Last Thursday, People Magazine, Hello and several French media outlets got a heads-up that Charlotte Casiraghi had dumped her fiancé and baby-daddy Gad Elmaleh. People Mag seemed very sure of it, like they had gotten the nod from a press secretary in the royal palace in Monaco. But just hours after the breakup reports swirled, Charlotte and Gad stepped out in Saint Tropez. And when I say “stepped out,” I mean they were putting on a real show. They knew the cameras were there and they made an effort to look loved up. So what happened? Did the sources get it wrong? Interestingly enough, People Mag sort of doubled down, even in the wake of photo evidence to the contrary.

Charlotte Casiraghi is back in the saddle – and in the arms of her longtime love. Just days after the Monaco royal, 28, moved out of the Paris apartment she shared with her boyfriend of more than three years, French comedian-actor Gad Elmaleh, the pair turned up together in Saint Tropez on Friday with their 17-month-old son, Raphaël.

Casiraghi is in St. Tropez for the Athina Onassis Jumping Competition and on Thursday took a nasty spill from her horse. But she looked far happier on Friday, where she joined Elmaleh in the VIP grandstand between two of her jumps and the pair had their arms comfortably around each other. Sources who confirmed to PEOPLE that Casiraghi had left the couple’s shared residence and settled back in Monaco with her son maintain there was always the possibility of a patch-up.

“They split – but no one knows how love works,” says one friend. “They have strong feelings, a strong attraction, for each other. They have a child together and hopefully they’ll get back together. It’s possible. No one can say.”

Earlier on Friday, the couple went for a stroll in the Mediterranean village with Raphaël. Confounding a firestorm of French media reports concerning couple’s split, “they looked very happy together with their son,” says an observer. “Things seems very cool and loving between them.”

Casiraghi raised eyebrows when she attended the Cannes Film Festival alone last month. Following the festival, she returned to Paris but soon departed.

“They haven’t been seen together for some time,” says the friend, “but what has happened between last weekend and then Monday – when Charlotte was at [Paris] Orly Airport with her son and her suitcases – and Friday morning in Saint Tropez, no one knows. Look, they’re a young couple – only together three, three-and-a-half years. What couple do you know hasn’t problems to work through?”

[From People]

Ah, I see. The vibe I’m getting is Charlotte and Gad had some kind of major blowout after months of distance, arguments and petty disagreements, and she grabbed their son and headed to Monaco. And Gad followed her to make up, because that’s what she wanted. She wanted to force the moment to its crisis and have some drama. So, will this reconciliation last? Hm… if I had to guess, I would say no. But it will last a bit longer than I previously expected.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.