Happy anniversary to Sam Stanley and Laurence Hicks, from historic coming-out to real-life love story

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Happy anniversary to Sam Stanley and Laurence Hicks, from historic coming-out to real-life love story

If your feed feels a little more romantic today, you’re not imagining it.

December 15 marks the wedding anniversary of former rugby pro Sam Stanley and his husband Laurence Hicks, who officially tied the knot on December 15, 2024 in St Albans, England.

And yes, we are absolutely raising a glass to one of queer sports culture’s most meaningful love stories. 🥂

From rugby history to husband life

Stanley made headlines back in 2015 when he became the first English rugby union professional player to publicly come out as gay while still active in the sport.

It was a huge moment, not just for rugby, but for every closeted kid watching from the stands and wondering if there was space for them in “tough guy” culture.

But the other part of his story has always been Laurence.

Sam and Laurence have been together since 2010, quietly building a life long before the world was watching.

They got engaged in 2017, and if you remember the noise around that at the time, you’ll also remember that Sam never once apologized for loving who he loved.

Then came the wedding in St Albans last December, described by Sam as an emotional day surrounded by family and friends, complete with that kind of joy that makes you want to cry in the group chat.

So what have they been up to lately?

Since the wedding, the two have been living in full “build a life together” mode, and it’s honestly kind of adorable.

A big part of their current chapter is Sicily, where they’ve been pouring energy into a major renovation project connected to their property dreams.

If you follow them online, you’ve probably seen updates from Borgo della Pineta and the surrounding area, with progress shots, heatwave workdays, and the very specific brand of “we’re exhausted but obsessed” energy that only renovations can create.

The project has been framed as a longer-term plan, with the couple aiming to turn the property into a welcoming stay for others down the line, which feels very on-brand for two people who have always built community around them.

It’s giving “soft life,” but with power tools.

Why this anniversary matters beyond the cute photos

It’s easy to call this “couple goals,” and sure, it is.

But it’s also bigger than that.

Queer people in sports don’t just need coming-out stories, we need stories that show what comes after.

We need the part where love becomes normal, public, celebrated, and boring in the best way.

We need anniversaries.

We need husbands.

We need the quiet years where the headline isn’t “gay rugby player,” it’s “two men living their life and building a home.”

Happy anniversary, you two

So today we’re sending love to Sam and Laurence on year one of married life, and a reminder to everyone else that queer joy isn’t just a moment, it’s a timeline.

Here’s to more years, more sunsets, more Sicily updates, and more proof that the bravest stories can still have the softest endings. 🌈💍

📷 IG: @ samstanleys

Fashion designer Premal Patel dies at 47, shared chilling warning about vaping weeks earlier

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Fashion designer Premal Patel dies at 47, shared chilling warning about vaping weeks earlier

Fashion designer Premal Patel, the founder and CEO of Australian label Runaway The Label, has died at the age of 47.

The brand confirmed his death in a tribute post, describing him as its visionary founder and leader.

UK outlet Daily Mail reported that Patel was found unresponsive at home and that a vaping device was found nearby, while authorities investigate and no official cause has been confirmed.

What makes this story especially haunting is that Patel had already spoken publicly about a terrifying health crisis just weeks earlier.

His November Instagram post reads differently now

In a long Instagram post shared in November, Patel wrote that he had been rushed into ICU with dangerously low oxygen levels and that his condition escalated across multiple hospital visits.

He said he spent a week in hospital going through test after test without clear answers.

He also described returning to emergency care soon after discharging himself and later ending up back in ICU again.

In the most alarming part, Patel wrote that he was placed into an induced coma and had tubes down into his lungs because the inflammation was so severe that his lungs could not absorb oxygen.

He described being on extremely high-flow support and said plainly that he was dying.

“Take this seriously.”

Patel used that post to deliver a stark message about vaping and the way people can underestimate risk until it becomes personal.

He wrote that if you vape and want to gamble with your life, keep vaping, then followed it with the line that he chooses life.

He said he would never put his loved ones through that kind of fear again.

He also wrote that the one thing he thought he had under control became the hardest battle of his life.

He urged people to take it seriously, adding that he always thought “that won’t happen to me,” but that it did.

He ended with a sentence that now feels painfully heavy: We are not invincible.

Who Premal Patel was and what he built

Patel wasn’t just “a designer,” he was a brand-builder and creative director who helped shape Runaway The Label into a recognizable name with a glossy, confident aesthetic and a loyal audience.

