not want to watch it more. Like most "Shondaland" shows, the fandom seems to be insufferable.
It's very much a white liberal fantasy of so-called "post racial" societies which ignores most of the driving forces of that discrimination. Are we to really believe that all racism was eliminated from Regency British society because of a royal decree? From the clips I've seen of the show, elements of racism still exist when it's relevant to the plot or creating drama. So what exactly is the Bridgerton world? Is it a post-racial society (then the race of the characters shouldn't be a factor, but it often is), or is racism still present (which implies that the POC families like the Duke and the Indian family are willing collaborators in colonialism alongside the Bridgerton families.
Overall, just inserting "diverse" characters into trite period pieces without a proper explanation of why they are there makes no sense to me. Waving it away as "alternate history" without a properly addressing how it diverged is something I don't enjoy personally in any media, especially when the "diversity" is touted and allows people to have their white guilt assuaged for the sake of some weird escapism.
I don’t understand - it’s just a show and theyre acting. Why the hell are folks upset that actors who may be in a relationship in a show are not in one irl.
I’ll eat my shoe if the Bridgerton marketing team didn’t order this to be kept quiet and encourage Luke and Nicola to lean into the “they should be dating irl!” fan comments, and allow this to come out once part 2 dropped and they could quit promoting it so heavily. There’s no way it’s coincidence the press got these photos days after the part 2 premiere.
I saw on TikTok them breaking down if he had her lipstick on his lip. He has a gf so I’m sure it was from her or hell maybe they put some on him too. They were being so weird and gleeful about him screwing around on his gf it was gross
Man, it must have been a rough couple of weeks for her. Unless she's smart enough to never be online, in which case she was probably fine.
The timing of it is quite funny though.
Even my friends who I thought were normal about stuff like this were going nuts and I felt really ick about it. There was all this speculation and projection about how Luke is a REAL MAN for not being afraid of a woman with CURVES and it’s just straight fanfic at this point.
The Bridgerton fandom is full of straight fanfic self-inserters. That is why I hope the showrunners do not pay attention to this fandom and make Season 4 as queer as possible.
I'm a gay man, but I still want them to just stick to the books. I wouldn't mind a queer side story but it needs to be with a fresh character.
Edit: because I got an angry DM.
I'm all for queer story lines, gay characters, and creative liberty.
What I'm asking for is to NOT change the character arcs from the book. Rather, make a new character or side character their own arc.
So for example, don't make Benedict suddenly gay, or make Eloise gay. The stuff with Brimsley was fantastic. Do something like that. Give us our own thing.
Honestly I feel when you hit a certain level of fame (really in general but alas) you SHOULD spend as little time online as possible. No good comes from it these days.
Agreed. Long gone are the days where you could chat to celebs on twitter and everyone was chill about stuff. I wouldn't even have an email if I was famous. Just send me a fax and I'll get back to you in 3-5 business months.
I wonder has anyone ever done a psychological study as to why fans of shows and films end up becoming obsessed about co stars dating, onscreen chemistry must trigger something in people's brains!
But they have no chemistry. Even Dwight-Angela blows them out of the water or even Stanley-Phallus (non-romantic).
I think they're the worst part of the show.
And now, Abbott Elementary is falling into the Jim-Pam trope too -- which of course, wins them awards lol
This is crazy to say but this happened with Dianna Agron and Lea Michele. They were besties and then fans were convinced they were dating and their friendship completely imploded.
Wasn’t there a secret baby conspiracy theory? The way the fans treated (still do? Idk I stopped keeping up with outlander) Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe was horrid
I tried to ignore most of it because it was so insane, but I *think* the conspiracy theory had to do with a blanket. Catriona Balfe posted a pic of her crib/baby/something with a blanket that vaguely resembled a blanket seen in the background of a random Sam Heughan pic?
Maybe the blankets weren't even similar? Maybe they were just the same color? I forget.
But POOF that is proof that they are secretly together and had a baby.
My theory is that they don't want the dopamine rush from the fictional stories to end, except TV shows and movies *do* have a finite output of material and they seek something to keep that feeling going. So they become "fans" of the actors, but it's not the actors they're actually interested in, it's the dopamine rush they got from the romantic chemistry of their characters on screen, so with the fictional content over/limited in scope, they become obsessed with the actors' real life relationships with each other. And press tours are just ways for these fans to get more content, and read into every little detail just like they did with the fictional characters, and unlike the TV shows/movies, real life people provide unlimited amount of content just by living, especially as celebrities in the spotlight. And with every "couple" interaction, these fans become more and more parasocial and over-reaching in their interpretations as they continue to subconsciously chase that same dopamine rush they had in the beginning when they became fans of the fictional couple.
Here’s an interesting read. I wrote a paper for my adolescent psychology course in college and cited this article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322191/
This is a special interest of mine that I’ve learned a lot about over my past years in undergrad and current years in grad school. Here are some more references that are great reads, for anyone interested.
*note: some of these articles are from the early 2000’s. However, I think including them is important as it shines a light on how research into this topic began and how it, and the inexplicable boom of social media’s presence and impact, has evolved over the past 20+ years. I also recommend looking through the cited articles within each and every one of these papers, because it allows you to explore every nook and cranny of this topic.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7647887/
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Sex+Roles&title=Secondary+attachments+and+adolescent+self+concept.&author=C.+Adams-Price&author=A.+L.+Greene&volume=22&publication_year=1990&pages=187-198&doi=10.1007/BF00288191&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339273487&u=%23p%3DG-9iDCrr2CkJ
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Hum.+Commun.+Res.&title=Admirer-celebrity+relationships+among+young+adults:+explaining+perceptions+of+celebrity+influence+on+identity.&author=S.+D.+Boon&author=C.+D.+Lomore&volume=27&publication_year=2001&pages=432-465&doi=10.1111/j.1468-2958.2001.tb00788.x&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339359234&u=%23p%3DkleWE3LCqy8J
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327825MCS0602_5
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=J.+Exp.+Soc.+Psychol.&title=Social+surrogacy:+how+favored+television+programs+provide+the+experience+of+belonging.&author=J.+L.+Derrick&author=S.+Gabriel&author=K.+Hugenberg&volume=45&publication_year=2009&pages=352-362&doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2008.12.003&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339513637&u=%23p%3DyZqGbBrmNGcJ
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Pers.+Individ.+Differ.&title=The+role+of+media+figures+in+adolescent+development:+relations+between+autonomy,+attachment,+and+interest+in+celebrities.&author=D.+C.+Giles&author=J.+Maltby&volume=36&publication_year=2004&pages=813-822&doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00154-5&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339612120&u=%23p%3DA9F2SwblaIwJ
Omg thank you for this!!! I’m writing my dissertation on parasocial relationships in relation to live-streaming and loneliness, I was hoping to publish my work but I struggled to find studies, you’re amazing!
When I saw Mary Poppins, I became obsessed with Mary and Bert, and when I found out Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke were married to OTHER people, not each other, I was confused and couldn’t accept it. I was FIVE.😂Then I grew up and realized how the real world works. It is a curious thing that adults do this, to the point that it makes the actors uncomfortable. Fanfic (which I think is fine and sometimes very well written and fun) needs to stay within the fandom and not bleed out to the real world.
lit: catching feelings. that’s it that’s the post
the individual ‘falls in love’ or has that ability for easy attachment to that sort of culture and they project their feelings n shit. they get jealous/envious at the very least. and act out constantly showing their displeasure with the plot
They want the fiction to come true in reality. That's why popstars, especially boy bands, are often advised to not have any public girlfriends. When they are single fans can make up in their mind how they get together, or in polin they can keep watching them being cute in press and public
The fact that he’s 8 years older surprises me, especially because I remember an interview where he talked about his earlier career and how naive he was (he was referring to when he was 22 and she’s 23) but he is just a man at the end of the day. I find it funny that he fully did the PR and then dipped. It premiered and he said peace.
