We received a (possible) New Hollywood Romance alert earlier this week when Chris Evans and Lily James were seen in London leaving a private members’ club and heading back to his hotel. After that, I posted about the timeline of their situation considering quarantine requirements for overseas travel. That situation seems pretty much confirmed now though, right?
The Daily Mail has the exclusive photos of Chris and Lily yesterday enjoying ice cream cones in the park. This is considered a proper date no matter where you’re from, right? It’s warm summer day. They’ve claimed a patch of grass to themselves. They’re talking and laughing and leaning into each other and lounging around. When they’re done, they walk around the city with the wind in her hair. It’s about as carefree of a scene as you can imagine, like a movie montage. And now the word “bubble” takes on another layer in this context. We talk about “bubbles” now during the pandemic as the circle of people you’ve agreed to create community with while observing social distancing measures. But when you’re first getting to know someone, especially romantically, being with that person can also feel like the two of you are in a bubble, and you’re almost oblivious to what’s happening around you, both of you cocooned together in the intensity of your attraction.
Is that why… they may not have noticed the presence of the paps? Or maybe they did but they didn’t care?
Hilariously, in my mentions and my inbox, some people are referring to Chris and Lily as the new Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. It’s not just the Boston connection either. With Ben though, getting photographed with a new love interest isn’t, well, new. It happens to him whenever he falls in love. Chris has actually trended towards a more protected private life.
During the early part of his career, he and Jessica Biel weren’t hiding it. Here they are together in 2001:
Here he is with Christina Ricci at the Met Gala in 2007 – I know, if forgot about this too:
Here he is with Minka Kelly in 2013 leaving a club. They were on and off starting in 2007 until about 2014/2015.
Chris has also been rumoured to have dated Kate Bosworth, Dianna Agron, and Lily Collins through the years. His most recent relationship with a celebrity was Jenny Slate. They didn’t step out much in public together but she also got a lot of online abuse during that time. Which brings us to now and Lily James. A different public complexion to their connection so far.
