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The Framework was in its fourth season and the upcoming premiere was expected to be one of the highest viewed of all time. Its previous season had been nominated for a total of ten Emmys, winning seven, and had garnered the network the most viewership it had ever received for a show with billions of people around the globe tuning in each week. The drama had a cult following that had expanded in its second season to become a worldwide phenomenon, the story of a small band of survivors amidst the chaos of a robot filled dystopia surprising everyone with its brilliant writing, amazing production design, and incredible actors who knew how to pack an emotional punch. Because of its success, it was no wonder that the cast not only garnered a huge fanbase but also filled news media outlets at least once a week, their lives projected on thousands of screens with only some sense of reality and every little detail they gave about the show or their lives stretched across as many outlets as could keep the given narrative going.
The media picked up what it liked to, spreading stories of in-cast fighting, love affairs, proposed death scenes, actors leaving, actors joining, whatever they could spin and sell. When they got their hands on real information, something confirmed by the actors, it was like candy; something they could take and twirl around their fingers with as much care as they liked and have actual hard evidence to use as their weapon.
When it came to the cast of The Framework, there was a story in particular that every media outlet loved to run when news was slow; the possible romantic relationship between the two leads: Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. It wasn’t a fresh story with the two having been rumored to be dating so many times since the show premiered that it became somewhat of a joke between the cast.
“I heard on Rumor Roundup with Raina that you guys are together again! And pregnant as well! Congrats!” Daisy, one of the shows main stars, often liked to tease her castmates and seeing Fitz blush was her favorite thing in the world. Jemma was better about catching the teasing tone, but even she couldn’t help the pink that tinted her cheeks every time Daisy walked on set with a new headline.
Are Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons Hollywood’s new ‘it’ couple?
From Robots to Reality, Love Blooms on the Set of The Framework
Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons Caught Getting Dinner in London. Is There Finally Romance?
Interview Between Framework Co-Stars Implies Romantic Relationship
FitzSimmons Confirmed?!?!
Daisy especially liked the ones with ample punctuation, reading out each one with overdramatic emphasis and laughing when Fitz started lightly banging his head against countertops.
There were a few months where the story had run heartbreakingly cold. Fitz was in a confirmed relationship with Ophelia Radcliffe who he had met on the set of his Oscar buzzworthy film, One Regret , while Jemma was in a relationship with soap opera star Will Daniels, famous for his role in the long-running daytime show Maveth. However, media storms began to brew when both relationships ended only a month and a half apart, many speculating that there was some sort of secret love affair at play, though both Fitz and Jemma (as well as their exes) denied there being any “beef” as the media liked to put it. So, despite many fans doing investigations of their own, the story sat back in the rumor mill until more evidence could be collected.
And boy, was it collected. In the week right before The Framework’s record-breaking premier, the Hollywood media outlets obtained the holy grail of celebrity photographs. It was a somewhat fuzzy picture that had been taken in a coffee shop called The Bus and it had been transferred to every news outlet like a well-welcomed virus. Despite the slightly fuzzy nature of the phone-snapped shot, the two actors could be seen as clear as day. There, unmistakably, was Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons with their hands grasped tightly together as they beamed like teenagers in love right before leaning into one another for a kiss.
It was the perfect storm, but there was more to the story than anyone knew.