Paul Mescal first grabbed hearts as Connell in the 2020 Hulu series Normal People, sparking instant fan curiosity about his off-screen life. That breakout role led to flirty online exchanges with singer Phoebe Bridgers, who covered Wonderland magazine around the same time.
Their Instagram Live chat for the publication crackled with chemistry, as Mescal praised her music and she blushed at his attention.
By late 2021, they stepped out together at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los Angeles, dressed sharply and confirming what fans suspected. Bridgers posted a cozy selfie of them soon after, leaning into each other by the water, marking their social media debut.
They shared high-profile moments like the 2022 Met Gala alongside Mescal’s Normal People co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones, fueling engagement rumors in outlets like The Guardian.
The relationship lasted about two years before ending in early 2023. Reports pointed to Bridgers moving on with comedian Bo Burnham, while Mescal focused on projects like Aftersun.
He later called parts of public scrutiny “devastating” in a Harper’s Bazaar interview, stressing how love feels like wearing blinders amid fame’s glare. This era set Mescal’s pattern: quick bonds with creative women, but firm boundaries against tabloid overreach.
Gracie Abrams Steps In: Low-Key Dates Turn Red-Hot
Enter Gracie Abrams in mid-2024, when paparazzi caught Mescal and the singer at a London restaurant, his hand brushing her face in one shot. TMZ images fueled speculation, followed by Daily Mail photos of them strolling hand-in-hand and witnesses spotting kisses.
A People source called it “early-stage” hookups by August, but sightings piled up: shopping in Mayfair, double dates with Daisy Edgar-Jones and her partner.
Paul Mescal (Credit: CNN)
Support went both ways. Mescal cheered Abrams from the VIP tent at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Miami, where she opened, and attended her Radio City Music Hall show in October. They hit the Gladiator II premiere after-party in November 2024, matching in gray tones, her backless dress complementing his suit.
Abrams shared festival snaps from Glastonbury in 2025, including him hoisting her on his shoulders during Olivia Rodrigo’s set and going Instagram official right after.
Into 2025, Mescal got candid with Rolling Stone, dodging details on going public but calling their connection “deeply precious” and worth shielding.
They rang in 2026 with Edgar-Jones, Fred Hechinger, and friends, per Abrams’ Instagram, signaling stability post-Gladiator II hype. Fans dissected Abrams’ album The Secret of Us for clues, like “Normal Thing” lyrics nodding to actor heartbreaks and Mescal’s breakout show.
2026 Rumors Rock the Boat Post-Gladiator Glory
Gladiator II thrust Mescal into mega-stardom in late 2024, battling in the Colosseum alongside Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal. The Ridley Scott sequel drew massive box office and awards buzz, amplifying every personal whisper. As 2026 dawned, so did fresh tabloid static around his romance with Abrams.
January reports from pop culture forums like Reddit flagged a possible split, citing eyewitness accounts of tense public moments that “looked like a breakup.” One thread speculated their brief 2023 fling resurfaced in her songs, with Mescal not ready post-Bridgers.
No official word emerged, but Mescal’s history of viral myths, like TikTok tales of him fleeing park dates after one-nighters, shows how fame twists truths. He laughed those off on Chicken Shop Date, noting only his mom’s upset bothered him.
Privacy remains Mescal’s shield. At the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards, he clarified retirement talk from a Guardian chat, insisting he’s in for the long haul on acting and life alike. Sources close to the pair stress constant communication amid busy schedules, her tours, and his films, like the upcoming Hamnet adaptation.
Yet, with Gladiator II’s shadow lingering and awards season peaking, whispers of strain persist, wondering if stardom’s pressure cooker will push them apart or forge something lasting.
Mescal’s path mirrors many young stars: talent pulls partners from music scenes, but spotlights test endurance. Brief links, like the rumored 2024 flings with Sophie Wilde, fizzled without photos, reinforcing his selective vibe. As 2026 unfolds, fans watch if Abrams joins the ex-list or bucks the trend.
Mescal keeps mum, channeling energy into roles that demand vulnerability on screen, not off. Gladiator II fans pack theaters partly for his intensity, but his real draw? That elusive balance of heartthrob charm and ironclad reserve.
By the end of 2025, multiple entertainment outlets reported that Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge had called time on their relationship after nearly two years together.
India Today, Filmfare, and other publications cited sources who claimed the pair ended things a few weeks before the news reached fans, describing a difficult stretch that left friends surprised because the couple had still appeared solid in recent public outings.
Yahoo Entertainment broke down how British tabloid The Sun framed the separation as low-key but emotionally heavy, with Rodrigo leaning on close friends as she processed the change while working nonstop.
Reports from Hola! and Filmfare echoed that tone, emphasizing that both were 22, had been together since late 2023, and had quietly decided it was better to be apart for now rather than drag out a rough patch.
