Zombiegirl07thoughts

[lukolathoughts]

He who shall not be named!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[lukolathoughts]

Rebecca

Disclaimer: Come for me and you will be blocked. Fair warning.

I m currently in the library where I should be writing my first assignment for the second year of my Masters in English Literature. I have most of it complete now, but instead I am of course pondering the shit show that has been this week.

A while back an inspired blogger on here @thethreeacttragedy wrote an excellent blog entitled 'Entry 13: The One Where the Ashes Blew Towards Us with the Salt Wind from the Sea' where she discussed in detail the novel Rebecca. I found this to be a gripping and informative blog with excellent comparisons to our characters and adjacents, and to the characters in Rebecca. I happen to be writing my English Literature dissertation on Jane Eyre and Rebecca, so it has been quite amusing for me to reread thethreeacttragedy blog.

On most points I agree with her. Luke is our tortured anti-hero Maxim de Winter who is in a farce of a marriage to someone he inwardly despises, but has to put on a show for the world. Jake is the sleazy cousin Jack Favell who resorts to blackmail after Rebecca's death and is sexually ambiguous.. On other characters I differ in my opinion, and in all fairness to the threeacttragedy, their blog was written sometime ago and we now have updated information (unfortunately).

The titular character Rebecca is in my mind Antonia. Of course she doesn't fit the character perfectly, and if she did it would be giving Antonia way too much credit. Rebecca was too smart, cunning and manipulative for Antonia to stand firmly in her shoes. Rebecca doesn't want Maxim de Winter's love. She wants sex with different men, money, clout, nice things. While some of that could apply to Antonia, I am still partly under the belief that she does in fact still want Luke, or at least being 'with' him can offer. The similarities I draw are from her goading of the fandom - Rebecca's ghost taunting the narrator. From Antonia making ridiculous matching posts to constantly insinuate that she is in Luke's immediate vicinity. Having Luke roped into this soulless endeavour on his own instagram. The fake relationship, that was never real. The PR mind games and publicity stunts. Antonia ruining every single event and opportunity that Luke has had in the last two years.

This is not normal relationship behaviour. I do not need to prove my husband and I are often in the same place with matching photographs or ambiguous body parts on social media. I will simply take a picture of him or us and post it. The snag though is, she's still not allowed, is she? Why is the question? It is the same one we ask repeatedly. There was enough witness testimony from Luke's play by people to get a real understanding of what was actually going on between Luke and Antonia, and if leaving her constantly stranded in the street, is anything to go by, it ain't good and that is just the tip of the iceberg. But little miss demanding threw a hissy fit and somehow got Luke to post a ridiculous photo dump where she was featured walking on a zebra crossing (a video that Sienna took and shared to her own stories. Haha, frenemies). There was no couple photo however still. You only laugh your ass off. Luke is a petty hero.

Let's move to Nicola in this scenario. thethreeacttragedy had her as Rebecca, but in an ironic way. I am dismayed though that a lot of people actually believe that she is the mastermind behind all of this since June 13th and is basically stirring everything behind a massive cauldron. This is a very misogynistic take of our little Irish Queen and I will not have it, especially from other women. I can understand Nicola wanting to be private. The blind items recently are not painting her in a good light and Jack (cough) I mean Jake is not looking great either. I do not believe Nicola to be this cunning leader mastermind who has Luke crying in the corner like some overgrown man baby. I think she is a somewhat frightened woman, overwhelmed at being shoved into the limelight and having her private life scrutinised for all to see. I do not underestimate her either, but she is no Rebecca, she is no queen of swords. To me she is the unnamed narrator. Desperately in love with Maxim, but fearful he is lost to another woman. But that does not mean he actually is.

And so who is Mrs Danvers? The psychotic, obsessive, and loyal servant to Rebecca. Is that us as the Lukola fandom? Some would say so. We don't give up and we know an awful lot of background shit that contradicts what we are being shown online. Or is it the Lutonia's, if there actually are any? Or is it Toni SS running that account for the five people that may ship Luke with Antonia. Is it the Jakola's who are so blind at this point, they need their eyes checked or a brain scan for cognitive function. Or is it Tiff, so swayed by PR, influence, followers and god knows what else, that she is devoutly following the orders of Rebecca, or someone else?

I was hurt by Luke's actions on Tuesday. We were all waiting for a Polin selfie to celebrate the anniversary of the last Lukola photo and instead Luke's PR team or Antonia decide to stick the knife in. I haven't really looked at the dump properly, I just can't support that. I feel like we are being lied to. I know they were scared about the recent blinds, but that was cruel to do on a Polin anniversary. It is not Luke as we know him to be. I know he doesn't owe us anything and he can post what he wants, but after a month of silence, it seemed suspicious to me. It mirrored Nic's Australian post of Jake. What's funny though is that Luke was most likely in Australia and Nic was very likely in New York. Antonia was a good decoy for that, always sat firmly in the middle of the theatre so that everyone could see her., but Luke was always looking elsewhere.

If you haven't read Rebecca, there is a good version of it on Netflix starring Lily James. I am going to spoil it in 3,2,1. Maxim, is the one who killed Rebecca. I won't bore you with why I think he did this ultimately, that's for my dissertation, but I find it important that HE is the one to do it. Before you come after me, I am an English teacher finding symbolism in everything, so I do not want or think Luke is going to bump off Antonia. I think that he has to be the one to cut ties, end contracts, publicly disengage etc. I am firmly in the belief he is actively trying to do this. It must be a very stressful situation right now and I don't envy them. He needs to do this so he and the narrator (Nicola) can be happy. It will be messy and public, and the truth is never easy, but it must be done.

At least Nicola came back this week proudly wearing her Claddagh ring in the married position. Even Jakoolas can't dispute this ring was made during and representative of season 3 and Luke. She wears it close to her heart. Luke storied a HOM tribute post that his PR team, hastily nudged him to write as they saw he lost 2000 followers and was getting abuse online - yet again. He then reshared Nicola's Palestine post mighty quick. At this point it is all tiring and most people have jumped overboard long ago. I am here for the long haul and until we know the truth. I believe with this blind items the truth is coming. Nic and Luke, if you are reading this, please do it on your own. Be bold, brave and speak your truth. Or claim your adjacents properly. Pigs will fly.

"You thought I loved Rebecca? You thought I killed her, loving her? I hated her, I tell you. Our marriage was a farce from the very first. She was vicious, damnable, rotten through and through. We never loved each other, never had one moment of happiness together." Maxim de Winter, Rebecca.

PS. Does anyone else hear Klaus's voice from the Originals when they hear the name Rebecca? lol

[lukolathoughts]

Illusion Continued

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Jurassic Park, John Hammond tells Ellie about his flea circus where the fleas performed circus tricks and magic, in reality there were no fleas. People see what they want to see. “Dont you see, it’s all an illusion?” 

[lukolathoughts]

Riddle me this

Three hearts close, but no roof or bed,

Arms weave a map where comfort is spread.

Captured in a blink, the moment won’t fade,

For she shares it, a true story displayed.

Who am I?

I think I summoned these people today as I said to a friend all seems quiet. and I know I shouldn’t be stupid enough to utter the ‘Q’ word, because no sooner as I said it - BOOM, incoming and from our lovely Nicola herself. I had also mentioned yesterday that I wanted Nic to post something that suggested Jake’s real affections and by damn she did. Nicola is like hold my beer, watch the Jakola’s try to rationalise this one. To say it bluntly, she couldn’t have, in my opinion, posted a more gay photo. This love fest menage a droit was actually a sweet capture by Nicola of a an intimate moment. Yes, I hear you bleating that Becky’s boyfriend Noe or whatever in God’s name his name is is obviously straight, but this convenient hanger on is a distraction to the real story. Jake and Dylan.

The question is not whether or not Jake is gay or not, I think we all can agree now that he is or to just pacify my haters, at least bisexual. The mystery is who is his actual partner. I can tell you with absolute certainty it is not one Nicola Coughlan. No woman in a serious relationship, with a man who is highly rumoured to be gay, would ever in her right mind post this kind of photo that is the gayest photo since certain scenes in Top Gun. Add that to Dylan’s previous posting of Jake and the fact they spent the majority of Christmas and New Year together and the bicep squeeze a few weeks ago and you’ve either got a serious case of denial from Nicola (an LGBTQ advocate and the majority of her friend group being gay), or she is simply telling us the truth. Jake has not now or ever been her boyfriend. He is a friend and so are the other two men in the photo. Women who are in heterosexual relationships don’t find it funny when people think their boyfriends are gay and she would not want to fuel those rumours.