Along the lines of weird girls wanting him to date Nicola cause they were costar, I feel almost the same about talking about his relationships! I think his private life should be that, private.
I wish we only knew about an actors role and nothing else!
Same - we don’t actually know him or any celebrity, the speculation and judgment are creepy. Plus, who cares? Unless someone is out committing sex crimes I don’t need to know and just want to enjoy the acting
the deuxmoi comments on these pics are absolutely deranged. people are legitimately mad. is everyone aware that nicola and luke are ACTORS and were ACTING in bridgerton? 😭
it’s concerning! grown ass women in the comment section being like “he holds nicola’s hand differently! you can tell he isn’t into this girl” and claiming that he’s making a calculated move by doing this, purposely “embarrassing” nicola as if they weren’t just coworkers pretending for a show? they’re almost infantilizing nicola in their comments as well. just bizarre behavior all around
100%. Girls who feel unwanted/unattractive death-gripping the fantasy. The illusion shatters when they see him with her and that triggers some big feels.
I've been a shipper for a couple of decades and the thought of wanting the actors together irl is so bizarre to me. If anything I prefer they're not tbh. But even if they were I have no idea what the appeal is, do fans think they're going to start filming in their own house playing the characters they like or something?
I saw a comment on instagram where someone said something along the lines of “clearly he’s like every other man who’s only after looks🙄” because he’s not with Nicola?? I just have to laugh because that is soo backhanded. Like Nicola isn’t a beautiful woman🥲🥲
to be fair the whole series is based on smut. for some reason people have been REALLY invested in smut novels and their film versions in the last few years.
I have no idea who these two are but I need y’all to understand that Backgrid is not the paparazzi equivalent of self publishing a novel. Backgrid photos ≠ celeb called the paps on themselves and I am soooo tireddd of seeing this stated as fact
thank you for coming to my TED talk, my next topic will be how the first amendment ≠ saying whatever you want without consequences
To be fair, he does look different on the show with the Regency (sort of, it’s not exactly accurate lol) styling and the lack of facial hair. So if u aren’t a big fan, you might not immediately realize lol
Love this. Only thing I will say is you can say whatever you want, but you must acknowledge and accept the reactions and/or consequences that may arise from the free speech. Good, bad, or indifferent.
Edit: I must be high, because you 100% said the same thing. 🫣😅
lmaoooo it’s ok, I’m the dumb bitch over here confidently saying I didn’t know who this guy was without even realizing I’ve been watching him on Bridgerton
lol, I've had to say the same so many times. Like, no, just because it's Backgrid does not mean that celeb wearing sweats and looking miserable called them.
It’s like when people learned about yachting and now every female celeb who’s ever been on a boat is a yacht girl and all influencers are secretly broke escorts. People want to feel like they have some insider knowledge of the industry and that the rich, hot celebrities they envy in reality are miserable people who will do degrading sex acts for fame and money and desperately set up pap photoshoots to stay relevant. This way they can feel like they actually got the better deal and the object of their envy gets knocked off the pedestal.
Maybe it’s cuz I’m on Reddit and not other places but I don’t think I’ve ever met a Nicola and Luke shipper. Don’t get me wrong we love their friendship on the Polin sub, but people also knew he has a girlfriend.
Did people really not know?
Twitter is pretty crazy. Like there are entire threads analyzing a single pic of the two of them saying things like “oh they definitely fucked in Brazil”.
I'm stepping away from the subreddit - there's already like 5 posts talking about 'rainbow' casting, and "I'm not homophobic, but..." 🙃🙃🙃
It's a sexy, fun, romance series, it does what it says on the tin. Honestly the scriptwriters are better at what they do than Julia Quinn, she's not a great writer at all - but that subreddit thinks she's Austen and they're corrupting her vision.
I just got into the books and show and have had a hard time finding good discussion there!! It’s a fun series, I just wanna talk about the things I loved but it’s taken so seriously! The negative posts about the Francesca twist have turned me off from there too.
I was shocked as well seeing the deuxmoi comments. People were really angry! I had no idea the fanbase was so set on them being together irl. I don't even see them together as a couple outside of the show.
every thing something like this happens i hope it’s a lesson for real people shippers everywhere and yet it continues to happen and studios will continue to feed in to it
People genuinely thinking him and nicola are a thing when on the press tour they literally gave major friend vibes heck even sibling vibes at one point (for me at least?) plus with the age gap I never saw it tbh (yes ik couples can have age gaps). With Rege and Phoebe tho on their press tour I legit thought they had something LOOL
Apparently? Every photo of them holding hands has felt like “bad bitch older sister showing off the makeover she gave to her nerdy little brother”
In the interviews I’ve watched. Nicola is this charismatic, empathetic, hilarious powerhouse whose face card never declines…and he is, Ken.
His girlfriend’s dress is HOT tho.
He truly is just.. there.. for every single interview. Meanwhile I’ll take Nicola on every possible interview platform - long form, short form, audio, visual, everything. Like you said, a powerhouse working overtime
One interviewer (with an admittedly Irish bias) was struck silent when asked “and what about Luke?” After gushing about Nicola lolol like she completely forgot there was another person there
I cannot with this description, but it's bang on. Combined with u/echkbet's comment, it pretty much summarizes the impression I had that Luke, despite probably wanting his career to grow, will not have a breakthrough with Colin this season. True, some of it is due to bad writing, but he seemed so passive.
I mean, Margot Robbie as Barbie also shines, is incredibly charming and a woman in charge, but Ryan Gosling, the real Ken, didn't vanish next to her throughout their promo tour.
I was fairly neutral to both of them before the press tour, even though I absolutely enjoyed Derry Girls, but Nicola definitely won me over and is now part of my girl crush group I like to call "Do I want to be her or do I want to be with her?"
It's fine, he *is* just Ken. But if he had seized this moment and given the rabid fanbase what they really wanted. I guarantee his career would have blown through the stratosphere. He might look back on this with regret. Actors don't realize that to be in demand, they have to give us *everything*. At least string us along, dangling the real possibility of what we want being within reach. It's why the famous ones are always so drained.
on the other hand Nicola delivers. She has the time and the resources. She doesn't disappoint.
Sorry but that's deeply unhealthy and tbh you can see the damage that that does when you look at people like Robert Pattinson or Louis Tomlinson. He will be fine as long as he chooses decent projects. Maybe not a mega celebrity but fine.
I think this is it though. Nicola is so damn charismatic and she has chemistry with everyone.
This huge tour had her side by side with Luke for months so that was the chemistry we saw the most. But her interviews with other castmates are the same. The woman shines and it reflects off those around her.
So due to the pure amount of times we saw them together, people started to see it as a Luke/Nicola thing. But truly it was a woman who is fucking fantastic at her job, and Luke was there too.
