One of many largest tales to return out of Golden Globethe primary official pink carpet occasion of the 12 months, wasn’t for an award or a shock, however reasonably an adjunct on Zendaya’s left ring finger.
Every week earlier, on December 31, pop star Dua Lipa posted a carousel on Instagram that featured photo of her holding a drink with a spherical diamond set on a stable gold band on her left hand. (Her earlier publish was a uncommon picture of her breaking apart with actor Callum Turner. They first sparked romance rumors in January 2024.)
And on January 1, actress Chloë Grace Moretz posted photo on what gave the impression to be her hand intertwined with that of her associate, mannequin Kate Harrison, each carrying diamond rings. Ms Moretz has been very non-public about her relationship with Ms Harrison, though the pair fueled relationship rumors in December 2018 when TMZ filmed them in Malibu.
Neither of those girls have spoken publicly about an engagement — there was no flash announcement or affirmation. However that did not cease the web from going wild. Fan-made compilations and titles citing affirmation from “anonymous sources close to the couple” made the rounds on the web.
Can a star put on a hoop on their ring finger with out being stalked?
“Completely not,” mentioned Moya Luckett, a media historian and professor of superstar tradition at New York College. “We have gotten to some extent the place everyone seems to be so good at analyzing all these clues, together with a number of pink herrings. It is one thing that simply comes with the territory within the digital media age.”
From a public relations perspective, hypothesis shouldn’t be solely anticipated, however desired. “If you happen to’re a star, the press wants to speak about you,” mentioned Anita Chatterjee, founding father of A-Sport Public Relations, a New York-based agency. “I’d be involved if certainly one of my clients was carrying one thing like that and there was no hypothesis.”
Zendaya, who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her function in Challengers, met her co-star Tom Holland on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when he performed the superhero and she or he partnered. as his love curiosity. The 2 denied relationship rumors for years, till paparazzi photographs published by Page Six in July 2021 confirmed the 2 kissing in a automotive. The couple hardly ever shares particulars about their relationship, apart from a couple of comments and social media posts.
Some have speculates that the ring is the work of knickknack designer Jessica McCormack, who additionally designed an engagement ring for actress Zoe Kravitz. On her websiteMs. McCormack has a hoop much like the one Zendaya flashed on the Golden Globes. Ann Grimmett, vice chairman of merchandising at Jared Jeweler, mentioned the ring Zendaya was carrying gave the impression to be a five-carat classic mine that price round $120,000.
Previously 12 months, Dr Luckett mentioned she had observed that for a lot of celebrities now, “the luxurious is to carry again – you do not need to be too accessible and the knowledge would not need to be accessible”. It is a method for celebrities to construct a mystique and differentiate themselves from on a regular basis influencers, she added.
“The important thing determine, in a method, is Kylie Jenner,” Dr. Luckett mentioned, “who has gone from being omnipresent to sort of this relationship with Timothée Chalamet that started off as ‘Is it or is not it?'”
It is a pattern for a star couple to attempt to reside their non-public lives away from the general public eye till they resolve to throw their followers a bone, a tactic to regulate the narrative of their lives within the digital media age.
“As we speak now we have far more of that sort of citizen journalistic ethos – everyone seems to be free to remark,” Dr Luckett mentioned, whereas earlier than “there was far more of an institutional construction the place studios, administration and the press labored collectively to regulate what info received out .”
Take Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s engagement for instance. For his or her first engagement in 2002. Ms. Lopez broke the information in a televised interview with Diane Sawyer in a media ecosystem the place info got here from the highest. The second time, Ms. Lopez made the revelation in a e-newsletter she shared on social media.
In accordance with Ms. Chatterjee, celebrities are cautious about what they are saying after they discuss their private lives, and there’s a technique behind each message.
“We need to management the messaging and there’s a time to say the whole lot,” Ms Chatterjee mentioned. “You need to keep within the press. This may be a great way to trace at it till she’s prepared to speak about it if she actually is engaged.
Representatives for Zendaya, Ms. Lipa and Ms. Moretz didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. Individuals journal reported affirmation of Zendaya’s engagement from an undisclosed household supply.
Not each superstar is so low-key. A month in the past, Selena Gomez took to the highway with a dramatic reveal on social media, kicking off engagement season Instagram post flaunting her diamond marquise ring and captioning her engagement to Benny Blanco, a document producer and songwriter.
The couple appeared on the Golden Globes. Ms. Gomez adopted that up as a visitor on “Jimmy Kimmel Stay,” and her engagement got here up a number of occasions. Nonetheless, she seemed visibly uncomfortable when Mr. Kimmel introduced her with a “daddy saddle” as an engagement reward.