I actually think Nic is a very good wing woman to Jake. Yes, go ahead and stay at my house over the holidays! You can have the place to yourselves. Don’t forget to water my plants! (Douche canoe). You want to go travelling across Oz with your ‘friend?’ By all means, have at it. I’ll be fine on my own in London for an extra two months. Her best friend is also JVN people - a man who throws so much shade at Antonia, he could be chucking beach umbrellas directly at her. There is no way JVN hasn’t turned around to Nic and been like, girl, yo man is gay, honey. It’s a laughable situation at this point and I am over it. Everyone knows. That large friend group of Dylan’s and Jake definitely know and they are trying to figure who Jake is into just like the rest of us.

I do believe the tide is changing. I had predicted more information would start to reveal itself after the Blood Moon on 7th September and things are slowly starting to unravel. As of this moment Jake has not reposted Nic’s story and I don’t think he will. I have a feeling this key piece of information released by Nicola herself, may have offended or blindsided Jake. Nicola is moving away from the narrative that he is her boyfriend and slowly revealing more of her truth about her own life. For example, the moon and star tattoos last week and the song she shared for the third time.

Luke has has injured himself in NY, I send my best wishes to him and I’m sure Nic will be there to support him in whatever capacity she can. Let’s face it, having Antonia hover over him would be akin to Kathy Bates from Misery. Luke rather be on stage.

I still cannot believe after all this time we are still here, but the restaurant is still open and we are still on the deck of the ship watching and waiting as always. Lets see what this week unfolds.

[lukolathoughts]

Am I the asshole? (arsehole)

Am I the asshole for not immediately returning home to my 'girlfriend' after spending months away from her filming in Australia, but instead choosing to travel Australia with my male 'friend' instead?

Dear ZG, I - 25 male and my 'girlfriend' - 38 female have been casually dating since August 2024 when she publicly touched my arm at a festival. I was quite perplexed by this development, as for the previous few months I had listened to her cry over her ex over a pint and a game of scrabble down the pub. Don't get me wrong, my 'girlfriend' is beautiful and I feel enormously lucky she is in my life. She is obviously older than me and well connected to important people. She can get me loads of free stuff like hoodies and bagel hats, and connections and invitations to the coolest parties. She is funny and she has a really nice big house with art on the walls. Her house is often empty and she lets me crash there, as long as I remember to water her plants and don't use her good China. I can even have my friends over on occasion.

The problem is, well there are a few. For one, she's still so obviously in love with her ex - boyfriend, that it feels like he's the elephant in the room. I feel like he's always around (he often is) and they still work together everyday. Her face just lights up when she sees him and I feel inadequate in comparison. She talks about him constantly.

Another issue is, well I'll be honest and I'll admit I'm just not that into her. We are great friends and I look up to her as a mentor and support to me, but we don't have a good chemistry and I find being alone with her one on one sometimes awkward. She is good with my friends though and everyone believes we are together. Especially social media, who thinks we are 'official'. I've never admitted that publicly and neither has my 'girlfriend'. I find it uncomfortable when people ship us. It is hard to define our relationship for what it is. All I'm interested in currently is furthering my career and prospects.

I have been in Australia filming for the last few months and I have been homesick. My 'girlfriend' came to visit me with her friend - 32 male and also my friend - 25 male joined us. The four of us spent some time sight seeing when I wasn't working. We had a right ball playing Jenga! Wild times. I was limited to how much time I could spend with my 'girlfriend', so I was glad she had her friend to keep her company while I was busy. We said goodbye when her trip ended and that was the last time we saw one another.

I have been spending a lot of time with my male friend since she left. He has been showing me the sights of Australia. Filming has ended for me and instead of returning home, my male friend suggested visiting Kangeroo Island in Australia and making our way down to Melbourne sightseeing. I called my 'girlfriend' and told her my plans and she assured me this was fine, she might be travelling also. I haven't heard from her much since and I am having the best time with my friend. We went stargazing and hiking through the lush forests. It's been truly magical. I almost don't want to come home, as I don't want it to end. I don't want to have to return to the façade of a relationship that doesn't feel right. I have a feeling when I come home she will expect to pick up where we left off in terms of public sightings. I feel over the last few months I have changed. I feel more independent and grounded in my decisions going forward. I am scared of losing her friendship and lets be honest, the perks.

So am I the asshole for this? What do you think?

J

Dearest Gentle Readers,

Would you be so kind as to in the comments respond to J on whether he is the asshole or not please? What advice would you give? This author is interested to know your opinions.

[lukolathoughts]

McGuffin or Chekhov's smokin' gun?

During my old university days, I studied Media as part of my Drama degree. I was interested in film at the time, until they made us all sit through 2001 Space Odyssey. Absolute torture. Anyway, we studied a whole lot of Hitchcock also. I learned a great deal about the auteur, the male gaze and the 'McGuffin'. Stick with me reader, I am going somewhere I promise. In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. (Wikipedia) For example, in Pyscho the lead female character Marion Crane turns up to Bates Motel with a suitcase full of stolen cash. It ends up being irrelevant because that is not the main plot. Marion (spoiler) is stabbed to death by Norman Bates and the suitcase of money ends up in the lake with her car. That is her story over. A modern day McGuffin in my mind would be Dennis Nedry stealing dino DNA in Jurassic Park using a can of aftershave cream. The plot point is irrelevant, even though it causes the fences to shut down and chaos to ensue, the can is lost as Dennis is eaten by a Dilophosaurus and that is the end of that. The main narrative is elsewhere.

In university, I was fascinated with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. As a Buffy fan, I was almost ecstatic with joy to see another badass female lead slice her way to revenge and justice wearing a yellow, leather jump suit. It is an incredibly gory film, but I see it as a masterpiece of cinema. This is where I was made aware of the term - Chekhov's gun. "is a narrative principle emphasizing that every element in a story be necessary, while irrelevant elements should be removed. For example, if a gun features in a story, there must be a reason for it, such as being fired at some later point." Usually in film, the director will make a point of showing the object/device and it will come up repeatedly or later. In Kill Bill, there is The Bride's sword which is made and then shown later with her lopping off a hundred or so heads. In Kill Bill part 2, in a flashback to years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Pai refuses to teach his students; properly used, the attack is reputed to leave an opponent able to take only five steps before dying. This is how (major spoiler) The Bride defeats Bill in the end. She was shown by Pai Mei. I could go on and on about how these devices are used in cinema and television, but you will be aware of them. In Bridgerton, we can see that Penelope's feather quills are Chevhov's gun, because they are representative of a secret that she is keeping that has indirectly and directly affected so many people. Lady Whistledown has massive plot implications.

So, ZG where are you going with this blog post? I have struggled with keeping my mouth shut these last few months and running things through in my mind. It is easier to just chat in my discord and much less hassle, but it also grinds my gears that us Lukola's feel the need to be underground. I want to be a voice of reason for the fandom and not be stifled. A few days ago, I was made aware of a picture. This picture had my eyes widening and my heart thudding, because it was confirmation to me that what I had suspected and read in my cards, was absolutely right. I have struggled in the past with even writing this down, because people get so mad. I am a mother of four. I have actually had six pregnancies. I have dealt with early miscarriage, gestational diabetes, premature labour the lot. I am an experienced mother now of many years and I recognise another mother when I see one. I do not take pregnancy and childbirth lightly. I know what I saw last year from Nicola and I stand by that. This has NOTHING to do with fat shaming or commenting on Nicola's body, which I NEVER have.

It is now up to the story narrative to play out and for us as an audience to find out whether the buggy/stroller in the picture that Nicola is pushing, is a McGuffin - irrelevant. I saw someone say it might be a doggy stroller. Sigh, sure Jan. Or she could be pushing her sister's baby around Dublin. It is possible, but why are all her friends there that particular weekend? Where is her sister? Why is Aimee there? Why was Louisa tagged in the photo? What was so special about that weekend? We have worked out from Louisa's clothes that the weekend was most likely the 5th April. Jake shared a photo with Louisa in a pub that Saturday and the clothes match. I will come back to Jake in a moment.

Or is the stroller Chekhov's gun? A massive plot point and integral to this whole damn narrative and why my friends, we have been dragged along on this bumpy ship navigating an endless storm, that has included missiles, hurricanes, a great white shark, shelves, anchovies, tiramisu etc. My question from a few blogs ago was, what are Nicola and Luke hiding in the attic? In my opinion, it is the stroller. As I said on X yesterday, if you see the picture but refuse to acknowledge at least the possibility of what that stroller means, then that's on you if a harsh truth is ever revealed.

