July and August are usually the “silly season” when it comes to royal gossip. The Windsors are squirreled away in Balmoral or some undisclosed holiday location, and the royal reporters get bored and start writing up weird stories. Some summers, the gloves come off and the Mail or the Times will choose to do a very critical royal story too, something pointed and vicious. This is just an FYI: the summer silly season is upon us, and that’s why we’re getting some really random stories. Like this one! Page Six has a lengthy write-up about how Prince William and Kate are the New Camelot, only better because they’re not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. I sh-t you not. First off, the Windsors need to stop obsessing over the Kennedys. Secondly, Will and Kate need to stop obsessing over their completely one-sided war with Harry and Meghan. Some highlights:

A masterclass in branding for the Waleses since QEII died: The couple’s lives — and those of their three children — changed in a heartbeat as they moved one rung closer to King and Queen and ushered in what royal watchers are describing as a “new Camelot.” Indeed, Kate and William have mounted a charm offensive like the one that saw President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy bewitch America and the world with their young family and style.

The New Kennedys: “William and Kate have created numerous official and informal photo opportunities, projecting a positive and united image as a couple,” global PR and branding guru Mark Borkowski told Page Six. “This curated and idealized image indicates their determination to own the narrative of hard-working, empathetic young royals…William and Kate’s image far outweighs Harry and Meghan’s social media issues and their attempt to conquer Hollywood.”

Winning the PR war!! And sources say that William and Kate, who like to document their lives with the help of glossy “home” videos made by filmmaker Will Warr, have figured out what it takes to win the PR war. “Kate and William have given us a master class in introducing the children to ‘The Firm’ [the nickname for the royal family industry],” one palace staffer told Page Six. “It’s a delicate way for the children to experience official engagements and get used to the public profile — and a careful balance when they’re of an age that they and their schoolmates will be aware of when their pictures are in the papers.”

The Wimbledon outing: “The recent appearance of Kate pre-tournament with the ball boys and girls was a great stunt,” said Borkowski. “So was filling the Royal Box [at Wimbledon] with the kids and the endless long lens shots of the children’s reactions. They clearly know there is a phony war with Harry and Meghan.”

Butt-touching like the Kennedys: There has even been a change in William and Kate’s body language — whereas they barely touched each other in public before, Kate can now be seen giving William a cheeky pat on the butt. “A lot of people remarked to me how relaxed they look out and about, they’re not just ribbon cutting,” said a source who knows the couple: “They’re both trying to deliver impact. They’re excited about the work they’re doing and with that is a sense of ease and confidence, they can get out there and really be their authentic selves.”

Will & Kate don’t employ consultants: “It was a big deal for them,” said the source, who confirmed the couple has not hired image experts. “There’s no army of marketing and branding people behind the scenes shaping everything. There’s a constant dialogue with their team about what’s important to them. But every element of what they do is thought about.”

Hugo Vickers, royal historian: Since the coronation, “Everything [Kate and Wiliam have done has been perfect … They get on with their duties, working within the system — unlike the Sussexes.”

Peg’s shadow court: One British socialite who knew both Charles and Diana intimately believes William will create his own Camelot-style “shadow court” of friends and “thinkers” — just like Charles did with Camilla at his country estate, Highgrove, before he was king. “It’s a chance to play king without the responsibilities,” said the source.

Camelot didn’t end well for the Kennedys: “I do believe they have some challenges ahead — the hamster wheel has an infinite cycle demanding positivity weekly,” said Borkowski. The source who knew Charles and Diana added: “They need keep on the right track. After all, Camelot did not end well for the Kennedys.”

[From Page Six]

This was especially bonkers, right? Several things are absolutely clear: Harry and Meghan live rent-free in Peg & Buttons’ heads; Peg and Buttons refuse to hire or listen to seasoned professionals and that’s why they keep f–king up; Peg and Buttons are desperate to appeal to Americans without bothering to actually learn anything about America or the American people. They think they can just declare themselves the new bewigleted Camelot and everyone will fall to their knees, crying over the keen comparison. Something I’ve always found a bit funny is that, to me, it was clear that Meghan was a big fan of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and if we’re drawing Kennedy comparisons… Harry and Meghan are much more JFK Jr/CBK-coded than anything else, and once you put that together, the idea of Peg and Buttons as JFK and Jackie… well, there’s nothing there. Will and Kate can’t PR their way out of a wet paper bag. Imagine citing Kate’s incessant attempts to grope William’s ass as evidence of their new Camelot status? These people (all of them) are so f–king tacky.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Sussex Squad: Yay, Prince Harry will play polo in Singapore! Me: Someone please tell me about the logistics of transporting polo ponies to Singapore?? That’s basically where I am. There were rumors and reports of this months ago, but now it’s been confirmed: Prince Harry and his real brother Nacho Figueras are headed to Singapore next week to play a polo match for Sentebale, which is the Lesotho charity founded by Harry when he was a teenager. Will they use polo ponies in Singapore or are they transporting Nacho’s polo ponies halfway across the world???