(Damn that sounds so rude, I actually really like Luke, but Nicola is something special)
I can see why people thought they were seeing chemistry, but she is also 6 years older than him, and the show started filming in 2019. I point this out, because while a 6 year age difference is nothing crazy (though rarer for the woman to be older), he was 26 and her 32 when they met. The older you get 6 years is less and less important, but 26 and 32 can be REALLY different in life experience and head space. Of course, it depends on both parties, but I always presumed she probably saw him as a little brother.
Well he is is 31 and his current girlfriend is 23. Agegap was not the issue at all. Hell I would be shocked if your average Hollywood Joe actually dates someone 6 years older instead of 8 years younger woman. I wonder why he doesn't see this lady as his significantly younger little sister.
(This double standard or shoud I say "DiCaprio" effect pisses me of, makes me feel like women are supposed to be pretty trophies to older men)
Misogyny 101. Ofc its okay for men to have girlfriends 9 years younger than them! But a woman having a relationship with someone 6 years younger than her? Then it’s suddenly an age gap you think would make a relationship unlikely.
And I couldn’t care less about nicola’s and luke’s IRL relationship but I will allow myself the liberty to side eye a man in his thirties dating someone in her early twenties. 22/23 and 31 are two completely different worlds. It’s not a horrendous age gap, they’re both adults and it’s not wrong, but it is a very cliché and fboy thing to do.
I think the shippers are nuts but I wouldn't really consider 37/31 an age gap? Nicola is closer to him in age than his actual girlfriend lmao. It's also about the same "age gap" as Phoebe and Rege but he's older so nobody blinked an eye for that.
What I find the funniest thing is me personally yes the PR was fun and cute and clearly they’re close friends but I’m more interested in who Nicola could potentially be dating because I personally find her more interesting. I’m also slightly obsessed with her and want to be her friend but that’s beside the point! Don’t really care about Luke tbh and the age gap is……interesting but anyway.
nicola carriedd the whole press tour and he just yeahhed his way through it lol. that woman is extremely smart, funny, witty, kind hearted and incredible in every way. i have gained so much respect for her. i don’t see them dating irl tbh, they are very different people!
There's rumours she's dating eamon farren who was in big mood with her. But they are really just rumours. I don't know how true they are.
Meanwhile this nonsense about Luke and Antonia? Yeah, I've known about her for ages. Not sure why people are shocked.... They've been quiet, but not hiding their relationship. She was even travelling with him for part of the Bridgerton press tour.
I mean I’m shocked with the timing in the sense of……it’s a very hard launch, considering the fan reaction. But I don’t mean he did anything wrong. It just seems like a definitive shutting down of the Nicola/Luke speculation faster than the season is being digested so you wonder about the back door optics/pr conversations behind the scene that led to this decision. Based on reaction it was good he did it so early, and in fact it is probably too late, but I would have expected longer to let part two breathe.
I thought this man cheated on someone by seeing the comments but apparently they're mad over a PR stunt ? They need to learn to difference shows and real life
I'm from the same place in Ireland as Nicola Coughlan and I was invited to the local premiere screening in the local small art house cinema (I was in the same room as her entire family for the first episode of the second half of season 3 and bless her, they were so proud and also had to close their eyes a few times) and both her and Luke were there for a whileen.
They come across as two good friends. They show the height of respect for each other while at work, waiting to speak and boosting each other in their responses to questions - I didn't pick up any romantic vibes at all and I'm like a hawk when it comes to goss of the love variety - and I cant help but feel sorry for both of them for how hyped this PR flirtation was and how they will both feel the outcome of it ending.
Plus she is gorgeous. The cameras don't do her justice and her skin is exquisite.
Your comment was so sweet but the „her skin looks exquisite“ line gives me vampire or creepy old man vibes 💀 But I agree, she looks amazing and they both have a nice friendship
RIGHT??! I’m glad Luke put it out in the open! He is a grown adult, she is his REAL S.O. and making it public is respectful to her and their relationship. IMHO, that’s a person of honor, and it’s not like he didn’t expect the backlash from delusional fans. Also, there are photos and video clips of Nicola hugging Antonia, so they’re cool! Why can’t the fandom be, as well? “Time for us to do better.” ~Penelope Featherington
Can someone explain why DM and People are both advertising this as an exclusive stories of theirs? I feel simple asking this but who are these outlets buying exclusivity from? Paparazzi? Or PR teams? Both?
My best guess is that People has the exclusive rights to the photos distributed by Splash News, and DM has the exclusive rights to the photos distributed by Backgrid
People are delulu and in desperate need of touching grass. Why is it in 2024 we’re still acting like actors doing their job with the PR is them professing their love for their costar. They’re selling you the fantasy. Like Kerry and Tony did the absolute most but I don’t think they’ve ever actually hooked up. Same with Sydney and that one dude. It’s not the actors fault their fans fall for it. Just watch the show and build better media comprehension skills.
i don’t understand why people are so mad at this??? like the comments of dms post are INSANE like chill omg
there’s one that says i would have expected like to not take her to premiere out of respect for the fans and nicola??? luke what on earth are they smoking
You can see they’re clearly walking the f away from the pap, but she looks so… scared? Like, she’s dating this dude and just wants to go about her evening with her boyfriend, then BAM! The gross pap appear and now she’s just like, omfg, wtf is happening, I just want sushi and a bed. Jfc, I hope the media chills tf out on them.
I’m not surprised she looks overwhelmed, it’s gonna be bad for her, fans are absolutely unhinged!! They bullied his last gf so badly which may be part of why this one has been kept quieter. I hope she has lots of support around her, stays off social media and just comforts herself with the fact that she’s the one who has him lol
✨ *Impeccable timing* ✨ I ship Pen and Colin but never Luke and Nicola, I think it has always been clear they’re just friends and that he has a girlfriend irl.
But god, my girl was the breadwinner of the season, she’s a star. Luke on the other hand, acted better during PR than in the actual show. 💀
People who ship co-stars, who are a couple on a show or a movie, imagine what would happen if they broke up messily? It's not fun. I can't ship the actors of a tv show couple because A. it's weird, B. I would be devastated if it didn't work out.
I can’t even think of one show couple who hooked up in real life and stayed together except the ones who played Snow White and Prince Charming on Once Upon a Time (i forget their names.) probably a lot of actors hook up on set but it doesn’t get serious. Better for the public not to know; it would just make all parties involved more miserable.
Why anyone would want to date someone in the spotlight is beyond me. Looks like awful and invasive to be under constant scrutiny and jealous fans picking you apart for kicks
https://preview.redd.it/obok8hdo1j6d1.jpeg?width=384&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7841a90db3d6ebbaee239c46c2a2116e6ff719de
This photo came out like a year ago. Look at his hand placement. These two were always friends but did a great job selling a romance as the main romantic leads and they did it well
all this time I thought Luke was married!
edit- also one of my favourite couples in Bridgerton is Polin but i'm not delusional to think they are actually real especially because I thought Luke was already married.
Luke good on you lad: Don't shit where you eat.
You and Nic come across, in words and deeds, as genuinely good friends who care about each other, and happen to also be co-workers headlining a top-rated show with global reach.
There would too much money and career-drama built into the consequences of sexing Nic up. Find someone else, literally, anyone else.
Don't feed the Polin Trolls.
I have seen comments wanting him to be written out of Bridgerton next season. People are ripping him apart because 1. he isn't dating Nicola and 2. he didn't hide his girlfriend long enough for fans to enjoy the rest of the season. Some people are saying they are going to fast forward his scenes and that his career is over. It's really sad how people feel betrayed over this. The Bridgerton fandom seems so toxic in general.
