Whomst does she burn for? WHOMST!

DEAREST GENTLE READER, we have entered a Bridgerton drought due to Netflix rudely deciding to make us all wait for season 3 part 2, and all there is to do is (1) watch the carriage scene repeatedly (2) spoil ourselves with the Bridgerton books, and (3) obsess over who the cast is dating in real life/wonder if they’re dating each other. Which, in some cases, they definitely are:

And while we’ve covered Luke Newton’s dating history over this way, we are gathered here today to pull a Lady Whistledown and dive into Nicola Coughlan’s personal life (respectfully, of course!). Starting with the question on everyone’s mind, it seems:

Who Is Nicola Dating Currently?

Our forever Derry Girl (IYKYK) keeps her private life private, so…no one knows if she’s dating, let alone who she’s dating. Sorry!

Um, is love officially over?

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Nicola and Luke Are “Just Friends”

Listen. We know everyone wants Colin and Penelope to be together IRL, but it’s not happening! An insider spoke to People and confirmed the pair are “just friends” and while they are “supportive co-stars for each other,” they are definitively “not dating.”

Nicola Actually Addressed Those ^ Rumors

“We think it’s really sweet, I think because we truly love each other, you know what I mean?” she told Extra at the Bridgerton premiere. “He is a really special person in my life, and I got to do this experience with him. I’ll never get to do something like this again, on this scale. Like are you kidding me? Like, we’re here in New York City, having our premiere. So it’s so nice having such a lovely friend that I can do all this with.”

‘Bridgerton’s’ Nicola Couglan REACTS to Luke Newton Dating Rumors (Exclusive) thumnail

So Why Do Fans Still Think They’re Dating?

For one, their on-screen chemistry. But also, their off-screen chemistry. Like, have you watched any of Luke and Nicola’s interviews together? Here she is chatting about how good and steamy their kissing scenes were:

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And she also told SiriusXM back in April, “We would be like, in between scenes, and they were like, ‘Do you wanna get up and put your clothes on?’ We’re like, ‘We’ll just chill here.’ Like, in under the blankets. But then we have the advantage of knowing each other for years.”

What Has Nicola Said About Her Dating Life?

Not much, TBH! But she did tell Marie Claire re:dating in the Regency era versus now: “I think nowadays they smell better. That’s what I always think about the past…we think of it as so romantic and lovely, but then there was no personal hygiene. [It’s] good because we have a choice now, but then there’s that thing of the paradox of choice. We have too much choice, it’s not good. So, there’s probably good and bad things for both.”

Truer words. Now off to re-watch Polin scenes, bye bye.