An Instagram post shared by film news account KinoVolna in early January 2026 pushed the “clean slate and broken heart” narrative further, claiming multiple sources had confirmed the split and framing it as a defining moment for Rodrigo’s new year.
Insiders who spoke to Hola! and PopRant stressed there was no sign of cheating or dramatic scandal, only the grind of constant travel, press, and fan attention piling onto two young stars with demanding careers.
Coverage from outlets like The Knot, Town & Country, and Cosmopolitan had previously painted them as a grounded, relatively low-key couple despite the global spotlight, which made the reports of a breakup feel particularly abrupt to longtime followers of their story.
New Year Sightings, TikTok Clues, And Confusing 2026 Status
Just as fans started to accept the December breakup headlines, fresh reports complicated the narrative.
PopRant noted that while British and US outlets insisted Olivia and Louis had split weeks earlier, speculation rose again when the pair were reportedly spotted spending a tropical New Year together, away from London’s gloomy winter.
Those sightings, shared in fan threads and local gossip coverage, raised a simple question for 2026: had they reconciled, or were they simply staying friendly amid a painful transition?
An Instagram post highlighted by PopRant referenced Olivia “starting 2026 with a clean slate,” while another fan-circulated reel tied the reported breakup to possible changes in her third album rollout.
Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge (Credit: BBC)
A TikTok breakdown cited by Hola! and PopRant claimed her planned early 2026 release, often referred to by fans as “OR3,” might have been delayed or reshaped after the split, though nothing has been formally confirmed by Rodrigo or her label.
That same coverage pointed out a teasing “OR3” easter egg in a fan account TikTok that fueled theories her heartbreak would heavily inform whatever project comes next.
The most detailed framing still comes from December sources who spoke to outlets like Filmfare, Hola!, and India Today, all describing the pair as no longer together but emphasizing respect and lingering affection.
At the same time, New Year reports and fan-reported sightings keep feeding the idea that things may be less clear-cut behind the scenes, especially for two people used to moving in the same creative circles and overlapping cities while touring and filming.
Career Pressure, Heartbreak Fuel, And What Comes Next
To understand why this relationship has drawn such intense 2026 curiosity, it helps to remember how it started. Outlets like Cosmopolitan, Town & Country, and Yahoo documented the early days in late 2023 when Rodrigo flew to London with friend Conan Gray and was photographed with Partridge after reports that they met through mutual pals.
Soon after, cameras caught them leaving her Saturday Night Live after-party together in New York and embracing in street photos that effectively confirmed the romance.
Over the next two years, they shifted from secretive dates to red carpet appearances at events like the Vanity Fair Oscars party and the 2025 Grammys, placing them firmly in “Gen Z power couple” territory for pop culture outlets and YouTube timelines alike.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, Partridge regularly supported Rodrigo at tour stops, with outlets like Cosmopolitan and The Knot highlighting everything from his front-row presence at her Jingle Ball performance to sweet posts from the Guts world tour in Asia.
Town & Country even noted that he seemed largely comfortable with jokes about being called “Mr. Olivia Rodrigo,” while still admitting that relentless attention around their relationship could feel strange for a young actor used to quieter film sets.
That disconnect between private preference and public obsession shows up again in 2025 coverage, where he stressed dating probably should not play out entirely under thousands of watchful eyes.
As 2026 begins, industry writers are less focused on whether Olivia and Louis are officially back together and more interested in how this chapter might shape their next moves.
Hola! and PopRant both point out that Rodrigo heads into the year at a commercial peak, having headlined Glastonbury and major British festivals while Guts continued to dominate charts.
If her previous work is any guide, a painful breakup could become writing fuel, potentially sharpening the themes and emotional weight of her third album, which fans already expect to dissect for references to Partridge the same way they once parsed lyrics allegedly linked to Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter.
For Partridge, recent profiles in outlets like Elle and InStyle stress his growing film career, with roles that pull him further into prestige cinema and fashion campaigns that raise his profile beyond Enola Holmes fandoms.
Sources quoted around the breakup have suggested he remains focused on work and close friends, with no sign of messy drama that could damage either star’s brand.
That mutual professionalism may be why so many reports emphasize respect and sadness rather than blame, framing the split as a casualty of timing, pressure, and two careers surging at once.
Currently, the most accurate assessment of their 2026 status is straightforward but unsatisfying for the gossip-hungry corners of the internet.
Reputable outlets, including India Today and Filmfare, as well as Hola! and Yahoo, treat Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge as having quietly broken up, even as scattered New Year sightings keep hope alive for fans who still revisit their cutest moments compilations on YouTube.
Until either of them decides to speak on the record, their story sits in that familiar modern celebrity limbo: officially over on paper, emotionally unfinished for the people who lived it and endlessly debated by everyone watching from their phones.
