Earlier this week, a Tumblr friend sent me a message:
“I don’t know how you do it. You seem so confident about Lukola, but I’ve lost hope. I really think he’s dating A 😕 Everything feels like wishful thinking…”
My response?
I’m not 100% confident.
Today, in my chat group, a friend shared an Amy Pohl 'tweet' from yesterday - a re-post of an MFT promo interview where Amy asked the cast to share their favourite moments from filming. Nicola spoke about filming the final scene in the MFT world - the “Land of Spells” - when the cast and crew’s families and “everyone’s partners” (her words) were there on location. This was Malta, late August/early September 2024
So… who is Nicola’s partner?
We know from photos that Jake was there. The easy inference is that Jake was, and is, her partner.
Yes; I see the patterns. I clock the inconsistencies in the front-facing narratives. And I firmly believe Nicola had a baby in late January 2025.
Even so… my confidence in Lukola as a couple can wobble. Especially when it’s backed by moments like this; Nicola referencing partners and families in Malta. Or interviews where she talks about the bedroom chair. Ugh.
So when I feel unsure, I challenge myself.
Today’s wobble had me remembering a post I wrote almost a year ago (gawd, we’ve been at this a long time 😂). This is a post where I talk about stepping back and really testing what I believe - applying that same challenge to the narrative instead of just reacting to it.
The post is a somewhat simple look at the timeline overall, but it focuses on something I still find important when thinking about a couple in love: the holiday season.
For those of you who are feeling unsure too, I thought I’d reshare it here. I’ve copied it below (with a few light edits - the original is linked at the bottom).
Sometimes revisiting the moments when we felt most unsure, and how we worked through those moments, can steady us more than certainty ever could. Does this process make me 100% sure of Lukola? No it doesn't (I believe I sit around 90%). My brain will always niggle around all the bits! But the steadiness it helps to create keeps me from being too reactive.
Oh! And one thing I didn’t mention in the post below, or in any of my Claddagh posts: Nicola wore the small Claddagh on her left hand from the moment she received it in Dublin in June 2024. Does that mean she was in a serious - engaged - relationship with Jake from that point?
My money says… nope.
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 - everything I've 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. By replacing her small Claddagh for the diamond she literally upped her relationship game! For a woman so deeply rooted in her Irish identity, this wasn’t a casual switch. It was significant, deliberate and serious.
Applying Occam’s Razor: 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 supports the weight of that symbolism, especially when we look at the holiday season; their first Christmas and New Year's Eve together, and a time when they would be eager to build lasting, love filled memories.
Christmas: Nicola, we believe, 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 at Nicola's home. Nicola? She's absent from the festivities. She comments on a post wishing the group a HNY, and she posts an IG story about a potato.
January 8th, Nicola's first 2025 appearance: she and Jake arrive together for the William Tell premiere. Nicola's slightly sunburned shoulders suggest she spent New Year's somewhere much sunnier, and very far from London. There’s tension in the air between them, caught on video.
So... no Christmas together. No New Year's kiss moment. 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?
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 and to run the thought experiment. Because when you really look, the real Luke and Nicola story hums underneath.
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your
One more P.S.: Since I'm reposting about the Claddagh, here's a little something something...
Edited to add: YAY if you made it down to this new P.S....
@tangovangogh made an excellent point in the comments that deserves a place here:
“…there is one other obvious big thing. She was expecting BN. No expectant, madly in love, recently engaged father is leaving his pregnant fiancée alone on Christmas and NYE in another country!! There is simply no way! And knowing what we know of Luke, he DEFINITELY would not have left her alone at that stage. I say babymoon. 🐣🥳”
When I originally wrote The Claddagh Test, I was focusing strictly on what I defined as “publicly available facts” - photos, timelines, and comments that were presented and supported as true on the surface (i.e., the version of the story being put out into the world).
That didn’t mean I wasn’t considering Nicola’s pregnancy - I absolutely was. But for the purpose of that post, I deliberately set it aside, because it wasn’t part of the narrative being openly presented. I was testing the story using only the pieces they themselves had put forward or, in the case of Nicola's sunkissed photo, posed for knowing it would go out into the world.
That said… I wish I had.
What Tangovangogh pointed out would have been a perfect addition to the conclusion.
Because naturally - if Luke and Nicola were expecting - they wouldn’t be spending that time apart. They’d be together. Celebrating. Stepping into 2025 as an in-love couple, about to become parents.
And yes… likely sharing that first New Year’s kiss.
Aaniin (I see your light) Tangovangogh!