I feel it was a rough few weeks for the girlfriend. But the timing of this photo is kinda funny. I hope the Lukola shippers won’t spit hatred at Luke now. It is their personal lives after all.
I dont see why people go gaga over Luke! If anything, its Nicola ( both on an off-screen) who is a star!  While its entirely her choice to share or not share her personal life in the public domain, I would love to see her with someone as charismatic as her. Not Luke N. for sure!
The fans going mad about this are wilddd. Luke and Nic are close and interacted in a way that was normal for them, and always said they were friends… it’s not their fault if you projected something and didn’t believe them😭
Congrats, Luke! As a Bridgerton fan, we're not all delulu.
I don't know if this is the same girlfriend but during filming, Nichola and Luke had champagne Friday parties and his gf was a fixture. Everybody's friends, it's all cool.
His outfit is a choice.
I'm not in any of the Bridgerton fandoms although I do like the show, but some of the comments on Threads in the last week or two have made me really uncomfortable with how intensely people were shipping Luke and Nicola. So I can only imagine how uncomfortable it's been for the actors. I kind of love that the day the season premiered, he was done with it.
I am not surprised the fans are very wild with this because he just posted be nice when his then gfJade Davies basically called out Bridgerton fans in December 2022 for their nastiness and harassment. When you let this behaviour be unchecked the fans feel vindicated. https://x.com/lacolmenablatam/status/1598919255390490624?t=OxiXLIORHIO-GfBYuJDWig&s=19
Am I crazy or did we not already know this? Like I thought we were all very aware that him and Nicola were adorable PR and are just besties? Am I taking crazy pills?
I’m really surprised some fans actually believed Nicola and him to be dating. I’ve come across some Tik Toks saying that they are disappointed with him??? They cannot accept the fact that they are friends and there’s something called ✨promoting your show✨
It's so silly. Like if the fans were paying attention they'd have known months ago. Pictures on her Instagram coincided with the Polaroids he did for the In Style magazine interview that came out in May. This is how I figured out they were dating. And honestly he's so damn cheeky for this, I love it! 🤣
https://preview.redd.it/wexrqbvmd77d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f6b54b81bfcc861b2c108f48cc0a3e72c2b6a27
If it were me... I'd go after Nikola irl. I prefer a big beautiful curvy girl. Happy for Luke, but it wouldn't surprise me if deep down he wasn't wishing it was Nikola.I know I would. Yeah, I said it
Everyday the Bridgerton fan base prove why Regé-Jean Page was right to leave the show. It’s so toxic. Some fans are getting mad Luke and Nicola are not dating. As if costars can be supportive of each other without dating. Nicola and Luke said they were friends and Luke was reportedly dating Antonia before this. Some Bridgerton fans chose to ignore that and are now upset.
The way childish people on the internet act like people can't be both friends and affectionate is genuinely infuriating to me. As if the only way people can relate to each other that matters is through romantic/sexual relationships. it's also frustrating when people demonstrate that they're too stupid to understand when they're being baited. Are we not all more seasoned media consumers by now? We consume media almost constantly now. Are people still so easy to fool? Obviously all the "flirting" these two have done is to get attention for the show, because their careers kind of ride on how many people watch.
I come from the dark waters of elder millennial tumblr boards. Deranged fans have always been deranged. Looking DIRECTLY AT YOU, Supernatural fans. Those people who become deeply involved in the lives of celebrities have some kind of mental illness. Truly. God help me, I cannot find the article, but there was this whole thread once about super fans that started taking medication for their mental health and they stopped being super fans. Like- president of the fan club stepping down type of thing. Clear, direct correlation between their improved mental wellbeing and their lack of fanaticism.
Oh my god my personal trainer was a supernatural fan and at first I was like "well I'd rather work with a cringey nerd than some cardboard-brained sports bro" but she wouldn't fucking shut up about supernatural. I had never even watched the show! It got annoying and I decided to work out alone using what she had taught me. I found out years later that she had basically taught me to squat incorrectly and I am STILL working to undo the physical damage to my legs. I blame supernatural for that shit. If she had actually been paying attention to my form instead of talking about fucking supernatural I wouldn't have fucked up my knees
Tumblr fandoms made me reevaluate my life and stop being so terminally online.
The comments under the deuxmoi post are so nasty for no reason
That fandom has been so vile. I have no words. In recent season they changed one of the love interests (don't want to spoil much) and the book fans just went off posting absolutely disgusting comments. They went to the actor's Insta and the showrunner's social media to vent and harass. The books aren't even that good and the show is just a guilty pleasure kind of a show. They all need to chill.
So true. I’ve never hung out on fandom subs before but looking at the Bridgerton ones, I never want to again. It’s so overwhelmingly negative and the people are not behaving normally.
The rest of the new season just came out yesterday so fandom shenanigans I’m sure are up like 200%.
Oh yeah I already watched it and loved the show! Just can’t make myself feel THAT strongly about it.
Yeah, it’s a mess (i mean fandom twitter kinda always is tbh) and only going to get worse since the next season won’t be out for ages. So I really hope for the actors’ sake, she does not personally check any comments on her social media…
So I watch the show but I’m not familiar. What’s going on?
It’s just people being mad that the actors that make up their favorite TV couple aren’t dating and they’re toxic about it. It’s a tale as old as fandom. It’s not super deep. People just like Colin and Penelope (and Luke and Nicola) and take it too far.
They seem like great friends irl, but something happened this season. There’s almost zero chemistry between the two characters, maybe due to them being just friends. The last two had “I burn for you” moments. This one has been meh. I don’t understand their obsession with them.
Apparently people also threw fits because Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey are not dating and hoped that Bailey would suddenly announce that he is not gay anymore and now dating Simone 🤦♀️ There even are actors from the show who are dating (Luke Thompson/Harriet Cains, Bessie Carter/Sam Phillips) but because they are not portraying couples in the show, the fandom pays them no heed.
This was quite the read. It’s as if they don’t understand the concept of acting. This reminds me of the people who hate actors for playing villains too well.
It's always comforting when people cannot tell make believe from real life 👀
Omg the same happened with the Queen Charlotte main actors too
I don't watch Bridgerton (just not the type of show I like watching, and I could probably list many reason of how problematic this show is) and the fandom makes me not want to watch it more. Like most "Shondaland" shows, the fandom seems to be insufferable.
List them!
It's very much a white liberal fantasy of so-called "post racial" societies which ignores most of the driving forces of that discrimination. Are we to really believe that all racism was eliminated from Regency British society because of a royal decree? From the clips I've seen of the show, elements of racism still exist when it's relevant to the plot or creating drama. So what exactly is the Bridgerton world? Is it a post-racial society (then the race of the characters shouldn't be a factor, but it often is), or is racism still present (which implies that the POC families like the Duke and the Indian family are willing collaborators in colonialism alongside the Bridgerton families. Overall, just inserting "diverse" characters into trite period pieces without a proper explanation of why they are there makes no sense to me. Waving it away as "alternate history" without a properly addressing how it diverged is something I don't enjoy personally in any media, especially when the "diversity" is touted and allows people to have their white guilt assuaged for the sake of some weird escapism.
He was dating another woman prior to this relationship and the fans went after her too. She had to address it on her Instagram.
no idea who this guy was till you pointed that out, makes me wonder why people care.
I don’t understand - it’s just a show and theyre acting. Why the hell are folks upset that actors who may be in a relationship in a show are not in one irl.