The Jakeholes have been quiet about this. It almost makes me giggle. Nicola liked that post, so she is absolutely aware of it. It has been sitting on Instagram for two weeks literally like a smoking gun undetected until the Lukola FBI finally dug it up. Lets face facts here. Jakey boy was filming from April - June last year in Wales and Nottingham for What it feels like for a girl (I loved it by the way! It weas excellent). Nicola was on a massive six month press tour with her co-star Luke Newton. We all saw the way they looked at each other in Brazil. We are not blind or stupid. We don't have amnesia either. I can look at the live footage at a touch of a button. Us Lukola's do not have to manipulate footage of Jake from WIFLFAG, where he plays a male prostitute and pimp, with footage of Nicola from Big Mood, where she plays a woman with mental health problems, and mash it together to make it look romantic. Those edits are sickening. They are also pathetic because whereas we have actual footage from Bridgerton and in real life, the Jakolas have nothing. Even Tiff couldn't make the Cannes footage look romantic. He looked like Nicola's assistant and we caught Jake making horny eyes at a man in the pre-Bafta party. My point is, Jake was not around when Nicola likely became pregnant and I will quote someone in my discord, Jake hasn't seen a vagina since he came out of one.

I believe the person in Nicola's recent post is Luke. My very dear friend @pikanchidouble-blog has done excellent analysis on this over the weekend of the ear and thumb and I absolutely think it's Luke. If it was Jake, why not tag him? She's not been shy about tagging him before. The sweet treat is also Luke coded and the fact he loves Italian food. Jake is also at the moment busy shooting a film. Nicola has better things to do than sit alone in a hotel all day in Australia alone, waiting for him.

We are yet again back to waiting game. If that was Luke in the selfie, Nicola has made a massive step forward in showing an aspect of him. She has made strides in showing the stroller also. I love Nicola for this. There must be a reason that she has decided to show us this. It has to be part of the larger story.

So do we have a McGuffin on our hands, or Chekhov's gun? You decide. We wait.

PS. Love you all xx

[lukolathoughts]

Will she walk away?

Just a little follow up to my blog post from yesterday about The Sound of Music. I touched briefly on a comparison between the Baroness and Antonia. The similarities being that the Baroness is trying to get Von Trapp to commit and marry her, but his heart belongs to another. I actually quite like the Baroness in the movie version of the Sound of Music. She is a good person like I said and kind to the children. A friend of mine reminded me last night of an important detail about her which in my bleary eyed -writing blogs at 11pm at night state - overlooked. The Baroness had the understanding and dignity to walk away. She witnessed the dance between Maria and Von Trapp and saw the magic there. She saw the sadness in him when Maria left for the abbey and then she saw his joy when Maria returned. The Baroness recognised the situation for what it was and she knew there was no hope for her as Von Trapp did not love her. He loves Maria. The Baroness walked away with her head held high and with dignity. No man is worth humiliation and she knew she was worth more than being second best. She was also standing in the way of love and the happiness of Von Trapp. She did the decent thing and left Maria and Von Trapp to it.

So far in this deeply disturbing saga and rollercoaster ride the fandom has been on since last year, Antonia has not yet completely walked away. We had an eight month respite and then I joked in one of my private readings this week that she came back like a killer from the Scream franchise that has a had a TV thrown on them, multiple stab wounds and a gunshot to the head. The Boss event was the biggest jump scare of my life. How much more humiliation and pain can one young girl be subjected to? Is it all worth it for the PR and getting your name out there? That you’re the side piece and overlooked and mistreated girlfriend who is still not allowed to post Luke to her grid? There is still so much about this that doesn’t add up. Why doesn’t she post how proud she is of Luke? I’d be screaming it to the rooftops if I was her.

Other bloggers have been over this, but the body language between Luke and Antonia at the BAFTAs was glaring. It’s not just from him either, it’s from her. Very minimal eye contact, no affection, no laughter, no banter. She looks like she’s petrified to talk to him and he looks like he jumps down her throat every-time she does speak. I read on them quietly sometimes and I know it’s only tarot, but I never ever get any romance or love cards for them. It’s always justice, the tower, death, three of swords etc. It’s heavy as shit. I have given up really trying to decipher what is going on here as it gives me a headache, but it is not what the public are seeing and this PR bullshit.

In a Celtic cross reading I did for Antonia just before Boss in January, I did get as her final outcome the eight of cups. She will walk away. But the ‘cups’ is the key here. Antonia is the Queen of Swords after all and nothing comes without a price. The Baroness is already fabulously wealthy, beautiful and a nice a person. Antonia, in my humble opinion, is none of those things. She is not going to leave until those eight cups are full and the contract has played out in her favour. If I was Luke and Nic now, I would just say to hell with it and let her release what she has, but it may not be that simple. They have also come this far now and created this mess.

I don’t know why I think of this but there is a scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Buffy stabs an ancient spirit of a Native American and he turns into a bear. Spike who is tied to a chair and teeming with arrows, shouts,”You made a bear!”

Buffy answers, “I didn’t mean to!”

Spike shouts, “Undo it! Undo it!”

But it cannot be undone.

If only back in June had Luke’s PR team (or Luke himself) made a a better decision and decided not to make a bad situation (papgate) ten times worse by having Luke reappear with Antonia this year, I think we might have been in a better situation now and the Jake narrative wouldn’t have had to have been ramped up in April, literally making hoardes of Jakeholes positively foaming at the mouth in excitement, while us Lukolas were left shaking our heads in disappointment and disbelief. I am glad Jake is away and in Australia and doing his own thing. Nicola looks positively radiant at the moment and extremely happy without him hanging about like a bad Australian barbecue that’s gone off.

So, my message to you Antonia is, walk away like the Baroness and have some dignity. Get out of the way.

[lukolathoughts]

I suppose I am a romantic at heart. I love movies like Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, the Notebook. My most favourite movie is the Sound of Music. I think my mother showed me this movie at a young age, I must have been around five or six and I remember just falling in love with it completely. I memorised every song and every word. It's still on my bucket list to visit Austria and Salzburg. I remember really identifying with Maria. She was weird and quirky. Her dresses were ugly and she completely had no inclination of respect to authority or conventions she was meant to conform to. She was a heroine of her era. Then there was the handsome Captain Von Trapp who had lost all love in his heart after the death of his wife (who probably died in childbirth after giving him seven children in the 1930s). Von Trapp spent his days blowing his whistle in a shrill manner at his own children as if he was still a Captain at sea. Oh, how I adored the children. Memorising all their names to me was akin to knowing the names of Santa's reindeer. Then there was the flamboyant Uncle Max who was in my opinion Jakeholes, 100% gay. All he's interested in is day drinking, spending Von Trapp's money and forming a choir out of his nieces and nephews. Uncle Max is in it for the fame and money. Hitler be damned. Is there a war going on? It's ok, it's just those pesky Nazis.

Enter the Baroness. Beautiful, rich, vain and her main motive is ensnaring Von Trapp. In the stage musical, she sings about it. She is not exactly a bad person or a villain. She's not mean to the children, but she's just rather meh...being fabulous only gets you so far.

Our Captain Von Trapp only has eyes for one woman. Watching him falling in love with quirky, exuberant Maria is a joy to behold and it absolutely sends the message that true love is not about looks, wealth, status. It comes from your heart deep within. Von Trapp loves Maria for who she is and what she brings into his life. It is a love felt between soulmates and it spans the norms of society. Von Trapp should have married the socialite Baroness, but he chose the ex nun in training and governess to his children. The woman he actually loves.

I'm writing this tonight gentle readers, as I have gotten some upsetting asks and comments the last few days. I fear the image of Luke dragging Antonia around like a prized trophy has not settled well with some. I have had comments like - maybe Luke prefers a skinnier woman on his arm. Maybe Nicola is not his type. Several more comments I just will not repeat or stomach on this blog.

Let me make one thing clear, Luke does not care about superficial things like body weight and image. This has nothing to do with anything like that. Luke thinks the sun shines out of Nicola's backside and I'm very much in agreement with him. As I have to keep saying repeatedly, Luke's Venus in his birth chart is conjunct Nicola's Mars directly. The symbol makes the male - female sign that Luke wore to the SAGS. I would wager a guess that Luke is very aware of this in his chart. He's so attracted to Nicola because it is literally written in his birth chart. You cannot dispute this fact. We have absolutely seen evidence of this repeatedly and how Luke cannot take his eyes off of her. The feeling is mutual.

My point is that love is not superficial. You cannot separate soulmates. I know that Luke has a damn good reason for his movements lately and I'm still of the belief he is doing it to protect his family. Luke is very much in tune with his heart and I know that is heart is not with the Baroness. It is with his Lady Whistledown.

[patientreflections]

The Failure of Manufactured Momentum

In 2025, can Hollywood continue with the same old party tricks and expect applause? It’s a question I found myself pondering after stumbling upon an onslaught of post BAFTA social media content where one continuous storyline piqued my interest…and not in a good way. 

I don’t usually wade into fandom conversations, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Bridgerton—and Colin and Penelope’s story was my favourite from the books. Beyond that, I’ve kept my distance. I don’t ship actors or keep up with stan drama. But something about this weekend’s BAFTAs, and the very deliberate press rollout that followed, caught my attention. Not just as a viewer, but as someone who’s worked in a corporate public relations adaject role for over a decade and finds the Hollywood machine endlessly fascinating (and completely outdated).