Prince Harry will travel to Singapore to take part in Sentebale’s annual charity polo match next month, the organisation has announced. The Duke of Sussex, 38, co-founded Sentebale in 2006 to help vulnerable children in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi, including those who are affected by extreme poverty and the HIV/Aids epidemic.

This morning, the charity’s Instagram account – which boosts 28,900 followers – revealed details of this year’s event and the royal’s plans to also take part in a summit in Tokyo.

A statement read: ‘Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Co-Founding Patron of Sentebale, will play in the 2023 Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup at Singapore Polo Club on the 12th of August.’

The Duke of Sussex said: ‘The annual Polo Cup is essential to Sentebale’s vital work ensuring children and young people are healthy, resilient, and able to thrive. The funds raised this year will support our Clubs and Camps programme, which provides intensive psychosocial support to young people living with HIV. In a time where being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence, we are empowering young people to know their status, stay healthy, and eliminate the stigma so that they can break the cycle.’

‘We are delighted to return to the renowned Singapore Polo Club in August, and are once again enormously grateful for the polo community and our sponsors, in particular ISPS Handa, for their ongoing commitment to Lesotho and Botswana’s youth.’

Prince Harry will head up the Royal Salute Sentebale Team while Argentinian player Nacho Figueras – who is also a Sentebale ambassador – will play for the Singapore Polo Club team. The organisation also announced that Prince Harry and Nacho will take part in a summit discussing the power of sport, community and philanthropy in Tokyo the day before the match.

They added: ‘Prior to travelling to Singapore, both will participate in a summit on the power of sport, community and philanthropy at the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition in Tokyo, Japan on the 9th August.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I remember this trip coming up when Prince William announced that Earthshot would be going to Singapore this year – like, people knew that Harry was heading to Singapore to play polo for charity already. The stuff about his stop in Japan is new though. How long before William announces that he will ALSO stop by Japan on his way to Singapore for Earthshot? LOL. I hope Harry really enjoys himself and does a lot of events in Japan and Singapore. There will be so many wails from Salt Island either way. Also: the next few months should be busy for the Sussexes, Harry especially. He’s got this trip, he’s got Heart of Invictus (on Netflix) and he’s got the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf in September. I hope this is a bright new Sussex era!

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

While I do not have access to the Sussex Squad’s years of receipts, going off my memory and our Celebitchy archives, it doesn’t seem like David and Victoria Beckham have ever fallen out with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. David has been friendly with Prince William and Harry for years and there was talk about how their friends needed to “pick a side” (that came from William). But from where I sit, the Beckhams have never done anything “against” the Sussexes, publicly at least. Meghan has worn Victoria’s designs and Victoria went out of her way to praise Meghan’s wedding gown. Reportedly, the Beckhams also invited the Sussexes to Brooklyn’s Florida wedding (H&M skipped it). Well, now the Mail on Sunday claims that there’s been high drama behind-the-scenes and the Beckhams have been “Markled.” Meaning, they’ve been cut out of Harry and Meghan’s circle of friends.

Years ago when she was an actress, Meghan Markle often wrote in her blog The Tig about the group she called her ‘closest friends’. Some were soulmates, others were celebrities she met at showbiz events and parties. Gradually, that circle of chums broadened to include clothes designers, socialites and charity campaigners.

Among them were David and Victoria Beckham, who were guests at her wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor in 2018. However, their friendship seems to have died. Reciprocally, Meghan and Harry were not guests at the wedding of the Beckhams’ son Brooklyn to US heiress Nicola Peltz in April last year. Nor were either of the Sussexes at one of the biggest celebrity events of the year, last weekend, when Argentina’s Lionel Messi made his debut for David’s Inter Miami football team as Kim Kardashian, tennis legend Serena Williams and a host of other big names partied in the VIP boxes.

Like many in Meghan’s world, the Beckhams appear to have been ‘Markled’. The word is cruelly used by critics of the one-time soap serial actress to describe how she is seemingly able to swiftly move on from some of those once closest to her. Most notoriously ‘Markled’ has been her father Thomas, 79, after he sold paparazzi pictures of himself preparing for his daughter’s wedding.

