This year’s awards season has been dominated by the power couple. Whether that be the seemingly unconventional pairing of Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, or the slightly uncomfortable dynamic between Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez, the era of the it-couple is back with full force. Yet the resurgence of interest in such power duos highlights a key fact about celebrity culture as a whole: despite the incessant, pervasive insight we have into their lives, we will never truly know the personalities of these people. Thus, the power couple is alluring as it provides a window into the unknown side of celebrities’ lives.
The person chosen as a life partner undeniably says the most about an individual. Not their friends, not their profession, but the person chosen to commit to life with is surely the best reflection of someone’s personality. Whether matching in morality, interests, or ideals, life partners act as mirrors to each other, reflecting the qualities that both value most highly. Hence, when rumours began circulating in the summer of 2023 over the supposed relationship between Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet, the internet was naturally shocked. An Oscar-nominated actor and indie heart-throb coupled with a reality TV star seemed implausible to many. These rumours became even more confusing when the couple finally made their debut at Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour show in LA.
The unlikely pairing of these two thus revealed a side of each of them that had previously been unknown to fans. It seemed that Chalamet was no longer the serious, melancholic type he had always been characterised as, while Jenner seemed to develop more depth and personality outside of the slightly superficial relationships she once had. The intersection between their two personalities reveals a striking new angle to each of them where before, during the era of Brangelina, celebrity’s images were manufactured so carefully that most pairings seemed natural and sensible.
But power couples do not only reveal truths about the celebrities in these couples, but also about the unspoken hierarchy that exists within Hollywood. It would be hard to doubt that within their respective fields each exists at the top of the food chain. Where Chalamet is arguably the leading male actor of this decade, Jenner and her family’s monopolisation of the reality TV and world of commerce has cemented her as, like it or not, one of the most influential people in pop culture. However, Jenner’s presence in this year’s awards circuit demonstrated the clear divide present between those deemed to be “true” celebrities and those famous only in the social media bubble. At times she appeared out of her depth or slightly flustered, sometimes partially ignored by other actors, as she was before congratulating Demi Moore.
For the casual viewer, this was a rare time where Jenner appeared not to be at her best, thus fuelling further speculation and intrigue regarding her relationship with Chalamet. It seems that their relationship has, to an extent, altered the way in which we interact with celebrities; it has exposed the inherent divides within the industry, and shown how, even in the age of media overload, we can never truly understand the lives of those on our screens.
“Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie” by rgay is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.