What we’re seeing right now with Luke Newton and Antonia Roumelioti is a textbook example of trying to manufacture momentum when there’s no organic traction to begin with. The cracks are showing. With every single post and article that popped up on my FYP and Instagram feed these past 48 hours, the more I felt like I had a bad case of deja vu. Did I just read the same headline over and over again? Yes…but from different outlets and yet it all felt the same. Interest piqued. Clearly the press kit made the following demands: 

Couple Focused; Antonia is to be treated in the headlines with the same level of celebrity as Luke

Curated Images - the same set of approved images over and over again

Approved language. We get it, Antonia is “glamorous” 

Ah, manufactured momentum, the Hollywood PR machines old faithful approach when you have nothing of substance. Let’s be honest: Antonia is being positioned as a public figure, but the foundation is incredibly thin. There’s no significant modeling campaign to anchor her in that world. Her dance history, beyond being a teenage contestant on Greece’s Got Talent, hasn’t evolved into any noteworthy professional credits. And as an “influencer,” an angle that feels unconvincing, the aesthetic is curated, sure, but there’s no substance—no strong personal voice, no visible passion, no cultural or philanthropic cause to connect with. The identity being presented is vague, and vague doesn’t hold attention for long. Did it ever?  

This isn’t a case of the public being harsh. It’s that there’s nothing anchoring her presence outside of proximity to Luke. And for a rollout to work, there has to be something to build from—an existing spark of interest, a story, something people can latch onto. Right now, that just isn’t there. In PR terms, it’s a classic case of a lack of narrative coherence. 

It’s also not helping that the timing feels off. One year out from Bridgerton S3, and Luke’s visibility has been notably muted.  While Nicola Coughlan has gone from strength to strength since then, Luke’s career has remained.... steady at best. He’s the only Bridgerton lead with a season of the show not signed to one of the major agencies, and despite being positioned as a romantic lead, his trajectory feels… stalled.  So this moment, framed as a kind of visibility push, doesn’t feel rooted in authentic career growth. Instead, it reads as strategy: tie this reveal to a known milestone, hope for carryover attention. The fact that Nicola’s name had to be threaded into nearly every headline surrounding this weekend’s appearance says a lot - borrowed equity. It suggests his team knows he doesn’t generate enough coverage on his own—and that’s a hard truth, but it’s one the public is picking up on.

Unsurprisingly, the reaction has been indifferent at best. Well until it took a turn for the worse. Take the Entertainment Tonight instagram post. When a media push goes a bit too far, it can lead to consequences. Using Nicola’s name here and sidelining her accomplishments to push a couple narrative, well, it was a choice someone made. A bad one at that. Viewers are seeing through the strategy, and instead of buying in, they’re disengaging. That’s the risk when you try to force relevance without real public demand. If anything, this rollout has highlighted just how little genuine excitement there is around either of them right now.

So the question is: where does this go from here? Because from a PR perspective, you can’t build long-term interest on shallow foundations. At some point, there needs to be actual growth—either from Antonia showing a clearer sense of self, or from Luke stepping into a stronger career phase that doesn’t rely on nostalgia or association.

Until then, this push will likely keep feeling exactly as it does now: calculated, hollow, and a little too late.

[toriaaniin]

The Claddagh Test

This morning, I found myself feeling bitter. Not angry or even disappointed — bitter. It caught me off guard until I realized what was happening: I was moving through stages of anger. Almost like the stages of grief.

First there was frustration. Then sadness. Yesterday there were moments of real anger interspersed with disappointment. Today, bitterness crept in. And for a few minutes, resignation followed.

I sat with that resignation and that little voice that came with it: “Maybe Nicola and Jake really are together.”

It lasted about two minutes. Then instinct — heart — pushed back. “No.” Not because I needed it to be "no," but because everything I’ve witnessed with Luke and Nicola — truly witnessed — said otherwise.

So, I did what I often do when doubt creeps in: I challenged myself.

I applied Occam’s Razor, setting aside everything emotional, everything hopeful, and focused on one concrete, irrefutable element: The Claddagh ring.

And this time? I made it even harder on myself. I purposefully removed Luke from the experiment. It wasn't easy to do, but I removed his silhouette from the background. I focused on the ring, the timeline, and the publicly available facts.

On October 1st, 2024, Nicola moved her bespoke diamond Claddagh from her right hand to her left — symbolizing not just love, but a committed partnership and possibly marriage. For a woman so deeply rooted in her Irish identity, this wasn’t a casual switch. It was significant. Deliberate. Serious.

If we accept the media narrative that Nicola and Jake are together, then the Claddagh should reflect that relationship.

Yet from October 1st to January 8th, nothing about their timeline supported the weight of that symbolism.

Christmas: Nicola spends it in Galway with her family. Jake appears to spend it in Nottingham with his, and dining with Dylan at local restaurants.

New Year’s Eve: Jake celebrates in London, hosting a small dinner party with friends. Nicola? Silent but for a potato. Absent. When she reappears days later, her sunburned shoulders suggest she was somewhere much sunnier... and very far from London

January 8th: Nicola and Jake arrive together for the William Tell premiere. There’s tension in the air, caught on video.

No Christmas together. No New Year's kiss. No evidence of closeness during the season that typically binds couples tightly and builds lasting memories. Is that the relationship of a woman wearing a Claddagh on her left hand?

No.

If we believe Nicola treats the Claddagh with the seriousness her heritage deserves then the truth is that her heart belongs somewhere else. And no amount of pap walks, party appearances, or frantic headlines can erase the simple, quiet consistency of that truth.

Sometimes it’s good to let doubt surface, to run the thought experiment. Because when you really look? The real Luke and Nicola story hums underneath. It always has.

Aaniin Xxx

P.S. Sunkissed:

[ptej1980]

It always comes back to the ring. Designed while on the WT picked up in Galway on the WT. The ring has been worn consistently since June and it has not come off like @toriaaniin says it means something and it does not have anything to do with Jake.

Ring Truthers unite 💛

[carylmeanslove]

Really great post Tori! Their love story is always there underneath it all. Inside the depths of it all. It runs deep, just like their love for each other is inside their hearts. Nothing can remove it. No outside force can wash it away.

I love that Claddagh so much. It's like our heartbeat. It's not going to stop beating. Just like Lukola's love will never stop.

[lukolathoughts]

I absolutely love that the colour of that tan /sun burn is exactly the same

[adventuresinmythoughts-deactiva]

The Silence Is the Real Statement

We all know Nicola and Jake’s friends would be the first ones to congratulate them if this launch were actually authentic. Instead, we get crickets. none none of Jake and Nicola friends or teams  are reposting or celebrating their supposed "debut as a couple":

1. Lack of Authenticity: When a relationship is real and people are genuinely happy for a couple, especially in tight-knit friend groups, there’s automatic enthusiasm. You’ll see reposts, inside jokes, casual congratulations, even a little light teasing. Silence from friends suggests they don’t feel comfortable promoting it.

2. Private Discomfort: Jake’s close friends know he’s gay — or at minimum know the relationship isn’t what it's being publicly portrayed as — they're not going to endorse something that feels dishonest. Reposting would be endorsing the lie, and it could damage their own integrity.

3. PR vs Personal Reality: It’s very possible this "debut" wasn’t something his or her inner circles signed off on. It could be strictly a PR strategy driven by publicists and management teams to manufacture optics — especially ahead of Jake’s show. The friends didn’t create it, so they don’t feel obligated to promote it.

4. Respect for Boundaries: Some friends know the real situation (whether that’s Jake’s sexuality, Nicola’s personal image plans, or the pressures behind the scenes) and are choosing to stay out of the fake narrative. Staying silent protects everyone without creating drama.

5. It’s... Embarrassing: Honestly? This whole rollout looks awkward, desperate, and transparent. Friends might be cringing behind the scenes — realizing how forced it looks — and prefer to distance themselves rather than look complicit.

Bottom Line: Real love doesn’t need a hard launch. Real relationships don’t need crisis PR coordination. And real friends naturally celebrate genuine milestones — not manufactured ones.

The silence from their friends says more than any headline could.They’re just... letting the trainwreck unfold.

[lukolathoughts]

No notes!

[lukolathoughts]

Women's rights

(trigger warning. Also, please be kind as I discuss some personal issues. I will block all negative comments, but I welcome opinions.)

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well. I knew last night was going to be rough. It happens whenever I write a blog post. As soon as I saw that story from Jake yesterday thanking Aimee - Nic's stylist for her help, I knew he would at the Bafta party. What I didn't expect was that Nicola would pose on the red carpet with him for staged and awkward looking photos. I did a double take in astonishment at his white trainers paired with a ill fitting suit, that did not match Nicola's outfit. The photos were stiff and awkward, Nicola forcing a smile of adoration and Jake rarely looking at her. It screamed PR and FAKE FAKE FAKE. This is not us Lukola's being in denial, this just simply what we see with our own eyes.