In the Beckhams’ case, there was a suspicion the couple may have leaked stories about the Sussexes, an accusation The Mail on Sunday has been told left David ‘absolutely bloody furious’. A source close to the Beckhams said: ‘David and Victoria went to Meghan and Harry’s wedding and were very supportive when Meghan arrived in the UK.’

The couples bonded because Izzy May, David Beckham’s communications director, was friends with Markus Anderson, chief membership officer for private social club Soho House, who helped arrange Meghan’s secret dates with Harry. But the accusations, which The Mail on Sunday has been told came in a tense phone call, fractured the Beckham friendship. The source added: ‘Any making up now is so unlikely.’

Meghan has simply moved on. She is now said to be ‘extremely close’ to cosmetics tycoon Victoria Jackson, a near neighbour at the Sussexes’ £11.5million Montecito, California, mansion, whose husband Bill Guthy spearheaded lucrative make-up brands launched by actress Jennifer Lopez and supermodel Cindy Crawford.

[From The Daily Mail]

So, what’s funny about this is that they think Harry and Meghan should have flown across the country just to watch an Inter Miami soccer game? British people really don’t understand the size of the United States. They don’t realize that the flight from California to Florida is a big, stupid slog. As for the Sussexes accusing the Beckhams of leaking stuff… where? When? How? I kind of think the Beckhams leaked the story about the Sussexes being invited to Brooklyn’s wedding, but that whole wedding drama was chaos from start to finish, so who even knows (Serena Williams was there, randomly, because Florida). That’s a pretty harmless leak, if that was even what happened. Anyway, this just serves as a reminder that the British media is desperate for sources close to the Sussexes and the Beckhams too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Barbie is continuing to dominate the box office. In just nine days, it crossed the $300 million mark, making it the fastest female-driven movie to do so domestically. Woo-hoo! I finally saw Barbie this weekend (without my kids) and loved it! It was a hot pink ball of fun and feelings. It was particularly awesome to see how many women were dressed in pink to celebrate the movie. There were even several men, including Mr. Rosie, who wore pink, too. I love when movies like this become a cultural event, you know? To have a nice thing to rally around in society during otherwise frustrating times.

*Mild spoilers ahead.* I’m around the same age as Greta Gerwig and played with Barbie dolls non-stop as a kid. I love how many Barbies (and Kens, Skipper, etc. al) were represented, and that even the end credits had more obscure ones. I loved America Ferrara’s speech, the musical montages, the Ken-off, the soundtrack, the existential questions it posed, and of course, the powerful overall message it had. Turns out, among all of those zany hijinks that went on in Barbieland, we could have had a fart opera!

If you watched “Barbie” and thought it was missing a proper fart joke, then you might’ve loved one scene that Greta Gerwig and editor Nick Houy left on the cutting room floor.

In a new IndieWire interview with the collaborators, it was revealed that “Barbie” had a “fart opera” in the middle of its runtime that got cut because it wasn’t received as well as Gerwig hoped.

“We’ve always tried to get in a proper fart joke and we’ve never done it,” Gerwig said. “We had like a fart opera in the middle [of ‘Barbie’]. I thought it was really funny. And that was not the consensus.”

“It was in the wrong place, too,” Houy added. “We need to work it into a more significant narrative moment next time.”

Houy has been the editor on all of Gerwig’s solo directorial outings, but “Barbie” presented unique challenges.

“[‘Barbie’] was so much more a comedy than ‘Lady Bird’ and ‘Little Women,’” Houy said about opening up more to the test screening process. “So we were just, like, ‘Let’s put it in front of people and see how they react.’ Everyone’s different and every screening’s different and we’ve definitely learned, over the years, that you really have to let things have their fair chance and then act accordingly. Once you know it’s dead, you have got to get it out of there.”

Whatever choices Gerwig and Houy made in the editing room as a result of test screenings appears to have paid off. “Barbie” has earned critical acclaim and is a box office powerhouse, soaring past the $200 million mark at the domestic box office in just five days. Its $162 million opening weekend is the highest ever for a female director.

[From Variety]

I would LOVE to know where that fart opera was supposed to happen, and its context. I wonder if was supposed to happen when the Kens were forming their Kendom? Was it a part of the Ken dance-off? Kate McKinnon seems like she’d be down for a fart opera, so maybe it was part of Weird Barbie’s story? Anyone have any ideas or theories? #ReleaseTheGerwigFartCut!