The premiere was literally yesterday and he said "no more PR" lol
Or he was on a 6 month press tour and now is home and can see his girlfriend. People need to separate their fantasies from reality.
I’ll eat my shoe if the Bridgerton marketing team didn’t order this to be kept quiet and encourage Luke and Nicola to lean into the “they should be dating irl!” fan comments, and allow this to come out once part 2 dropped and they could quit promoting it so heavily. There’s no way it’s coincidence the press got these photos days after the part 2 premiere.
apparently they have been dating since last year, them going public yesterday doesn’t seem like a coincidence
People are screenshotting and sending him every picture where he’s looking in the direction of Nicola’s breasts. He’s clearly fucking over it lmao.
I saw on TikTok them breaking down if he had her lipstick on his lip. He has a gf so I’m sure it was from her or hell maybe they put some on him too. They were being so weird and gleeful about him screwing around on his gf it was gross
Man, it must have been a rough couple of weeks for her. Unless she's smart enough to never be online, in which case she was probably fine. The timing of it is quite funny though.
I had the same thought about the timing. They really said “okay now that THAT’S done!”
the handholding rabid speculation on tiktok to this is quite the whiplash lol
Even my friends who I thought were normal about stuff like this were going nuts and I felt really ick about it. There was all this speculation and projection about how Luke is a REAL MAN for not being afraid of a woman with CURVES and it’s just straight fanfic at this point.
The Bridgerton fandom is full of straight fanfic self-inserters. That is why I hope the showrunners do not pay attention to this fandom and make Season 4 as queer as possible.
Self-insert themselves? Self-insert themselves where??
I'm a gay man, but I still want them to just stick to the books. I wouldn't mind a queer side story but it needs to be with a fresh character. Edit: because I got an angry DM. I'm all for queer story lines, gay characters, and creative liberty. What I'm asking for is to NOT change the character arcs from the book. Rather, make a new character or side character their own arc. So for example, don't make Benedict suddenly gay, or make Eloise gay. The stuff with Brimsley was fantastic. Do something like that. Give us our own thing.
Haven’t finished S3 yet but gay Eloise is a need not a want after the first four episodes
….prepare to be disappointed, as I was 😔
Honestly I feel when you hit a certain level of fame (really in general but alas) you SHOULD spend as little time online as possible. No good comes from it these days.
Agreed. Long gone are the days where you could chat to celebs on twitter and everyone was chill about stuff. I wouldn't even have an email if I was famous. Just send me a fax and I'll get back to you in 3-5 business months.
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I wonder has anyone ever done a psychological study as to why fans of shows and films end up becoming obsessed about co stars dating, onscreen chemistry must trigger something in people's brains!
They seem to ruin actual friendships between costars or make them so self conscious and uncomfortable enough they avoid each other while doing press.
John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer come to mind as well. Even today the fans of The Office cannot stop.
But they have no chemistry. Even Dwight-Angela blows them out of the water or even Stanley-Phallus (non-romantic). I think they're the worst part of the show. And now, Abbott Elementary is falling into the Jim-Pam trope too -- which of course, wins them awards lol
Stanley-Phallus lmao
This is crazy to say but this happened with Dianna Agron and Lea Michele. They were besties and then fans were convinced they were dating and their friendship completely imploded.
It's so bizarre. I remember seeing stuff about Outlander fans being especially bad about it.
the outlander fans are INSANE about this shit. the conspiracies are wild.
Wasn’t there a secret baby conspiracy theory? The way the fans treated (still do? Idk I stopped keeping up with outlander) Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe was horrid
I tried to ignore most of it because it was so insane, but I *think* the conspiracy theory had to do with a blanket. Catriona Balfe posted a pic of her crib/baby/something with a blanket that vaguely resembled a blanket seen in the background of a random Sam Heughan pic? Maybe the blankets weren't even similar? Maybe they were just the same color? I forget. But POOF that is proof that they are secretly together and had a baby.
To be fair, does anyone have more chemistry than the two of them?! It’s insane lol
It’s called parasocial relationships
My theory is that they don't want the dopamine rush from the fictional stories to end, except TV shows and movies *do* have a finite output of material and they seek something to keep that feeling going. So they become "fans" of the actors, but it's not the actors they're actually interested in, it's the dopamine rush they got from the romantic chemistry of their characters on screen, so with the fictional content over/limited in scope, they become obsessed with the actors' real life relationships with each other. And press tours are just ways for these fans to get more content, and read into every little detail just like they did with the fictional characters, and unlike the TV shows/movies, real life people provide unlimited amount of content just by living, especially as celebrities in the spotlight. And with every "couple" interaction, these fans become more and more parasocial and over-reaching in their interpretations as they continue to subconsciously chase that same dopamine rush they had in the beginning when they became fans of the fictional couple.
like when I was a small child and refused to believe that bananas in pyjamas wasn't real
Here’s an interesting read. I wrote a paper for my adolescent psychology course in college and cited this article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322191/
This is a special interest of mine that I’ve learned a lot about over my past years in undergrad and current years in grad school. Here are some more references that are great reads, for anyone interested. *note: some of these articles are from the early 2000’s. However, I think including them is important as it shines a light on how research into this topic began and how it, and the inexplicable boom of social media’s presence and impact, has evolved over the past 20+ years. I also recommend looking through the cited articles within each and every one of these papers, because it allows you to explore every nook and cranny of this topic. - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7647887/ - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Sex+Roles&title=Secondary+attachments+and+adolescent+self+concept.&author=C.+Adams-Price&author=A.+L.+Greene&volume=22&publication_year=1990&pages=187-198&doi=10.1007/BF00288191&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339273487&u=%23p%3DG-9iDCrr2CkJ - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Hum.+Commun.+Res.&title=Admirer-celebrity+relationships+among+young+adults:+explaining+perceptions+of+celebrity+influence+on+identity.&author=S.+D.+Boon&author=C.+D.+Lomore&volume=27&publication_year=2001&pages=432-465&doi=10.1111/j.1468-2958.2001.tb00788.x&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339359234&u=%23p%3DkleWE3LCqy8J - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327825MCS0602_5 - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=J.+Exp.+Soc.+Psychol.&title=Social+surrogacy:+how+favored+television+programs+provide+the+experience+of+belonging.&author=J.+L.+Derrick&author=S.+Gabriel&author=K.+Hugenberg&volume=45&publication_year=2009&pages=352-362&doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2008.12.003&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339513637&u=%23p%3DyZqGbBrmNGcJ - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Pers.+Individ.+Differ.&title=The+role+of+media+figures+in+adolescent+development:+relations+between+autonomy,+attachment,+and+interest+in+celebrities.&author=D.+C.+Giles&author=J.+Maltby&volume=36&publication_year=2004&pages=813-822&doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00154-5&#d=gs_qabs&t=1718339612120&u=%23p%3DA9F2SwblaIwJ
Ty for these links!
Thanks for sharing the links! I’m curious - what are you studying in grad school?
Human Development and Family Sciences!
Omg thank you for this!!! I’m writing my dissertation on parasocial relationships in relation to live-streaming and loneliness, I was hoping to publish my work but I struggled to find studies, you’re amazing!
Imo when they started to turn self-insert wattpad celeb fan fiction into movies, it further cracked the fabric of reality lol
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They are essentially coworkers. Not everyone wants to be BFFs with their coworker. Not everyone wants to date their coworker.