The question I posed in yesterdays blog titled - 'The crazy woman in the attic' was, what is in the attic exactly? What on earth is going on that Nicola and Luke need to go to these kind of extremes? What secret are they protecting? This cannot be the solution. Nicola, I hope your team sends you this and I will try and be as kind and gracious as possible with my opinions. Also, remember readers these are my opinions. Jakeholes, just block me and move on. As I have said, this is not the place for you.

I am going to go into a bit of personal information about me just to give you some context. I grew up in a extremely unsettled home. My father was physically violent to my mother and I witnessed a lot. I struggled with not being able to save her. I still carry this guilt to this day, and I have never been able to forgive my dad. We left when I was nine, but by that time I had seen a lot. I met my ex when I was 19 and that turned into an emotionally abusive relationship, made all the more harder as I was living with him abroad. When I came home, I was an absolute wreck and I needed that time to heal and be on my own, with support from my family and friends. I was then very lucky to meet my own Colin Bridgerton and that is where we are today. One of the habits I developed as a child to cope and hide I suppose was to watch my television shows. I love my TV shows and movies. It just settles me and I can escape for a few hours. It's no real surprise to me that I adore Bridgerton.

OK, ZG, what does this have to do with Nic? Well, I do love a strong female character and I adore Penelope and I have admiration for Nicola and all she believes in. She is a role model to me. However, the biggest role model in my life other than Buffy, is obviously my mum. She worries me to death that woman and is a Capricorn also, incidentally she is now married to an Aquarius. Stubborn as a mule, but a heart of gold, my mum. I keep going back mentally to wishing I could have done something as a child to help her. As most of you know, I'm a teacher. At the moment, I am working on a project to get young parents back into work or education in deprived areas by improving their literacy, numeracy and other skills. I have loved this project and helping these women has been fantastic. Without saying too much, some of these women have dealt with the worst kinds of abuse I have ever seen or heard. Coercive control is much more prevalent now amongst abusers. I am an empath as well, so I take a lot of this emotion home with me and I guess the fandom and Nicola and Luke have helped me channel this elsewhere and allow me to escape.

I have known gay men my whole life. My first cousin was always very open about his sexuality, even before we understood what it meant. It was just the way he was. I had a gay BFF in primary school, college and all through my twenties I mixed with the albeit minimal gay scene where I live. I have not had much experience with the trans community, I'll be honest, other than visiting the gay bars in Swansea and Cardiff with my friend S. I just don't have the same emotional connection to the trans community as Nicola does. I support rights of women. I shouldn't feel guilty for saying that loud. I fight for their right to work and education and for making a better world for their children. I fight for my own children. I write what I write as a mother myself and especially a mother to a daughter.

One of the most upsetting things in the last few years was the Manchester Bombing. On 22 May 2017, following a concert by the American pop singer Ariana Grande. Perpetrated by Islamic extremist Salman Abedi and aided by his brother, Hashem Abedi, the bombing occurred at 22:31 and killed 22 people. Most of these victims were young women and girls. The murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzen's in 2021 was one of the most sickening cases I had ever read and the media tried to blame Sarah for her own murder for daring to walk home alone at night. Last summer, in Southport, a mad man broke into a little girls dance studio at a Taylor Swift themed dance class and knifed to death three little girls and stabbed countless others. Kyle Clifford, broke into his ex girlfriends house and killed her, her sister and her mother with a crossbow last year also.

These are the kind of stories that keep me awake at night, not whether trans women are allowed to use the women's toilets or not and whatever else. I don't want men in our spaces and I don't think they should be. But, I give Nicola some grace, because she is raising money for a cause she believes in it. I will not begrudge her that. What I do begrudge her for is after successfully raising so much money, she then proceeds to counteract everything she was campaigning for by walking Jake Dunn down the red carpet and presenting him to the media as her 'boyfriend'. To me, this is deeply hypocritical. Jake is known to the industry as a queer actor. Jake is starring in an upcoming BBC drama about trans rights where he plays a queer role. All this has done is upset her fans and enrage the LGBTQ community. Jake's stylist Miller Mode posted a very interesting story post today saying he was a stylist for queers, weirds and beards. How fascinating is that? How many more of these posts will we see and how many of the community will start to turn their backs on Nicola and Jake? Miller mode also refers to Jake as a 'princess' and 'she'.

Jake is also doing press for his show today What it feels like for a girl and he's back on Instagram today promoting trans rights as if last night didn't happen. Maybe he and Nic wish it didn't. She has been eerily silent today so far and I'm sorry but Nic, you made your bed, now you must lie in it. That carriage scene is iconic and partly because Luke was so magnificent in delivering his love declaration. The scene is magic, with chemistry like no other. Luke should have been there last night. I find it fascinating that we have yet to see Jake and Luke interact. I think it is glaringly obvious why, gentle reader. Luke can't lie to save his life. He'd be too busy glaring daggers at Jake, and Jake in turn would be salivating over Luke. It would be hilarious and frankly, I would love to see it. I find the candid photo of Jake eyeing up the hot Love Island contestant last night poetic justice and there is the truth right there. But yet we are still vilified on SM for suggesting Jake is gay and not at all interested in Nicola. This has nothing to do with Nicola, by the way. If I was with Nic, I probably would never stop smiling, but Jake can't bring himself to do it. It's not because she's unattractive, it's because she's literally not his type. Period. She is a woman.

I will continue to stand up for women, including Nicola, but lovely you gotta throw me a bone here. You want your fans to hang around and cheer for you? Then don't repeatedly slap us in the face and undermine our intelligence. Be honest and tell us what you and Luke are hiding in that damn attic, because it isn't Jake Dunn, he's out and proud.

[lukolathoughts]

The crazy woman in the attic

She glides silently across the deck, a pale spectre draped in a flowing white gown that flutters in a breeze no one feels. Her bare feet make no sound on the worn wooden planks, and her greasy, oil slicked hair streams behind her like seaweed caught in the gloomy moonlight. The ship groans softly beneath her, as if remembering something lost.

Her face is turned slightly downward, eyes shadowed yet distant, fixed on a point far beyond the ship’s railing—as though watching a horizon that no longer exists. A dark shadow clings to her, faint and unearthly, casting a melancholy sheen over the deck and leaving a trail of cold in her wake.

Sometimes, she pauses by the helm, resting a translucent hand on the wheel. Other times, she lingers by the lifeboats, lips moving in a silent litany. Always alone. Always searching.

The fog thickens when she appears, muffling the world into stillness, and though the sea may churn and the stars may shift, she walks on—eternally adrift in the ghost-light hours, a memory carved into the bones of the ship.

One of my favourite fiction novels is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I love this gothic tale of female empowerment, secrets, romance and mystery. I studied it for A Level English Literature in Sixth form college back in the day and I have loved it ever since. I think this is because in my early teens I read novels by English author Catherine Cookson. These were romance novels set in the 19th century North-east of England and involved the upper and lower classes living in the manor estates or the slums of Newcastle respectively. These books were later turned into ITV dramas, for example, Sean Bean from Game of Thrones fame appeared in the Gambling Man in 1995. Many British actors got their big breaks appearing in Catherine Cookson dramas. My favourite one is The Glass Virgin that starred Emily Mortimer and Brendan Coyle. Mortimers character Annabella finds out she is the bastard daughter of a prostitute after being raised as a lady all her whole life. She is forced to leave the manor house with dashing groom Manuel (Coyle) by her side and work on a farm. The two eventually fall in love and Annabella reckons with her past. I especially like this one as it gives a romanticized notion that a big, strong, man will sweep in to save you. At thirteen, I found that idea appealing. Alas, dear reader I was too young yet to have discovered feminism.

Enter Jane Eyre, or 'plain Jane' her cruel cousins and aunt called her. Part of my A Level study was analysing whether Jane was plain, or she believed it due to being called plain her entire life. This is the kind of bullying I find abhorrent to this day. Jane eventually grows up after much maltreatment and a tough stint at a school for orphans, she takes a position at Thornfield Hall. She there meets the charming Edward Rochester. Here's me squealing in my tracks! Aha, a love story! How wonderful. This I can get on board with. Oh, it will be like the Sound of Music - minus the Nazi's. Rochester and Jane will go skipping off into the sunset singing Climb Every Mountain.

