Welcome to the age of the extreme PDA
CRINGE WHEN YOUR partner leans in for a snog at the pub? Blush if a colleague sees you holding hands with your spouse? Rather die than execute an open-mouthed tongue-kiss in view of your parents? Then get thee back to Victorian times – because the young population of Hollywood has made the PDA (public display of affection) a 2019 must-have.
The latest instalment arrived on our news feeds just last week: Timothée Chalamet and Lily-rose Depp were snapped indulging in a long session of snogging, cavorting, straddling and snuggling on-board a yacht in Capri.
Then – to run through a few more recent encounters – there was Cara Delevingne putting the moves on Ashley Benson at the US Open, seizing her face in both hands to go in for an intense kiss; Dua Lipa and Anwar Hadid snogging in wetsuits like a couple of sexy seals; Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello canoodling in a Miami pool; and Elijah Allan-blitz dipping Brie Larson dramatically, in what SATC’S Carrie Bradshaw and Berger would have called ‘a Hollywood kiss’.
You might suggest these lovebirds had no idea that anyone was looking on. But Cara and Ashley, certainly, were front row at one of the most high-profile sporting events on the calendar. It seems now is not the moment for the loved-up to be bashful: they are smitten and they’re not afraid to show it.
So, what makes a truly aspirational celebrity PDA? An exclusive setting is a must. Don’t snog at a bus stop if you can snog next to a sports car; don’t embrace outside the leisure centre if you have access to a turquoise ocean. And blending in would be a fatal error: a string bikini works for some but, if that’s not appropriate, we’d recommend a leather beret like Cara’s (casual). Add some visible tongue to spell it out: ‘We’re both gorgeous and we can’t get enough of each other.’
This new mood of romantic exhibitionism might be an age thing: we are living in the era of the young superstar, after all. Whether they’re models, actors, or the famous offspring of older stars (often, they’re all three), these are people who’ve grown up in a world of selfies and Instaessays, and are entirely comfortable controlling their own narratives; their romantic interests just one more piece of the branding puzzle.
Or maybe we can just put the PDAS down to the irresistible allure of true love. Either way, with everything else going on at the moment, we say bring it on: what could be a better distraction from politics than the dream of a snog on a yacht?