Lily James and Sebastian Stan have incredible chemistry. That much is clear from their performance in Pam & Tommy, which debuted on Disney Plus this week. Naturally, fans of the show have started shipping them together in real life; thirst TikTok’s being posted in their honour zooming in on every longing gaze from their press tour together.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan’s real-life chemistry may seem obvious from a heavily edited clip put to a sexy soundtrack, as it does in Pam & Tommy, but in actual fact, both are currently in serious relationships.
Sebastian has been dating Spanish actor and model Alejandra Onieva since 2020, confirming their relationship as recently as November on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Lily was spotted beaming alongside her boyfriend Michael Shuman just yesterday – a 36-year-old musician who plays bass for Queens of the Stone Age – whom she has been linked to since early 2021.
Why then, is ‘Lily James affair’ a breakout search term on Google this morning? Type ‘Pam and Tommy’ into Google Trends and you’ll note that ‘Lily James affair’ is the second highest search term related to the show, up in searches by 180%. It’s a phrase we’ve noticed repeated a lot when a project of hers debuts on our TV screens, similar search terms popping up when her period drama The Pursuit of Love aired on BBC iPlayer.
There are two potential conclusions to draw from this peak in search. Either people are so allured by Lily and Sebastian’s romance in Pam & Tommy that they’re jumping to the conclusion the pair must be having an affair in real-life, or they cannot let go of the ghost of Lily James affair-laden romantic past – or so it was rumoured.
It’s a narrative that has begun to Lily wherever she goes. In 2019, the Daily Mail reported that Lily James and Armie Hammer had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ while filming Rebecca in the summer of 2019. Armie had been married to Elizabeth Chambers at the time – they announced their separation in July 2020 – while Lily was still assumed to be dating Doctor Who star Matt Smith.
Then, in October 2020, Lily was pictured kissing Dominic West, her co-star in The Pursuit of Love. While Lily’s relationship status was unknown at the time, Dominic had been married to landscape designer Catherine FitzGerald since 2010. The couple released a statement following the pictures going viral, insisting that their ‘marriage is strong’.
Of course, a scandal that big is bound to follow the actors involved, but it’s interesting to note the way Lily James is consistently framed as the ‘seductress’ of these encounters – even now, when no such evidence of any kind of romantic relationship with her current-co-star has even been rumoured.
The Armie Hammer affair rumours were just that: rumours. With Dominic West, he was the one actually having an affair, Lily had no romantic commitments known at the time. Yet, it’s her name that constantly pops up in relationship to adultery. It’s her face, her eyes, her mouth that’s being zoomed in on in thirsty TikTok videos with Sebastian Stan – presumably all used with the intention to portray her as the sexy vixen male co-stars simply can’t help but stray for.
In actual fact, it’s unfair to Lily – her work ethic, talent and the career she’s built so far – to constantly align her acting projects with the tales of her romantic past. We should be celebrating her acting ability, not thirsting over whether she might end up with Sebastian Stan IRL and once again become the centre of a reputation-destroying affair scandal.
So, let’s leave the ‘Lily James affair’ narrative alone and enjoy the art she is giving us – if that’s not problematic either, but more on that here…
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