Oh, and just an aside for anyone else who is into this sort of thing like I am, when I Googled how old Greta Gerwig was, I realized that she has the same birthday as the Duchess of Sussex and President Obama, August 4. I just thought that was a neat bit of trivia.

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I’ve been a Mandy Moore fan since her first album. I liked that she seemed lowkey and I’ve always rooted for her and her career. I saw A Walk to Remember with my high school best friend on my birthday and loved that soundtrack. Mandy’s been through a lot, but it seems like she’s really happy and in a great place now. She has two adorable boys named Gus, two, and Ozzie, nine months, with her husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith. In a recent interview, Mandy talked about how she and Taylor have their hands full raising their two boys.

Raising two toddlers is definitely a walk Mandy Moore will remember fondly.

However, the This Is Us alum—who shares sons August “Gus” Harrison, 2, and Oscar “Ozzie” Bennett, 9 months, with husband Taylor Goldsmith—isn’t afraid to admit that wrangling two young boys can be a handful.

“Somedays I feel like we’re barely above water,” Moore exclusively told E! News on the July 25 episode. “The potty training is intense, but we’re slowly but surely getting there. I love that someone told me, ‘It’s not an event, it’s a process.’”

And it’s one the 39-year-old makes sure to savor, despite the challenges of parenting.
“My husband and I were saying the other night we’re gonna look back fondly and be like, ‘Remember when he didn’t pee in the potty?!’” she continued. “So, I’m trying to be present and really appreciate all this time we have together now.”

[From EOnline]

Oh, Mandy, I feel ya, girl! Potty training was a process with my older son. A very long, frustrating process that took almost two years. He had the overnights down pretty early on, but still struggled during the day. We tried everything from incentives and rewards charts to having him go pantsless at home to having him sit on a little potty in front of the TV. We must have watched or played the Daniel Tiger potty song a gazillion times. But, of course, every child is different and does things on their own timetable. Gus will get there, Mandy! And trust me, there will be many things you look back fondly on from those early years, but the pre-potty trained times probably won’t be one of them.

Also, for what it’s worth, my younger son has always been determined to keep up with everyone around him and basically daytime potty trained himself at age two, while we were home during the pandemic. He saw his older brother use the potty, decided he was going to use it as well, and never looked back. It was an event that we didn’t even plan for. I’ll cross my fingers for Mandy and Taylor that Ozzie’s potty training experience is also more of an event than a process!

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In January and February of this year, the Princess of Wales “launched” the latest variation of her “awareness-raising campaign” for Early Years. Every year for the past four years, she’s been relaunching this dumb thing, which always amounts to the same thing: the Early Years are important, did you know those years are important, let me tell you that they’re very important. That’s it. Kate has never tied these campaigns to a fundraiser for any of the child-development programs which are being slashed. Kate has never tied these campaigns to direct action of any kind. This year, people finally started criticizing her for her busy-work. The busy-work has always lacked substance, lacked urgency, lacked direction, lacked a mission. Credible experts were actually fed up, and American outlets even lodged some pointed criticism at Princess BusyWork. Kate hasn’t even mentioned Early Years anything in months, right? Well, good news – a government committee cited Kate for special acknowledgement for… raising awareness.

Kate Middleton is being celebrated by U.K. Parliament. The Princess of Wales, 41, was recognized for raising awareness around the importance of the early years in the House of Commons Education Committee’s “Support for childcare and the early years” report, released last week. Princess Kate got a shout-out for the ongoing work of her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, established in June 2021 and the most significant step in her long-term mission to help kids and parents.

“The Princess of Wales has done important work to raise the profile of the Early Years through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Its 2020 report ‘State of the Nation: Understanding Public Attitudes to the Early Years’ stressed the importance of elevating the importance of the early years period in the public consciousness,” the Education Committee said in the paper, published July 18.

“The ECEC sector is independent, multi-faceted and diverse, and does not always benefit from the same structural lines of communication through local authorities as the school sector. More outreach and strong channels of communication between the sector and the Government are needed to ensure that practitioners feel both valued and heard,” it continued. The committee also suggested that change is needed to improve low morale among early years practitioners, particularly around pay.