Our survey says - loud buzzer! Negative. Spoiler alert, there is something more sinister lurking above Jane every night. The floorboards creak with increasing intensity and Jane spots things from the corner of her eye. Edward reassures her she is imagining things and Thornfield is not haunted. Gaslighting 101 from our male lead. I still do not know what is going, but Jane is freaked out, and so am I. Why can’t Rochester be honest to Jane about what is really going on with his wife? Why all the lies and secrecy that literally ends up with Rochester losing his sight. There are consequences to your actions, Rochester.

Onto Eloise's instalment of the Bridgeton books 'To Sir Phillip, With Love." I love this book as I find book Eloise quirky and funny and Sir Phillip dark and mysterious enough to be unbelievingly sexy. I am going to spoil to fifth book here briefly, and by proxy the show. Let us talk about Marina. Oh, Marina. We last saw the universally loathed character of TV show Marina 'happily' wed to her dead lover's brother Phillip, after Colin makes a visit to Romney Hall to settle his 'unfinished business'. Marina is suffering from what I suspect is post-natal depression, possibly post-natal psychosis and the fact she does not love Phillip. Colin is too absorbed in himself to really understand the nuance of what is going on here and only really hears the word 'Penelope' that makes his head whip around like someone offered him a million pounds. The Nile is a river in Egypt, Mr Bridgerton (cough, Newton). In the books (spoiler) some years after the birth of her twins and the death of her love George, Marina dons a red dress and walks through the ghostly, morning mist and wanders directly into the estate’s lake. Sir Philip rescues her, but it is too late. She dies from fever a few days later.

Marina is dead and I'm assuming the producers of Bridgerton will go down this route in the show as the actress Ruby Barker has her own well documented mental health struggles as well as criticism of Shondland and does not want to be involved in the series. But the spectre of her will always be there, won't she? Eloise has no idea what she is walking into in the aftermath at Romney Hall with 'the ghost' of Marina floating about, emotionally at the very least. Colin and Penelope still have some unresolved issues when it comes to their relationship on the show and how Lady Whistledown saved Colin's ass from the fate of being married to a pregnant woman who tried to trap him into a loveless marriage. I'm sure some of this will be addressed shortly within the show, because frankly Colin should be kissing the ground Pen walks on and I'm sure she does occasionally make him do that.

I find that with Luke and Nicola, art literally imitates life. You can't make it up sometimes. Whether you think of Antonia as Marina - the ghost that wanders around the manor driving an invisible emotional wedge between them. Or Mrs Rochester, the crazy, vengeful woman in the attic who burns down the house. Or Cressida, the blackmailer, who wants money and infamy in exchange for silence. There are many possibilities to choose from. Even as I type this, Antonia is up to some shizz on social media, and I am determined to find out what is going on.

There has been a curious timeline of events since January 30th when Luke appeared out of the blue with Antonia after not being seen with her since July 2024 in Sorrento, where he left alone and two days before the holiday was meant to end. I still remember the shock of that night and thinking what the hell. We have examined Luke’s behaviour, demeanour and aura that night until the cows come home, and I do not intend to rehash old blog posts, however the whole thing really felt like an orchestrated PR set up pushed specifically by Antonia’s team (her parents) and a situation Luke was forced into. His ‘let’s get this done’ comment was a statement sniggered at by Lukola’s all over the world.  As well as witnessing Luke hand swatting Antonia’s hand away as they walked into the event.

Prior to this event, on 20th January 2025, Nicola and Jake papped photographs were released on the ‘carrot walk’ stroll. All of us Lukola’s laughed hysterically about that at the time. It staged and Nicola and Jake thought it was funny too. But what if this was a calculated strike by Luke and Nicola’s PR teams to take some heat of the impending shit show that was coming up with Luke and Antonia ten days later. I think that failed as everyone and their mother was shocked and horrified to see a angry Luke drag out a terrified and stricken looking Antonia. I always thought Antonia would smirk and gloat and relish to be seen with Luke again. Her behaviour seemed so anxious and peculiar; it almost seems as if she was forced into the appearance herself. I will return to this point shortly.

One month later 18th February Luke was solo papped in Kensington in London taken by papazzi photographer Josh Mawr, incidentally the same pap who took the carrot stroll pics of Nicola and Jake. The photos were shared by Deux Moi.  The fandom breathed a sigh of relief, he was alone. He was also alone at the Valentine’s Day event the week before. But he had not been without Antonia at the BAFTA after Party on Sunday 16th February. There was lots of speculation again about Luke’s ambivalent behaviour towards Antonia at this event also. Luke made a point of sharing to his SM that he left the event alone but got into a pasta bed and watched Love Island. Unfortunately, the fandom associate pasta with Antonia. I think we have pasta PTSD. But we also associate Love Island with Nicola, and her love for reality TV. What message was Luke trying to convey here?

Then we had the glory of the SAGS. The whole world was captivated by Luke and Nic and I honestly think after the event, Nicola panicked and went into her default setting of oh shit. We got some suspicious sightings of Antonia suddenly in the LA hotel that appeared to be old and the ‘buddy’ narrative from Nicola. Then Nicola follows Antonia on Instagram. The earth shook. This can’t be right, right? It’s a joke? Antonia eagerly follows her back. I don’t like to pit women against each other, but to me these screams keep you friends close, but your frenemies closer. Also, PR/contract obligation. Antonia gains some new followers, not many and seems to have a bit of actual work going on around the time.

Here comes the big kicker. On 18th March, Luke and Antonia are papped running errands. Antonia looks like she just rolled out of bed and Luke looks like he needs to take something for constipation. He’s also seen picking his nose and looking like rather be anywhere else in the world. Who was the paparazzi I hear you ask? None other than Josh Mawr. Third time lucky, eh Josh? These paparazzi pictures did Luke and Antonia no favours. But as someone just pointed out to me, patterns be patterning. Most appearances from the adjacents or paparazzi shots seem to be around the middle of the month.

A few days later on 21st March, Luke is spotted at his friend Young Blud’s Concert. A fan releases a photo of a furious looking Luke, with Antonia seemingly walking towards him. I have heard from sources a few things about what happened that night, but I cannot share those here. I can confirm that Antonia left the event after Young Blud’s set of four songs and Luke did not. It is interesting to note that the next day, Nicola was seen in the same area of Kensington where Luke was solo papped having a photo with a fan in a juice bar four minutes away from where Luke was papped.

Fast forward to this weekend, yes that right Saturday 19th April and we get a photo of Luke posing in Cyprus with the owner of the restaurant of where Antonia’s father is a chef. There is a lot of speculation about what might be going on here and analysing Luke’s face and clothes etc. Whether recent or not, Antonia is still NOT in the photo. She is still not allowed to post him. She is back to her old tricks of implying she is with him. Yesterday, she posted a selfie with a friend at the same restaurant where Luke was photographed on Saturday. Luke’s photo was shared by the restaurant, and he was tagged in it, as well as Bridgerton UK. How odd that the restaurant where Antonia’s father works at shares a publicity photo of Luke and tags Bridgerton as well? Not suspicious at all. Luke does not accept the tag. Then Antonia goes on a posting spree of random shit. But still no Lukey. How pathetic after over a year, you can’t publicly post your ‘boyfriend’. You push Luke and he pushes back harder. I do not think Luke’s PR team was involved with this as the post is still up and the comments towards Luke are not favourable. It’s all messy and weird and becoming an increasing headache. I also think Antonia’s parents have huge involvement here. They have gotten their pound of flesh out of Luke and for Luke’s sake, I sincerely hope he’s run for the hills and back to the cliffs of Dover.

Whenever I write a blog post, shit tends to hit the fan. I might very well be tempting fate here. There is a pre-Bafta party tonight in London that Luke and Nicola are expected to attend. I am bracing myself for what we will see. I hope it is another SAGS love fest and we will all be rejoicing, as Nic and Luke deserve it. Dragging along adjacents would be a stupid thing to do. I have been criticised again for insisting so strongly that Jake is gay. It is my opinion, but I am simply warning the Jakola’s because the press is coming up for What it feels like for a girl and it is already known to be an all queer cast. I have noted with some wry amusement, whereas previously the Jakolas insisted Jake was straight, now they are saying he is bisexual, and they are holding onto this for dear life. He could be, I do not know Jake. But from looking at his Instagram, I just don’t think he is. But I do agree, it is for Jake to tell us his truth and I’m sure that he will in the next few weeks.

My question is why is Luke so obsessed with keeping his Mrs Rochester a secret? What is Luke hiding in the attic? What is worth all this trouble? Is he protecting his Jane Eyre? We have seen Luke happy and this isn’t it. Granted it is only snapshots in time, but those snaps tell a story.

‘The night - its silence - its rest, was rent in twain by a savage, a sharp, a Shirley sound that ran from end to end of Thornfield Hall.'" Description of Bertha, Jane Eyre.

PS. I did not call into work sick the other day because someone made a nasty comment on YT btw, I was upset going to work and had to calm myself down before going in. I am only human.