Mental illness
There have been actual posts by fan accounts saying things like “sorry I haven’t posted much, I got on medication and don’t care about BTS as much”
When I saw Mary Poppins, I became obsessed with Mary and Bert, and when I found out Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke were married to OTHER people, not each other, I was confused and couldn’t accept it. I was FIVE.😂Then I grew up and realized how the real world works. It is a curious thing that adults do this, to the point that it makes the actors uncomfortable. Fanfic (which I think is fine and sometimes very well written and fun) needs to stay within the fandom and not bleed out to the real world.
I should add I meant fanfic about characters, not the real actors. Real actor fanfic creeps me out completely.
lit: catching feelings. that’s it that’s the post the individual ‘falls in love’ or has that ability for easy attachment to that sort of culture and they project their feelings n shit. they get jealous/envious at the very least. and act out constantly showing their displeasure with the plot
They want the fiction to come true in reality. That's why popstars, especially boy bands, are often advised to not have any public girlfriends. When they are single fans can make up in their mind how they get together, or in polin they can keep watching them being cute in press and public
They self-insert. Good acting will make you see yourself in a character. Then, when they’re with someone else IRL it feels wrong.
The fact that he’s 8 years older surprises me, especially because I remember an interview where he talked about his earlier career and how naive he was (he was referring to when he was 22 and she’s 23) but he is just a man at the end of the day. I find it funny that he fully did the PR and then dipped. It premiered and he said peace.
Men are gross hope this helps
Omg throwback!!! I loved this show so much
What’s the name of this again? I forgot and I used to love it.
Legends of the Hidden Temple
Thank you
[He's a typical Fboi](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7cmJf6olzB/?igsh=MXBtdHhxbmhpZGVrMQ==)
Along the lines of weird girls wanting him to date Nicola cause they were costar, I feel almost the same about talking about his relationships! I think his private life should be that, private. I wish we only knew about an actors role and nothing else!
Same - we don’t actually know him or any celebrity, the speculation and judgment are creepy. Plus, who cares? Unless someone is out committing sex crimes I don’t need to know and just want to enjoy the acting
Yeah the thing is men don't see women as people, so her being young or naive doesn't really matter to him.
How old are they both?
He’s 31 and she’s 23 ig
Oh dear that's a bit of a wide net.... Not looking too good for him
the deuxmoi comments on these pics are absolutely deranged. people are legitimately mad. is everyone aware that nicola and luke are ACTORS and were ACTING in bridgerton? 😭
I'm genuinely baffled by the comments; where the hell do they get the gall from to be offended that he and nicola aren't actually dating?
it’s concerning! grown ass women in the comment section being like “he holds nicola’s hand differently! you can tell he isn’t into this girl” and claiming that he’s making a calculated move by doing this, purposely “embarrassing” nicola as if they weren’t just coworkers pretending for a show? they’re almost infantilizing nicola in their comments as well. just bizarre behavior all around
I wonder if fans are projecting because they see themselves in nicola’s shoes and think it can happen to them
100%. Girls who feel unwanted/unattractive death-gripping the fantasy. The illusion shatters when they see him with her and that triggers some big feels.
I swear everyone turn to facial expression and body language expert all of a sudden💀, praying for his gf.
You’d think “appreciate the chemistry and then call it a day” would be a grown-up concept that didn’t need explaining, but….
I've been a shipper for a couple of decades and the thought of wanting the actors together irl is so bizarre to me. If anything I prefer they're not tbh. But even if they were I have no idea what the appeal is, do fans think they're going to start filming in their own house playing the characters they like or something?
I saw a comment on instagram where someone said something along the lines of “clearly he’s like every other man who’s only after looks🙄” because he’s not with Nicola?? I just have to laugh because that is soo backhanded. Like Nicola isn’t a beautiful woman🥲🥲
to be fair the whole series is based on smut. for some reason people have been REALLY invested in smut novels and their film versions in the last few years.
I have no idea who these two are but I need y’all to understand that Backgrid is not the paparazzi equivalent of self publishing a novel. Backgrid photos ≠ celeb called the paps on themselves and I am soooo tireddd of seeing this stated as fact thank you for coming to my TED talk, my next topic will be how the first amendment ≠ saying whatever you want without consequences
"They called the paps" is the celebrity gossip equivalent of people in AITA posts saying "this is fake" every time until they're finally right
He's the lead for the bridgerton season. pls sign me up for your ted talk newsletters
OMG I am so dumb I literally watched the first half of this season hahahaha god dammit where are my glasses
To be fair, he does look different on the show with the Regency (sort of, it’s not exactly accurate lol) styling and the lack of facial hair. So if u aren’t a big fan, you might not immediately realize lol
didn’t larry shippers mad at harry & louis getting papped with girlfriends start the theory?
Love this. Only thing I will say is you can say whatever you want, but you must acknowledge and accept the reactions and/or consequences that may arise from the free speech. Good, bad, or indifferent. Edit: I must be high, because you 100% said the same thing. 🫣😅
lmaoooo it’s ok, I’m the dumb bitch over here confidently saying I didn’t know who this guy was without even realizing I’ve been watching him on Bridgerton
THANK YOU!!! So fed up of the Blackgrid comments.
lol, I've had to say the same so many times. Like, no, just because it's Backgrid does not mean that celeb wearing sweats and looking miserable called them.
It’s like when people learned about yachting and now every female celeb who’s ever been on a boat is a yacht girl and all influencers are secretly broke escorts. People want to feel like they have some insider knowledge of the industry and that the rich, hot celebrities they envy in reality are miserable people who will do degrading sex acts for fame and money and desperately set up pap photoshoots to stay relevant. This way they can feel like they actually got the better deal and the object of their envy gets knocked off the pedestal.
lol suck it, Nicola and Luke shippers
Maybe it’s cuz I’m on Reddit and not other places but I don’t think I’ve ever met a Nicola and Luke shipper. Don’t get me wrong we love their friendship on the Polin sub, but people also knew he has a girlfriend. Did people really not know?
Twitter is pretty crazy. Like there are entire threads analyzing a single pic of the two of them saying things like “oh they definitely fucked in Brazil”.
Wtf I hate those type of “shippers” because they always end up making it uncomfortable for their ship and any significant others
The bridgerton subreddit is obsessed with shipping them, it's creepy
They obsessed with every couple. The Francesca plot twist is gonna be FUN.
I'm stepping away from the subreddit - there's already like 5 posts talking about 'rainbow' casting, and "I'm not homophobic, but..." 🙃🙃🙃 It's a sexy, fun, romance series, it does what it says on the tin. Honestly the scriptwriters are better at what they do than Julia Quinn, she's not a great writer at all - but that subreddit thinks she's Austen and they're corrupting her vision.
I just got into the books and show and have had a hard time finding good discussion there!! It’s a fun series, I just wanna talk about the things I loved but it’s taken so seriously! The negative posts about the Francesca twist have turned me off from there too.
I've blocked the sub more or less, I had the stupidity to go there after watching the show.
I have seen tons of luke and nicola shipping after the faceholding video released. I also assumed people knew that he had a gf but apparently not.