He was known for fashion that photographed well, travelled well, and made people feel like the main character, which is exactly why his pieces became so popular online and in influencer circles.

His work sat in that sweet spot between wearable and statement-making, with a strong eye for styling and a clear understanding of how modern fashion is sold through imagery as much as fabric.

A note on what we know and what we don’t

Because an official cause of death has not been publicly confirmed, it’s important not to turn this into speculation or a simplistic conclusion.

But the timeline matters, and the fact that Patel chose to speak openly about an ICU ordeal and warn others is significant context that deserves to be included with care.

Premal Patel leaves behind a fashion legacy, a brand he built, and words that many people are now reading as both a warning and a reminder to choose survival whenever you can.

📷 IG: @ prem_rnwy

Ben Platt just kicked off his Ahmanson residency in LA with a “theatre gay Christmas” guest list

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Ben Platt just kicked off his Ahmanson residency in LA with a “theatre gay Christmas” guest list

Ben Platt is officially back in Los Angeles, and he’s doing it the most Ben Platt way possible: big feelings, big vocals, and a stage full of surprise friends.

Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson is a limited run of 10 performances at the Ahmanson Theatre, running December 12–21, 2025.

The concept is simple and dangerous: a “greatest hits + Broadway favorites” concert with rotating special guests, and you don’t know who you’re getting until you’re seated.

Yes, Josh Groban showed up, and yes, it was a moment

One of the early guest appearances included Josh Groban joining Platt onstage, with reports noting a duet performance that sent the crowd into full theatre-kid meltdown mode.

And because Ben Platt is also the kind of person who can pivot from Broadway sincerity to pop culture chaos in one breath, he’s also been talked about for covering Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi” during the residency buzz.

In other words, this isn’t just a concert run, it’s a sparkling little holiday event for anyone who likes their music with a side of surprise.

Okay, but what about his partner and personal life?

Platt’s personal life is basically a rom-com written by someone who owns too many cast albums (affectionate).

He’s married to actor and singer Noah Galvin, who fans will recognize from TV roles and, yes, Broadway.

They didn’t meet as “celebrity couple goals,” they met years ago and built the relationship out of a long friendship before it turned romantic.

The cutest theatre-nerd detail is that Galvin later stepped into the title role in Dear Evan Hansen after Platt’s departure, which means they literally share a very specific Broadway legacy.

The wedding was very gay, very Jewish, and very “we’re still floating”

Platt and Galvin got married on September 1, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York.

The ceremony took place at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, and the celebration stretched across the weekend with events like a Shabbat dinner and multiple gatherings with friends and family.

Coverage of the wedding highlighted the Jewish traditions, the joy-forward energy, and the “we made this exactly us” vibe, which honestly is the dream.

Why this LA run feels extra sweet

Platt is an LA native, so doing a holiday residency at the Ahmanson hits like a homecoming, especially with his career now spanning film, TV, Broadway, and pop touring.

And if you’ve been following his more recent music, his album Honeymind has been explicitly linked to love, intimacy, and relationship-inspired songwriting, which makes this era feel softer and more settled.

So yes, this is a concert residency, but it also reads like a little victory lap for a queer artist who gets to be talented, adored, and publicly loved in the most uncomplicated way.

📷 IG: @ bensplatt / noahegalvin

Jonathan Bailey bought a ‘Wicked’ new seaside villa, and the vibe is pure coastal heartthrob

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Jonathan Bailey bought a ‘Wicked’ new seaside villa, and the vibe is pure coastal heartthrob

Jonathan Bailey is having one of those years where the universe just keeps handing you better and better plot twists.

Now the latest whisper is firmly in “rich boyfriend energy” territory, because Daily Mail’s “Talk of the Town” column is reporting that the actor has snapped up a new seaside villa.

And yes, we are choosing to picture him dramatically staring at the horizon like he’s in a prestige period drama, except it’s just a windy UK beach and a really good scarf.

Why the “seaside” detail feels very on-brand

Part of what makes this little real-estate nugget so fun is that Bailey has long been linked (at least in the public imagination) with the Brighton-and-Hove stretch of Sussex, which is basically coastal charm with a side of culture and caffeine.

The Argus has previously leaned into that local-pride angle with coverage around Hove and the wider Sussex area in relation to Bailey’s rising star status, giving the story that “home turf glow-up” flavor.

Hove itself is a seaside town in East Sussex, right next to Brighton, so when people say “coastal base,” that’s the geography they’re picturing.