PPS. I can see that Jake is getting ready for an event now. I can feel a headache coming already.

[lukolathoughts]

Straight actors playing gay roles is a topic of ongoing debate in the entertainment industry. While some argue it's about an actor's ability to portray a character convincingly, others raise concerns about representation, authenticity and opportunities for LGBTQ+ actors.

In recent years, there's been a push for more authentic representation, with advocates arguing that LGBTQ+ roles should be played by LGBTQ+ actors whenever possible. This perspective emphasizes the importance of giving marginalized communities a platform to tell their own stories.

That being said, talented actors can bring diverse perspectives to various roles, and the industry is evolving to prioritize authenticity and representation.

[lukolathoughts]

Miss Nicola - supporting LGBTQI rights

Dearest gentle reader,

I have been itching to write a blog post now for a few weeks, but not really knowing where to begin. There have been frenzied weeks and days of activity, but then silence and the fandom meanders like a lost boat at sea. We are often rudderless without the reassuring presence of our ship captains - Luke and Nicola. This also tends to get the sub fandoms spouting nonsense claiming to have seen Nicola in Birmingham or some ridiculous crap. I didn't want to bother her by asking for a photo! No photo, no proof my friend.

I'll talk about me for a moment. I had a week from hell last week. There was something so upsetting for me to deal with, I couldn't go into work as I was crying that much. Try to explain this to your manager: that nasty comments on YouTube made you late for work. Luckily, she is an understanding person and I have told her about my YT channel. Saying some things out loud to real life people make me sound barking mad. But it is the price you pay for being public on YouTube. It also makes me an easy target. I am used to online trolls and people who hate me for saying that Jake is gay and believing in Lukola, but when the stab in the back comes from a supposed friend, it really is the ten of swords. My phone blew up that much, I opened my eyes that morning genuinely thinking Lukola had launched. My hope turned to ash, when I saw what was really happening. I share this with you all because, I have had to have a reckoning with myself the last week. My online life and my real life are not the same. My real life is way more important and I actually need my job, so messing it up because I've got people I don't really know online saying mean things about me, that are not true, shouldn't matter. But it still hurts. But I also realise, they are trying to stop me sharing and trying to ruin my credibility and reputation in order to send me off into my discord crying never to return again.

Well think again. No one tells a Sagittarius woman what they can and can't do. I am made of stronger stuff. Love will always conquer hate. No one puts Baby in the corner, and I will not stand for it. I have scaled back most of my online life now. It had helped me cope with the last year and losing my friend, but sometimes you have to go back into reality. I'm never leaving the ship though. You'll have to chuck me overboard and I'll still jump back on like Rose from Titanic. "I couldn't go, Jack! You jump, I jump, right?"

Anyway, enough about me. Let's talk about Nic. I love Nicola by the way and nothing I say here is a criticism of her or her choices. I see what you're doing though, miss Nicola. I said in my last blog that the shit would hit the fan when Jake has to start press for his new upcoming BBC3 drama What it feels like for a girl. I will admit I have not read the book. Regardless of who Jake is playing, it is reportedly an all queer cast, a queer director and at least one queer writer that I know of. Why would the director of an all queer cast hire a straight man in a homosexual role? If this show is as big as It's a Sin, that aired on Channel 4 a few years ago, then there will be press and a lot of it. There will be press from queer magazines also. Jake is currently in an awkward position, because some press believe he is in a romantic relationship with Nicola Coughlan, a woman who is also 14 years his senior. So, what will Nicola and Jake do?

Jake is holding onto his cash cow with both hands and Nicola needs Jake to continue to pose as her boyfriend to stop the media digging. But honey, they know. It was clear all the press at the SAG awards knew exactly what was going on and they were not afraid to say it. The 'happy ending' comment levelled at them directly by a reporter, had Nicola stunned and Luke smiling like all his Christmases' had come at once.

Nicola knows what is going on. She knows there is a deadline and she knows if she doesn't extricate herself from the narrative she is dating a gay man, she is screwed basically. What is she doing? She's getting out her, I love gays!! T-shirt, hats, scarfs, sunglasses, whatever. She is doing it. Look at me, I love queers! I love her for this and I already know she is an advocate for LGBTQI rights. She has a ton of gay friends. The fandom knows this of course, but do the general public?

At the Neutrogena event on 27th March 2025, there was a very tall drag queen doing some MCing. We know Nic loves drag queens and has been to many shows, so this is nothing new to us. I'm not being overly cynical that the drag queen might have been there for a reason, right? Neutrogena is a product that is targeted at women mostly for their skin products. What has that got to do with a drag queen? I just found it odd.

Next up we have Nicola's Pink Pony Club Post that she shared to both her Instagram stories and grid last Thursday 10th April. The song by Chappell Roan is synonymous with the gay community and one that Jake danced to at her concert last year in a pink cowboy hat. "You guys, remember when my old flat was a gay hotspot!" Nicola, posts 4 polaroid's of her looking fabulous in pink and lays them on a pink blanket. What made you feel so nostalgic, Nic? Or are you sending a message? Look at me, I have loved my gay besties for donkey's years. Prominent gay friends such as JVN and Jack Rooke commented all in agreement, that indeed, Nic's flat was the place to be. And, no I do not think Nicola is coming out herself as gay. Get real, she is supporting her friends and peers.

Then there was yesterday's selfie of Nicola wearing her black - 'I just wanted to say if you are trans and reading this, I love you and so do all my mates' T-shirt. There a few other details in that post that other bloggers such as @toriaaniin have covered beautifully, so I won't go into it here. My eyes sprung wide when I saw this post. I know she advocates for the charity Notaphase.org and I commend her for doing this, but two queer posts in a few days seems to be a lot for Nic, when lately she hasn't been posting at all.

There is also the male hairdresser Halley Brisker in her Opalex video on her Instagram, They make a big deal of letting us know he flirts with male makeup artists. Nicola is clearly good friends with Halley and it is an endearing watch. But to me this seems like a lot of overkill in the last few days for the general public to look at her Instagram and instantly know, yes Nicola does love the girls, the gays and Luke Newton. (FYI Halley Brisker is married to a woman and has children, but to the general public this conversation is implying Nic is comfortable with these conversations).

This, in my opinion, is setting the stage for the final act. I can see Nicola doing some sort of article or interview where she clears a certain narrative up. If you notice, Douglas has also been quite forceful again in implying certain things about Jake and Jake himself does not stop others from posting suggestive posts and videos of him. Nicola must remove herself from this mess in order to move forward with her own career and life. Hanging onto old connections are no longer serving her personally and professionally. Her engagement on Instagram is down by a lot, so I'm told and she is losing followers. She has done all she can career-wise for Jake now, he has to make his own way.

If this does not happen and we remain in this weird heteronormative bubble, I fear the press for What it feels like for a girl, will be a shit show. The truth will come out eventually and it will drag both Jake and Nicola down with it.

[casualearthquakepeach]

Hahahahahahahahahaha this dumb bitch called off work because someone on YouTube hurt her feelings.

She can make videos demonizing people she doesn't know based on some fucking tarot cards, but can't handle someone leaving a mean comment.

WEAK

[lukolathoughts]

You know what's funny with these trolls? They give me free publicity. The more you share and reblogg, the more views I get to the overall message of the post. So reblogg away.

[lukolathoughts]

Miss Nicola - supporting LGBTQI rights

Dearest gentle reader,

I have been itching to write a blog post now for a few weeks, but not really knowing where to begin. There have been frenzied weeks and days of activity, but then silence and the fandom meanders like a lost boat at sea. We are often rudderless without the reassuring presence of our ship captains - Luke and Nicola. This also tends to get the sub fandoms spouting nonsense claiming to have seen Nicola in Birmingham or some ridiculous crap. I didn't want to bother her by asking for a photo! No photo, no proof my friend.

I'll talk about me for a moment. I had a week from hell last week. There was something so upsetting for me to deal with, I couldn't go into work as I was crying that much. Try to explain this to your manager: that nasty comments on YouTube made you late for work. Luckily, she is an understanding person and I have told her about my YT channel. Saying some things out loud to real life people make me sound barking mad. But it is the price you pay for being public on YouTube. It also makes me an easy target. I am used to online trolls and people who hate me for saying that Jake is gay and believing in Lukola, but when the stab in the back comes from a supposed friend, it really is the ten of swords. My phone blew up that much, I opened my eyes that morning genuinely thinking Lukola had launched. My hope turned to ash, when I saw what was really happening. I share this with you all because, I have had to have a reckoning with myself the last week. My online life and my real life are not the same. My real life is way more important and I actually need my job, so messing it up because I've got people I don't really know online saying mean things about me, that are not true, shouldn't matter. But it still hurts. But I also realise, they are trying to stop me sharing and trying to ruin my credibility and reputation in order to send me off into my discord crying never to return again.