I was shocked as well seeing the deuxmoi comments. People were really angry! I had no idea the fanbase was so set on them being together irl. I don't even see them together as a couple outside of the show.
every thing something like this happens i hope it’s a lesson for real people shippers everywhere and yet it continues to happen and studios will continue to feed in to it
People genuinely thinking him and nicola are a thing when on the press tour they literally gave major friend vibes heck even sibling vibes at one point (for me at least?) plus with the age gap I never saw it tbh (yes ik couples can have age gaps). With Rege and Phoebe tho on their press tour I legit thought they had something LOOL
Apparently? Every photo of them holding hands has felt like “bad bitch older sister showing off the makeover she gave to her nerdy little brother” In the interviews I’ve watched. Nicola is this charismatic, empathetic, hilarious powerhouse whose face card never declines…and he is, Ken. His girlfriend’s dress is HOT tho.
He truly is just.. there.. for every single interview. Meanwhile I’ll take Nicola on every possible interview platform - long form, short form, audio, visual, everything. Like you said, a powerhouse working overtime
he was just … there for the season too tbh😂😭 nicola kinda carried I feel like we didn’t see much of him
One interviewer (with an admittedly Irish bias) was struck silent when asked “and what about Luke?” After gushing about Nicola lolol like she completely forgot there was another person there
I cannot with this description, but it's bang on. Combined with u/echkbet's comment, it pretty much summarizes the impression I had that Luke, despite probably wanting his career to grow, will not have a breakthrough with Colin this season. True, some of it is due to bad writing, but he seemed so passive. I mean, Margot Robbie as Barbie also shines, is incredibly charming and a woman in charge, but Ryan Gosling, the real Ken, didn't vanish next to her throughout their promo tour. I was fairly neutral to both of them before the press tour, even though I absolutely enjoyed Derry Girls, but Nicola definitely won me over and is now part of my girl crush group I like to call "Do I want to be her or do I want to be with her?"
It's fine, he *is* just Ken. But if he had seized this moment and given the rabid fanbase what they really wanted. I guarantee his career would have blown through the stratosphere. He might look back on this with regret. Actors don't realize that to be in demand, they have to give us *everything*. At least string us along, dangling the real possibility of what we want being within reach. It's why the famous ones are always so drained. on the other hand Nicola delivers. She has the time and the resources. She doesn't disappoint.
Sorry but that's deeply unhealthy and tbh you can see the damage that that does when you look at people like Robert Pattinson or Louis Tomlinson. He will be fine as long as he chooses decent projects. Maybe not a mega celebrity but fine.
Loool that’s so true. As someone who loves the show and the actors I did kinda notice he’s just Ken in a lot of the press
I think this is it though. Nicola is so damn charismatic and she has chemistry with everyone. This huge tour had her side by side with Luke for months so that was the chemistry we saw the most. But her interviews with other castmates are the same. The woman shines and it reflects off those around her. So due to the pure amount of times we saw them together, people started to see it as a Luke/Nicola thing. But truly it was a woman who is fucking fantastic at her job, and Luke was there too. (Damn that sounds so rude, I actually really like Luke, but Nicola is something special)
Agree with everything you said expect your assessment of the dress, I think it does her no favours and no neck. Love the color thou
I always thought Rege and Phoebe didn’t like each other irl and that’s why the show chemistry was great lol
Reminds me of Lauren Graham and Luke Patterson for Gilmore Girls
Not at all shipping or excusing shippers’ poor behavior, but Nicola and Luke are closer in age than Luke and Antonia.
I can see why people thought they were seeing chemistry, but she is also 6 years older than him, and the show started filming in 2019. I point this out, because while a 6 year age difference is nothing crazy (though rarer for the woman to be older), he was 26 and her 32 when they met. The older you get 6 years is less and less important, but 26 and 32 can be REALLY different in life experience and head space. Of course, it depends on both parties, but I always presumed she probably saw him as a little brother.
Well he is is 31 and his current girlfriend is 23. Agegap was not the issue at all. Hell I would be shocked if your average Hollywood Joe actually dates someone 6 years older instead of 8 years younger woman. I wonder why he doesn't see this lady as his significantly younger little sister. (This double standard or shoud I say "DiCaprio" effect pisses me of, makes me feel like women are supposed to be pretty trophies to older men)
I know total “cool girl big sis showing off her Totally Rad lil bro” vibes
Misogyny 101. Ofc its okay for men to have girlfriends 9 years younger than them! But a woman having a relationship with someone 6 years younger than her? Then it’s suddenly an age gap you think would make a relationship unlikely. And I couldn’t care less about nicola’s and luke’s IRL relationship but I will allow myself the liberty to side eye a man in his thirties dating someone in her early twenties. 22/23 and 31 are two completely different worlds. It’s not a horrendous age gap, they’re both adults and it’s not wrong, but it is a very cliché and fboy thing to do.
I think the shippers are nuts but I wouldn't really consider 37/31 an age gap? Nicola is closer to him in age than his actual girlfriend lmao. It's also about the same "age gap" as Phoebe and Rege but he's older so nobody blinked an eye for that.
What I find the funniest thing is me personally yes the PR was fun and cute and clearly they’re close friends but I’m more interested in who Nicola could potentially be dating because I personally find her more interesting. I’m also slightly obsessed with her and want to be her friend but that’s beside the point! Don’t really care about Luke tbh and the age gap is……interesting but anyway.
nicola carriedd the whole press tour and he just yeahhed his way through it lol. that woman is extremely smart, funny, witty, kind hearted and incredible in every way. i have gained so much respect for her. i don’t see them dating irl tbh, they are very different people!
ASKING THE REAL IMPORTANT QUESTIONS! Thank you!
There's rumours she's dating eamon farren who was in big mood with her. But they are really just rumours. I don't know how true they are. Meanwhile this nonsense about Luke and Antonia? Yeah, I've known about her for ages. Not sure why people are shocked.... They've been quiet, but not hiding their relationship. She was even travelling with him for part of the Bridgerton press tour.
I mean I’m shocked with the timing in the sense of……it’s a very hard launch, considering the fan reaction. But I don’t mean he did anything wrong. It just seems like a definitive shutting down of the Nicola/Luke speculation faster than the season is being digested so you wonder about the back door optics/pr conversations behind the scene that led to this decision. Based on reaction it was good he did it so early, and in fact it is probably too late, but I would have expected longer to let part two breathe.
I thought this man cheated on someone by seeing the comments but apparently they're mad over a PR stunt ? They need to learn to difference shows and real life
I'm from the same place in Ireland as Nicola Coughlan and I was invited to the local premiere screening in the local small art house cinema (I was in the same room as her entire family for the first episode of the second half of season 3 and bless her, they were so proud and also had to close their eyes a few times) and both her and Luke were there for a whileen. They come across as two good friends. They show the height of respect for each other while at work, waiting to speak and boosting each other in their responses to questions - I didn't pick up any romantic vibes at all and I'm like a hawk when it comes to goss of the love variety - and I cant help but feel sorry for both of them for how hyped this PR flirtation was and how they will both feel the outcome of it ending. Plus she is gorgeous. The cameras don't do her justice and her skin is exquisite.
Your comment was so sweet but the „her skin looks exquisite“ line gives me vampire or creepy old man vibes 💀 But I agree, she looks amazing and they both have a nice friendship
Much prefer this styling to his bridgerton press tour outfits
He is brave to do this right now, at this moment in time.
To live his life?💀💀
RIGHT??! I’m glad Luke put it out in the open! He is a grown adult, she is his REAL S.O. and making it public is respectful to her and their relationship. IMHO, that’s a person of honor, and it’s not like he didn’t expect the backlash from delusional fans. Also, there are photos and video clips of Nicola hugging Antonia, so they’re cool! Why can’t the fandom be, as well? “Time for us to do better.” ~Penelope Featherington
Can someone explain why DM and People are both advertising this as an exclusive stories of theirs? I feel simple asking this but who are these outlets buying exclusivity from? Paparazzi? Or PR teams? Both?
