Photo: Instagram
Y'know, nobody asked for this.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Nov 28, 2019
We're seriously convinced that there's a bar somewhere in New York City where publicists meet, drink absinthe until they think they're talking to Edgar Allen Poe, and come up with the craziest relationship pairings in history. Sure, an are-they-or-aren't-they relationship makes sense between two co-stars, but less so when it's a Stranger Things star and a British pop star. (Was Winona Ryder unavailable for a PR relationship?)
Are David Harbour and Lily Allen engaged? After months of speculation, the pop star was seen wearing what appears to be an engagement ring on her finger!
So, let's look at what we know about this latest pairing:
1. Harbour and Allen reportedly started dating a few months ago.
Rumors started flying when the two were seen hanging out at Allen's hometown of London. They saw a performance of The Lehman Trilogy, then left during intermission and got into a cab together.
2. They were also together during his SNL appearance.
While hosting Saturday Night Live back in October, the newly loved-up duo was also spotted together, where Allen shared exclusive close-up shots of Harbour's muscles on her Instagram story while captioning it "mine."
3. Even though Allen's been single for a while, Harbour only recently "consciously uncoupled."
Harper's Bazaar did us all the favor and broke down the relationship timeline between Lily Allen and David Harbour. In January of this year, Allen announced she was "single" for the first time since she was 15 years old after breaking up with DJ Meridian Dan.
However, Harbour was dating Alison Sudol, best known for her work on the Fantastic Beasts movies, until a few months ago. Coincidentally, his split from Sudol coincided with the first time he was caught "smooching" Lily Allen.
4. The couple hasn't made it "social media official" yet.
For better or worse, a couple isn't considered "official" unless they make it social media official. Though neither party has posted photos of them together, Harbour did make a post of a screenshot of Allen featured in a tabloid.
Photo: Instagram
Harbour captioned it, "Looks like SOMEONE had to take a walk around the block alone because she sucks at mortal kombat #crybaby" to which Allen commented, "RHUDE."
Allen also posted a photo in her Instagram story of the two at Disneyland.
Photo: Instagram
5. Allen was spotted with a large ring on her finger.
Earlier this month while taking a walk, Allen was seen wearing a “statement” piece of jewelry, rumored to be an engagement ring. And though there’s some doubt that the two are getting married, seeing as how they’ve only been “dating” a short time and both ended long-term relationships, we probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet, right?
6. But it may be a publicity stunt.
Nothing is more annoying than a celebrity couple that claims to be "low key" but manages to somehow "leak" to the press that they're somewhere, and they're always somewhere public. One of the biggest "tells" of a PR relationship is that the celebrities in question only appear together in public — they never share any "normal couple" photos. (This is not to say that a celebrity should share every intimate detail of his or her life, but it is to say that even celebrities stay home and do a Netflix and chill date.)
Yet, as Elle reports, Harbour and Allen always seem to be snapped out and about in public — like the time they went to a boxing game together. "Allen and Harbour headed to the 02 arena to watch a boxing match between Vasily Lomachenko and Luke Campbell. The pair were the ultimate low-key A-list couple, opting to get to the east London venue by tube and were later spotted on TV smiling in the audience," the report said.
(By the way, take a look of a picture of the "happy couple" below. She looks desperate to get away.)
7. PR relationships are a lot more common in the entertainment industry.
Few, if any, people outside of Hollywood really understand the nature of "celebrity dating relationships." While many people believe that celebrities lead glamorous, enviable lives, the reality is, celebrity lives are more controlled by outside forces (managers, agents, marketers, publicists, sponsors) than anything else.
The level of control extends to their "personal relationships" as well — and it's very common for celebrities to suddenly be "dating" each other to further their careers. Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and Tiffany and Jonathan Knight, are two examples of PR relationships in the entertainment industry in the past.
But for every "PR relationship" that turns into something real — Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, for example — there are countless more that, according to Vice, turn into a "spectacular s***show." The most infamous example is the Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston coupling (known derisively as Hiddleswift), but other examples include Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill.
And, certainly, whenever you see a "couple" that comes out of nowhere, that only appears in public together with other celebrities and never posts any private photos, that live a significant distance from one another, and that immediately make you scratch your head and say "huh?" it's safe to say that there's a "PROmance."
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series.