Listen up, ladies. Natalie Portman is officially going on our inspo boards for summer 2024. The vibe is flourishing after your divorce, finding the perfect boxy white T-shirt, and having a cheeky cig with a hot, younger guy. In her case, that hot, younger guy is Paul Mescal. (If you can’t get Paul Mescal, any guy in short soccer shorts is fine.)
Portman and Mescal were spotted taking a smoke break outside a London bar on Tuesday, and by the looks of it the pair were having a great time. They were giggling, they’re smoking, they were both looking really good in their T-shirts — it’s kind of giving The Bear without all the yelling.
But that’s not really what we’re here to discuss, now is it? You see these photos and you think, “Are these two dating?” Here’s how the Daily Mail framed these photos: “Newly single Natalie Portman, 42, looks giddy with Paul Mescal, 28, as they get the giggles enjoying a smoke after finalizing divorce from Benjamin Millepied … is life imitating art for the star after she romped with a younger lover in May December?” So, they certainly want you to think that romance is blooming.
My two cents? Portman and Mescal aren’t dating. Between this and The Idea of You, it’s definitely “divorced-mom summer,” but I think that these two are just hanging out normal style. It’s confusing because they’re both so beautiful, but I’ll be quick to remind you that Mescal always looks like he’s dating whomever he’s standing next to. It’s called charisma, babes.
I’d bet they exchanged numbers when they shot “Actors on Actors,” and months later Portman found herself in London (she’s starring in Guy Ritchie’s next project, Fountain of Youth) with a free evening. If you had an open evening in London and Paul Mescal’s phone number burning a hole in your phone, what else could you possibly want to do?