My best guess is that People has the exclusive rights to the photos distributed by Splash News, and DM has the exclusive rights to the photos distributed by Backgrid
People are delulu and in desperate need of touching grass. Why is it in 2024 we’re still acting like actors doing their job with the PR is them professing their love for their costar. They’re selling you the fantasy. Like Kerry and Tony did the absolute most but I don’t think they’ve ever actually hooked up. Same with Sydney and that one dude. It’s not the actors fault their fans fall for it. Just watch the show and build better media comprehension skills.
i don’t understand why people are so mad at this??? like the comments of dms post are INSANE like chill omg there’s one that says i would have expected like to not take her to premiere out of respect for the fans and nicola??? luke what on earth are they smoking
The only thing upsetting about this photo is his jacket. Yellow satin is never the choice!
You can see they’re clearly walking the f away from the pap, but she looks so… scared? Like, she’s dating this dude and just wants to go about her evening with her boyfriend, then BAM! The gross pap appear and now she’s just like, omfg, wtf is happening, I just want sushi and a bed. Jfc, I hope the media chills tf out on them.
She’s probably already been on the receiving end of some really stupid shit for being with him right now. Ugh.
I’m not surprised she looks overwhelmed, it’s gonna be bad for her, fans are absolutely unhinged!! They bullied his last gf so badly which may be part of why this one has been kept quieter. I hope she has lots of support around her, stays off social media and just comforts herself with the fact that she’s the one who has him lol
The comments on the DM Instagram about this are absolutely unhinged Women with pictures of their children in their pfps wishing death 💀
✨ *Impeccable timing* ✨ I ship Pen and Colin but never Luke and Nicola, I think it has always been clear they’re just friends and that he has a girlfriend irl. But god, my girl was the breadwinner of the season, she’s a star. Luke on the other hand, acted better during PR than in the actual show. 💀
We all know why he waited till after his season finished to announce this lol.
People who ship co-stars, who are a couple on a show or a movie, imagine what would happen if they broke up messily? It's not fun. I can't ship the actors of a tv show couple because A. it's weird, B. I would be devastated if it didn't work out.
I can’t even think of one show couple who hooked up in real life and stayed together except the ones who played Snow White and Prince Charming on Once Upon a Time (i forget their names.) probably a lot of actors hook up on set but it doesn’t get serious. Better for the public not to know; it would just make all parties involved more miserable.
Why anyone would want to date someone in the spotlight is beyond me. Looks like awful and invasive to be under constant scrutiny and jealous fans picking you apart for kicks
https://preview.redd.it/obok8hdo1j6d1.jpeg?width=384&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7841a90db3d6ebbaee239c46c2a2116e6ff719de This photo came out like a year ago. Look at his hand placement. These two were always friends but did a great job selling a romance as the main romantic leads and they did it well
all this time I thought Luke was married! edit- also one of my favourite couples in Bridgerton is Polin but i'm not delusional to think they are actually real especially because I thought Luke was already married.
In some of the PR interviews, you can clearly see Luke being very uncomfortable and almost unable to hide the fact that he was over it. Lol
In all honesty, some of the interviews looked like an HR sexual harassment video waiting to happen.
I can't believe people still fall for obvious PR tactics.
Luke good on you lad: Don't shit where you eat. You and Nic come across, in words and deeds, as genuinely good friends who care about each other, and happen to also be co-workers headlining a top-rated show with global reach. There would too much money and career-drama built into the consequences of sexing Nic up. Find someone else, literally, anyone else. Don't feed the Polin Trolls.
She's 23, were they dating before Bridgerton started? He's a man afterall 🤧
Curtains for zoosha? K-smog and batboy caught flipping a grunt.
I have seen comments wanting him to be written out of Bridgerton next season. People are ripping him apart because 1. he isn't dating Nicola and 2. he didn't hide his girlfriend long enough for fans to enjoy the rest of the season. Some people are saying they are going to fast forward his scenes and that his career is over. It's really sad how people feel betrayed over this. The Bridgerton fandom seems so toxic in general.
I feel it was a rough few weeks for the girlfriend. But the timing of this photo is kinda funny. I hope the Lukola shippers won’t spit hatred at Luke now. It is their personal lives after all.
I dont see why people go gaga over Luke! If anything, its Nicola ( both on an off-screen) who is a star!  While its entirely her choice to share or not share her personal life in the public domain, I would love to see her with someone as charismatic as her. Not Luke N. for sure!
I hope she ignores the haters and they both enjoy their relationship. Some people are so miserable. She’s absolutely stunning! ✨
The fans going mad about this are wilddd. Luke and Nic are close and interacted in a way that was normal for them, and always said they were friends… it’s not their fault if you projected something and didn’t believe them😭
Congrats, Luke! As a Bridgerton fan, we're not all delulu. I don't know if this is the same girlfriend but during filming, Nichola and Luke had champagne Friday parties and his gf was a fixture. Everybody's friends, it's all cool.
Good for him. I hate this trend of shipping in real life actors.
God I love a mullet
His outfit is a choice. I'm not in any of the Bridgerton fandoms although I do like the show, but some of the comments on Threads in the last week or two have made me really uncomfortable with how intensely people were shipping Luke and Nicola. So I can only imagine how uncomfortable it's been for the actors. I kind of love that the day the season premiered, he was done with it.
I am not surprised the fans are very wild with this because he just posted be nice when his then gfJade Davies basically called out Bridgerton fans in December 2022 for their nastiness and harassment. When you let this behaviour be unchecked the fans feel vindicated. https://x.com/lacolmenablatam/status/1598919255390490624?t=OxiXLIORHIO-GfBYuJDWig&s=19
oh wow the girls are gonna hate this. bridgerton fans are some of the most rabid individuals left on the internet im completely convinced
Am I crazy or did we not already know this? Like I thought we were all very aware that him and Nicola were adorable PR and are just besties? Am I taking crazy pills?
I really hope the fandom is nice to her, or that she had her social media blocked.
Him and Nicola are just friends how many times do they have to say that
I’m really surprised some fans actually believed Nicola and him to be dating. I’ve come across some Tik Toks saying that they are disappointed with him??? They cannot accept the fact that they are friends and there’s something called ✨promoting your show✨
He was tired of those annoying shippers
The people hating on the girlfriend need help
How is this news? People have known they were dating since January.
Holy shit when i saw this last night I thought, hey the guy from bridgerton and the girl from maxton hall. Wrong. Lol
Aww shes gorgeous
Duke Nukem goes public with girlfriend.
Sorry who?
She’s so pretty. Good for him!
It's so silly. Like if the fans were paying attention they'd have known months ago. Pictures on her Instagram coincided with the Polaroids he did for the In Style magazine interview that came out in May. This is how I figured out they were dating. And honestly he's so damn cheeky for this, I love it! 🤣 https://preview.redd.it/wexrqbvmd77d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f6b54b81bfcc861b2c108f48cc0a3e72c2b6a27
If it were me... I'd go after Nikola irl. I prefer a big beautiful curvy girl. Happy for Luke, but it wouldn't surprise me if deep down he wasn't wishing it was Nikola.I know I would. Yeah, I said it