Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe. Alexa Chung and Alex Turner. Some celebrity couples, you just don’t come back from. More so, when the lore to their love is one that fuels our endless nostalgia for a time that once was. Each duo seemed to be a match made in heaven; every stolen pap or tabloid piece of news obsessively discussed and immortalised in one way or another. Like that time-eternal capture of Depp and Ryder locking eyes at the Golden Globes in 1991. Or the famous love letter Turner wrote to Chung, that forever incited a Tumblr fever of when Alex met Alexa. With equal disregard to how they may all have ended, a new celebrity couple to obsess over might just be what we’ve been missing in recent years. But amid the frenzy of the 81st Venice Film Festival, a little sliver of hope prevails. For it seems a new It-couple has arrived in our midst: Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge.
The first inklings of their relationship began in the later months of 2023, when Partridge and Rodrigo were first seen in London together. Since then, the Enola Holmes actor has been spotted in the crowd at the pop star’s end-year performances and Guts tour concerts, the pair have been on multiple date nights across London and Los Angeles, and of course, there’s that intimate petrol station pap that could make any woman blush. Yet none of it was ever confirmed publicly, and the couple has been relatively under-the-radar, in their own sort of way.
Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge in Venice during the 81st Venice Film Festival. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/VRceHA73os
— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) August 29, 2024
But that’s all changed in Venice. As if to say they’re ready to go public now, the young couple has hard launched their relationship by stepping out hand in hand for the festival premiere of Apple TV+’s Disclaimer, which Partridge stars in. And boy…did they look good doing it. Serving major Twilight energy, the now-viral video of them making their way to the Lido di Venezia’s red carpet is no doubt our latest micro obsession, and the cinematic parallels to that one Edward and Bella scene is undeniable. Perhaps it’s Partridge’s likeness to Edward, their suave entry in sunglasses or the sea of star-struck onlookers encircling the love birds, cameras in tow.
Of course, Rodrigo’s palpable happiness with Partridge—and vice versa—seems to have been indefatigable now that they can scream about their relationship to the world. From the film screening to the private filmmaker’s dinner for Disclaimer, there have been endless captures of the couple happily taking videos and snaps of each other during the past weekend in Venice.
To top it all off? The English actor went Instagram official and posted a loving image of himself staring adoringly at his now-public girlfriend. And for what it’s worth, we’re absolutely living for Rodrigo’s lover era. We don’t want to make any assumptions but so far, everything seems to be painting a pretty portrait of a bubbly-sweet romance, with Partridge looking like an absolute green flag for the pop singer who’s known for her breakup anthems. So it certainly seems like a lover album is definitely in the cards…but for now? Alexa, play Supermassive Black Hole.