Well think again. No one tells a Sagittarius woman what they can and can't do. I am made of stronger stuff. Love will always conquer hate. No one puts Baby in the corner, and I will not stand for it. I have scaled back most of my online life now. It had helped me cope with the last year and losing my friend, but sometimes you have to go back into reality. I'm never leaving the ship though. You'll have to chuck me overboard and I'll still jump back on like Rose from Titanic. "I couldn't go, Jack! You jump, I jump, right?"

Anyway, enough about me. Let's talk about Nic. I love Nicola by the way and nothing I say here is a criticism of her or her choices. I see what you're doing though, miss Nicola. I said in my last blog that the shit would hit the fan when Jake has to start press for his new upcoming BBC3 drama What it feels like for a girl. I will admit I have not read the book. Regardless of who Jake is playing, it is reportedly an all queer cast, a queer director and at least one queer writer that I know of. Why would the director of an all queer cast hire a straight man in a homosexual role? If this show is as big as It's a Sin, that aired on Channel 4 a few years ago, then there will be press and a lot of it. There will be press from queer magazines also. Jake is currently in an awkward position, because some press believe he is in a romantic relationship with Nicola Coughlan, a woman who is also 14 years his senior. So, what will Nicola and Jake do?

Jake is holding onto his cash cow with both hands and Nicola needs Jake to continue to pose as her boyfriend to stop the media digging. But honey, they know. It was clear all the press at the SAG awards knew exactly what was going on and they were not afraid to say it. The 'happy ending' comment levelled at them directly by a reporter, had Nicola stunned and Luke smiling like all his Christmases' had come at once.

Nicola knows what is going on. She knows there is a deadline and she knows if she doesn't extricate herself from the narrative she is dating a gay man, she is screwed basically. What is she doing? She's getting out her, I love gays!! T-shirt, hats, scarfs, sunglasses, whatever. She is doing it. Look at me, I love queers! I love her for this and I already know she is an advocate for LGBTQI rights. She has a ton of gay friends. The fandom knows this of course, but do the general public?

At the Neutrogena event on 27th March 2025, there was a very tall drag queen doing some MCing. We know Nic loves drag queens and has been to many shows, so this is nothing new to us. I'm not being overly cynical that the drag queen might have been there for a reason, right? Neutrogena is a product that is targeted at women mostly for their skin products. What has that got to do with a drag queen? I just found it odd.

Next up we have Nicola's Pink Pony Club Post that she shared to both her Instagram stories and grid last Thursday 10th April. The song by Chappell Roan is synonymous with the gay community and one that Jake danced to at her concert last year in a pink cowboy hat. "You guys, remember when my old flat was a gay hotspot!" Nicola, posts 4 polaroid's of her looking fabulous in pink and lays them on a pink blanket. What made you feel so nostalgic, Nic? Or are you sending a message? Look at me, I have loved my gay besties for donkey's years. Prominent gay friends such as JVN and Jack Rooke commented all in agreement, that indeed, Nic's flat was the place to be. And, no I do not think Nicola is coming out herself as gay. Get real, she is supporting her friends and peers.

Then there was yesterday's selfie of Nicola wearing her black - 'I just wanted to say if you are trans and reading this, I love you and so do all my mates' T-shirt. There a few other details in that post that other bloggers such as @toriaaniin have covered beautifully, so I won't go into it here. My eyes sprung wide when I saw this post. I know she advocates for the charity Notaphase.org and I commend her for doing this, but two queer posts in a few days seems to be a lot for Nic, when lately she hasn't been posting at all.

There is also the male hairdresser Halley Brisker in her Opalex video on her Instagram, They make a big deal of letting us know he flirts with male makeup artists. Nicola is clearly good friends with Halley and it is an endearing watch. But to me this seems like a lot of overkill in the last few days for the general public to look at her Instagram and instantly know, yes Nicola does love the girls, the gays and Luke Newton. (FYI Halley Brisker is married to a woman and has children, but to the general public this conversation is implying Nic is comfortable with these conversations).

This, in my opinion, is setting the stage for the final act. I can see Nicola doing some sort of article or interview where she clears a certain narrative up. If you notice, Douglas has also been quite forceful again in implying certain things about Jake and Jake himself does not stop others from posting suggestive posts and videos of him. Nicola must remove herself from this mess in order to move forward with her own career and life. Hanging onto old connections are no longer serving her personally and professionally. Her engagement on Instagram is down by a lot, so I'm told and she is losing followers. She has done all she can career-wise for Jake now, he has to make his own way.

If this does not happen and we remain in this weird heteronormative bubble, I fear the press for What it feels like for a girl, will be a shit show. The truth will come out eventually and it will drag both Jake and Nicola down with it.

[lukolathoughts]

What did I say...

This will just be a short one guys and not as in-depth as usual. Last night in my blog 'A pound of flesh' I discussed the Blood moon that Jake Dunn stood in front of on Saturday 15th March 2025.

"What stood out to me initially was the bright full moon being revealed behind a rolling cloud. The moon is bright and clearly visible. The Moon card in tarot often comes up in relation to Nicola and Luke and the adjacents. “The Moon is fundamentally a card about misunderstanding. Something remains unclear, making it hard to discern fantasy from reality.” To me the card signifies illusion, and I find it fascinating that Jake is pictured standing in front of such a visible full moon. The full moon last weekend was also a blood moon. There are two other Blood Moons following on September 7th 2025 and March 3, 2026. A total lunar eclipse is often called a Blood Moon as the Full Moon turns a reddish colour during totality. “These three Blood Moon Eclipses will tell a story, a story that usually involves some sort of shedding and release. Blood Moons tend to strip away all that is unnecessary, forcing us to peel back the layers to a greater truth.” (Forever Conscious.com). How interesting that Jake is stood in front of a blood moon on Saturday 15th March. So, could it be Jake’s full eventual truth will be revealed by 3rd March 2026?

Imagine my shock this morning when I log on to X and see that Jake has been cast in a BBC3 Drama written by none other than my own cousin! I almost fell off my chair. What it feels like for a girl. This is obviously a queer based drama according to the description.

"The party can't last forever though, and when Byron (main character) is seduced by bad-boy Liam, a shocking encounter occurs that will change life forever. Calam Lynch is Max, Jake Dunn is Liam and Dickie Beau is Peter.

Jake is also going to be playing a homosexual role. He has played gay men in other roles such as Oscar in Big Boys, the music video he was featured in for You and me at Six where he played Ollie, as well as other projects.

I just cannot believe that I wrote a blog post about a Blood Moon and Jake's 'truth' being revealed and then his casting announcement drops the very next day where he plays you guessed it - a gay man - the same week of the Blood Moon. I think I may be onto something. The next Blood Moon is in September and I will be watching Jake Dunn very bloody closely.

Not only that but Dylan Brady and Douglas Greenwood rush to share their love for Jake almost instantly to Instagram. Doug includes pink hearts. Remember what I said about it being unclear who Jake's actual partner is? Nicola comes in later with her own generic post.

My mind is blown and what is still aggravating is the Jakeholes are still not listening. I am thinking this series might be a bit of a shock for some of them with it's content, so I would buckle up if I was you Jakola's. BBC3 has a lot more freedom usually in what they can show now, especially after the watershed at 9pm. It might be acting, but Jake seems to do well in these kind of roles where he can be himself and play to his strengths.

This new series is reminding me of Russell T Davies It's a Sin which was set in London in the 1980's and it deals with the Aids Pandemic. If you haven't seen it, it is absolutely wonderful and heart breaking, but extremely sexually graphic. There is even a Welsh character called Colin that you will break you heart into a million pieces over. Olly Alexander, an openly gay man in real life, plays Ritchie who eventually ends up with AIDS. This new drama What it feels like for a girl is set in the 1990's and also seems to tell the tale of wild nights out and experimentation of the era. My point here is that casting directors often cast queer representation for these types of series and roles to make the series as a authentic and representative as possible. For example, in 2024 Richard Gadd played himself in Baby Reindeer. Gadd is bisexual and he included in the series his real life storyline of a relationship with a trans woman. These are just a few examples and I am not going to harp on anymore because I have discussed Jake's sexuality now extensively. But how much more evidence do we need? Does Jake need a bloody bull horn?

Otherwise, well done Jakey boy! Lets hope you landed this job on your own merits as an actor! I am not going to even bother talking about the pap video of Luke and Anchovy. It was highly disrespectful to him and my heart hurts for him and Nicola today. She did not look herself in red carpet photographs from last night. My speculation on all this nonsense is for a later blog post when I have more information.

BBC announces cast for What It Feels Like For A Girl

Ellis Howard, Laura Haddock, Laquarn Lewis, Hannah Jones, Adam Ali, Alex Thomas-Smith, Calam Lynch, Jake Dunn and Dickie Beau, with Hannah