Illustration (KI)
Illustration (KI)

So whether this new place is a full-time retreat, a weekend bolt-hole, or just a gorgeous backdrop for future “accidental thirst trap but make it tasteful” photos, it fits.

Sexiest Man Alive + ‘Wicked’ era = peak Jonathan Bailey timeline

This property gossip is landing right as Bailey is riding the glow of being crowned PEOPLE’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive, which is about as mainstream as a queer heartthrob moment gets.

The announcement was revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which is the kind of “Mom, I made it” moment that also makes your group chat combust.

In the interviews around it, Bailey came off amused and genuinely grateful, which is basically his brand: charming, a little cheeky, and oddly grounded for someone with that face.

And of course, the “Wicked” reference isn’t random, because Bailey is firmly in his big-screen musical era playing Fiyero in the Wicked universe, with major attention on the franchise right now.

What we know, and what we’re not pretending to know

Because this came via a column item and the original article text isn’t accessible everywhere, we’re not going to confidently invent the price tag, the exact village, or whether there’s a hot tub facing the sea.

What we can say is that the reporting frames it as a new coastal villa purchase, and the timing makes sense given how huge his year has been professionally.

So for now, consider this a soft-launch of “Jonathan Bailey: seaside edition,” and we will be patiently waiting for the first paparazzi shot that screams windy beach walk, thinking about love.

📷 IG: @ jbayleaf / people

‘Heated Rivalry’ stars respond after Jordan Firstman sparks a very “not gay” debate

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‘Heated Rivalry’ stars respond after Jordan Firstman sparks a very “not gay” debate

The gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry is having a moment right now, and this week it got an extra boost from a spicy (and very online) conversation about what “authentic” gay sex on TV is supposed to look like.

It started when actor and comedian Jordan Firstman compared the show’s intimate scenes to the ones in his own HBO series I Love LA, and basically said: sorry babes, this isn’t it.

Firstman argued that the early episodes of Heated Rivalry felt more “posed” than real, and he framed it as a bigger issue about who gets to tell queer stories — and how those stories are shaped when they’re built to be glossy, mainstream entertainment.

What Jordan Firstman actually criticized

Firstman’s bluntest point was that the sex scenes in Heated Rivalry didn’t ring true to him as gay intimacy, and he suggested that certain details of gay camaraderie and humor in bed are hard to capture if you haven’t lived it.

He also took aim at the broader culture around casting and identity, including the pressure some actors feel (or refuse) to address their sexuality publicly.

That last part is exactly the kind of comment that turns a TV take into a full-on discourse wildfire in about six minutes.

François Arnaud claps back with a very fair question

François Arnaud (who plays hockey player Scott Hunter on the series) responded on Instagram with the line that instantly became the headline of the whole mess: Is there only one way to have “authentic” gay sex on TV?

Arnaud also pointed out that context matters, because the sex that closeted hockey players have might not look like the sex that “sceney” LA gays have, and pretending there’s just one correct version is its own kind of limiting box.

Honestly, that’s a pretty smart defense, and it manages to be shady without being cruel.

Hudson Williams adds kindness (and a little “go stream his show” energy)

Hudson Williams appeared to co-sign Arnaud’s response by resharing it, and he also encouraged people to check out I Love LA, giving Firstman credit and keeping the vibe surprisingly generous.

Instead of going nuclear, the cast energy has been more like: “We hear you, but also… there are many flavors of gay, sweetheart.”

And truly, that might be the most grown-up way to handle a gay-on-gay critique in public.

Why this is hitting such a nerve

Heated Rivalry is based on Rachel Reid’s popular hockey romance novels, and it has pulled in a huge audience that wants both steamy fantasy and real emotional payoff.

So when someone calls it “not gay enough,” fans hear it as more than a review — it becomes a fight about representation, gatekeeping, and who gets to set the standard for queer storytelling.

The twist is that both sides are kind of arguing for the same thing: more queer stories, told with specificity, confidence, and zero shame.

Where it stands now

The show debuted as a Crave original and has been rolling out weekly, with the season finale scheduled for December 26, 2025.

A second season has also been confirmed for 2026, which means the hockey boys aren’t leaving the locker room anytime soon.

And if nothing else, this whole mini-feud has basically dared half the internet to watch the show and decide for themselves, which is the most effective marketing plan imaginable.

📷 IG: @ jtfirstman / cravecanada

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