[From People]

“More outreach and strong channels of communication between the sector and the Government are needed to ensure that practitioners feel both valued and heard.” See, Kate can’t even do that. She can’t even use her position to center the underpaid, undervalued early-years practitioners. Because she’s too busy taking credit for their work and pretending that she alone is “raising awareness.” Anyway, this is the kind of treading-water gold star that bureaucracies love to give. Kate isn’t challenging anyone in government, she’s not bringing up uncomfortable questions about the lack of funding for children’s programs or working families. She’s seen as a good little girl who does safe little nonsense projects and everyone pats her on the head and says “how delightfully apolitical, how unimportant.”

Note by CB: Get the Top 8 stories about Princess Kate’s Early Years Business Initiatives when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace, Cover Images.

To recap what we know thus far, Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande’s affair began several months ago on the set of Wicked. While I believe Ariana’s marriage to Dalton Gomez was pretty much over in all but name, Slater was very much with his wife, Lilly Jay, at the time. Lilly and Ethan welcomed their first child last year, and Lilly and the baby even visited the London set of Wicked. Reportedly, Lilly even spoke to Ariana, let Ari hold the baby and talked to Ari about how Ari wants a baby. Ari was even “liking” Lilly’s Instagram posts at the same time Ari and Ethan were carrying on. Ethan reportedly only told Lilly about his affair just days before Ari’s team broke the news to People Mag. What followed that People Mag story has been non-stop drama, mostly because Lilly Jay is not going away quietly. Lilly spoke on the record to Page Six, saying that Ariana is “not a girl’s girl” and that the real story is Ariana and Dalton’s split. Ethan and Ari then ran straight to TMZ to complain:

Ethan Slater may be done with his marriage, but he “desperately” wants to co-parent his nearly 1-year-old child with soon-to-be ex-wife Lilly Jay … sources connected to Ethan tell TMZ. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Ethan has been talking to Lilly daily, mostly about their little boy. We’re told Ethan spent a lot of time with his son in London after he had split with Lilly, and is determined to have a major presence in the boy’s life.

Our sources say Lilly told Ethan repeatedly she was down with co-parenting. Ethan, we’re told, asked Lilly about issuing a joint statement saying they were committed to co-parenting their son, but Lilly wanted to defer releasing the statement, at least for now.

We’re also told Lilly had assured Ethan she didn’t know where various media leaks were emanating from, so he was more than surprised to read Thursday that Lilly spoke with Page Six, calling Ariana Grande “not a girl’s girl,” adding her family was “collateral damage.”

Sources tell us Lilly told Ethan she did not understand what it meant that she was on the record when she made the comments. It’s unclear what Lilly’s position is regarding co-parenting, but Ethan adamantly wants to raise his son.

TMZ broke the story … Ethan filed for divorce on Wednesday. If they’re at odds on who raises the child, ultimately a judge will decide.

[From TMZ]

This is the dumbest, most obvious deflection from Ethan Slater, a man who cheated on his recently postpartum wife with Ariana Grande. “Let’s talk about co-parenting!” No, let’s talk about how you’re carrying on with Ariana Grande behind your wife’s back and you’ve been lying about it and publicly gaslighting your wife about when your marriage fell apart. Meanwhile, Ariana wants everyone to know that she’s not even hanging out with Ethan at the moment:

Ariana Grande hasn’t seen her boyfriend Ethan Slater in person for awhile … because he’s preoccupied with his estranged wife and their divorce, and she’s giving him space to work things out.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Ariana and her ‘Wicked’ costar haven’t been in the same city for several weeks. Ethan’s currently in New York, trying to navigate the end of his marriage with estranged wife, Lilly Jay.

Our sources say Ariana is coming to Los Angeles this weekend. We’re told she and Ethan want to see each other, but that’s not in the cards for the immediate future.

While Ariana and Ethan haven’t spent time in person for a minute now, our sources say they are 100% still dating.

[From TMZ]

This story came out about a day after the Daily Mail published exclusive photos of Ethan and Ariana walking arm-in-arm together in the UK, at the Soho Farmhouse. Those photos are from three weeks before Ari’s people revealed her relationship/affair with Ethan. So… Ari has been alone in London this week, furiously briefing the media about her dramatic affair, all while Ethan has been in New York, and he’s also furiously briefing the media. Meanwhile, Lilly has been telling her story far and wide to ensure that Ari’s narrative isn’t the only one out there. Such chaos… Ari definitely isn’t bored. Yet. That’s the thing, though – while I’m 100% behind Lilly doing and saying whatever she wants, the minute that she stops engaging with Ariana and ignores the whole situation is when Ariana will get bored and dump Ethan.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

