6 days ago
From Zara & Louis to Liz & Billy, how celebs are following Gen Z trend and ‘hard-launching' their new relationships
WHEN David and Victoria Beckham announced their engagement in 1998, they memorably held a press conference to tell the world their happy news.
Britain's most famous couple posed gleefully for the cameras – but such scenes would be unthinkable in today's age of 'soft' and 'hard' launching on social media.
Those terms, which now form part of Gen Z's terminology, are used to express how youngsters and celebs announce their relationships to the world by sharing pictures online.
Soft-launching mean they drop hints about their romance without explicitly telling their social media followers what is going on.
A hard launch, meanwhile, is a clear display of a couple's love, such as plastering a picture of themselves together on their Instagram profile.
Here, we take a look at some recent showbiz romances which emerged on social media.
Gigi & Bradley
11
MODEL Gigi Hadid posted a passionate snog with her actor beau Bradley Cooper on her 30th birthday in May.
Romance rumours first surfaced in October 2023 after they were photographed after dinner in New York.
But it was only three months ago when Gigi landed a smacker on Brad – who is 20 years her senior – that the pair hard-launched their romance.
Zara & Louis
11
THE Sun first revealed former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson was dating Strictly star Zara McDermott in March after they were spotted going out for dinner.
They partied at Glastonbury together but remained tight-lipped. Zara soft-launched their romance on Instagram last month by wearing a necklace with the initial 'L'.
They hard-launched on Monday when Zara, 28, uploaded a selfie of them kissing, with Louis, 33, commenting: 'I love you x.'
Watch the moment proud boyfriend Louis Tomlinson is spotted supporting Zara McDermott as she takes to the stage at Glastonbury
11
Paul & Gracie
SINGER Gracie Abrams last year insisted gossip about her and actor Paul Mescal 'has nothing to do with me'.
At the LA premiere of Paul's movie Gladiator II in November, they did not walk the red carpet as a couple.
It wasn't until June that Gracie, 25, made a hard launch with a sweet video of her on the shoulders of hunk Paul, 29, at Glastonbury.
11
Leah & Elle
RIDING the wave of last month's Euros victory, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson's girlfriend Elle Smith shared a snap of them cosying up together in bikinis – an intimate image which marked the hard launch of their relationship.
It came after a soft-launch video clip in March of the pair relaxing on a paddleboard. Elle, 27, wrote 'happy birthday my love' in the caption – but the face of former Miss USA Elle, 27, was obscured, setting tongues wagging over her identity.
Channing & Inka
RUMOURS of Hollywood heart-throb Channing Tatum finding love with Inka Williams began when they left a pre-Oscars party together in February.
It came just months after his three-year relationship with his actress fiancee Zoe Kravitz ended.
And Australian model Inka, 25, confirmed Channing had moved on when she hard-launched their relationship on his 45th birthday in April, writing on Instagram: 'Happy life to the handsomest, kindest, funniest, stupidest most gorgeous human ever!!!'
Liz & Billy
11
LIZ HURLEY'S 3.2million Instagram followers were stunned when she posted a photo of US country singer Billy Ray Cyrus kissing her in April.
Many of them thought the hard-launch image was computer-generated as their romance seemed so unlikely.
But Austin Powers star Liz, 60, and Billy, 63, look to be going strong – with the couple holding hands on the red carpet on Wednesday at a premiere for reality series The Inheritance, in which Liz stars.