At some point last week, Christine Baumgartner returned home from her Hawaiian vacation with one of Kevin Costner’s good friends and neighbors. Christine and Kevin’s kids were also on the vacation, and as soon as they returned to Carpinteria, Kevin took the kids to Aspen for a separate summer holiday. My guess is that Costner told Christine to be completely moved out of their Carpinteria house by the time he returned. That’s what the judge ordered too – Christine needs to be out by Monday, the end of July. On Friday and Saturday, U-Hauls and moving vans were seen at Costner’s estate and TMZ has all the photos. People Mag had an exclusive about where Christine is going now:

Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine is officially relocating. On Friday — a day after Christine, 49, was pictured running errands in Montecito, California — moving trucks were seen leaving the $145 million Santa Barbara compound that she has shared with Costner, 68, and their children during her 18-year marriage to the actor in photos obtained by Page Six and other outlets.

“Christine is following the legal advice per the prenup and is vacating the family house,” a source confirms to PEOPLE, adding that she “will stay at a smaller house on the property that’s been used as a staff quarter.”

“This is a temporary solution,” the insider adds. “She is still looking for another house. She is staying in the area to not disrupt the kids’ lives. They will be back at school in the fall with their friends. Christine is trying to keep everything as normal as possible. Her sole focus is the kids,” the source tells PEOPLE.

[From People]

Christine “will stay at a smaller house on the property that’s been used as a staff quarter.” That’s something I’ve never understood about Costner’s insistence that Christine vacate every one of his homes – Kevin owns a huge amount of real estate, and he’s purchased other homes close to their $145 million mansion, homes which he uses as “staff quarters,” editing bays and offices. Why was the situation never “Christine should move out of the mansion in a reasonable amount of time and move into one of the smaller properties?” Don’t tell me – it’s because Kevin Costner is a vindictive a–hole who was hellbent on punishing her for leaving him. At least Christine gets to “stay” in one of those smaller homes now. Ten bucks says he’s making her pay rent.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

The rumors about Leonardo DiCaprio and Neelam Gill started around the Cannes Film Festival. People saw them together at one of the hotels, and while the rumors weren’t very specific, it did seem interesting. Neelam is 28 years old and British-Indian. Leo seemed to raise his age cutoff to 29, so I thought it was more than possible that Neelam and Leo were actually happening, especially since Neelam kept flying out to Leo’s location. A month ago, she was on Leo’s yacht for several days, alongside friends and Leo’s parents. In recent days, she’s been back on his yacht as the boat makes its way around Sardinia. Again, other people are around and there seems to be several model-looking women on the yacht. Which brings me to this: Neelam is now formally denying that she’s Leo’s new girlfriend.

Neelam Gill is putting those Leonardo DiCaprio romance rumors to rest. On Friday, the model and DiCaprio were spotted yachting together in Sardinia, sparking speculation that the pair was an item. Just hours after the two were pictured together, Gill, 28, took to Instagram to speak her truth.

“Just to clear up any rumors… I am not Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘new flame,’ ” the activist wrote. “In fact, I am in a committed relationship with his good friend, and have been for many months now. The only reason we have been pictured in the same vicinity is because I have been there with my partner. I hope this clears up all the false stories.”

The last time DiCaprio, 48, and Gill were spotted together was in the presence of The Wolf of Wall Street actor’s other rumored fling, Gigi Hadid. In June, the models arrived at an up-scale London restaurant first, followed by DiCaprio and his parents moments later.

[From People]

The first rule of Leo D’s Girlfriend Experience is that you don’t talk about Leo. That being said, when he has an official girlfriend, she’s always free to confirm the news and she usually does just that (think Camila Morrone and Kelly Rohrbach). It would be a new thing if Leo really was dating Neelam and she just denied it outright on her social media. So… Leo is not dating a Desi girl. But he’s good friends with Neelam’s boyfriend or girlfriend. Hm.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.

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Michelle Yeoh married Jean Todt after a nineteen-year engagement! [Just Jared]
The Emmy Awards have been postponed because of the strikes. [Seriously OMG]
Mick Jagger turned 80 years old this week. [LaineyGossip]
The Sopranos’ sole out-gay character has been made into a doll. [OMG Blog]
Discussing the sex scenes in Oppenheimer. [Pajiba]
Sofia Vergara & Joe Manganiello are fighting over custody of their dog? [Socialite Life]
The Paris Olympics are one year away! Get hyped!! [Go Fug Yourself]
Funny internet finds of the week (some of these are old). [Buzzfeed]
Madonna is back to terrorizing people on social media. [Towleroad]
Spotlight on Angelina Jolie. [RCFA]