Brooks Nader and Taron Egerton have called it quits after being romantically linked four months ago.

“Their relationship was casual but Brooks ended things with him,” a source exclusively tells Us. “She is living her best single life right now and is embracing ‘Euro Summer’ in St. Tropez.”

The insider adds that Nader, 29, is “having a lot of fun” during her down time from filming Baywatch and juggling additional projects she currently has in the works.

“She’s very busy and is excited to be single,” the source explains.

Related: Taron Egerton’s Dating History: From Long-Term Romances to Past Flings

Taron Egerton kept his love life out of the spotlight until he found himself in a high-profile romance with a model and fashion influencer. The Welsh actor rose to fame after starring as problematic youngster-turned-assassin Eggsy in the successful Kingsman film series. He went on to star as music icon Elton John in Rocketman, winning […]

Us had reached out to Nader and Egerton’s spokespersons for comment.

Nader and Egerton, 36, sparked romance rumors back in March after they were spotted out and about in Los Angeles multiple times. During the first occasion, the pair were seen enjoying a movie date to see Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary. One day after the initial spotting, they were photographed packing on the PDA at several restaurants in and around the L.A. area.

One month later, an additional insider told Us that Nader and Egerton had “very natural” chemistry and had gone on “several dates” after meeting at a party with mutual friends.

“Brooks doesn’t want to be tied down right now but is definitely enjoying time with him and seeing where things go,” the insider told Us at the time. “He is very charming and she likes that he is a gentleman.”

Last month, Nader hinted that things between her and Egerton were not what they appeared to be.

“I’m just single, having fun,” Nader told TMZ in June. “Always.”

Nader told the outlet that “nothing” happened between her and Egerton.

“I’m just going on fun dates,” she explained. “But not with anyone right now.”

Nader shared that she was putting her focus on the new Baywatch series which is slated to premiere in January 2027. In addition to Nader, the reboot stars Stephen Amell, Shay Mitchell, Hassie Harrison, Livvy Dunne and more.

“I’m just baywatching,” she quipped. “That’s it.”

Related: Model Brooks Nader Addresses Rumors She’s Dating Ben Affleck

Model Brooks Nader is shutting down speculation she’s dating Ben Affleck. “Haven’t met him in my life,” Nader, 28, succinctly wrote via Instagram comments on Saturday, January 24, referring to online rumors that she and Affleck, 53, have hooked up. Affleck, who has not publicly addressed the speculation, has been single since his 2024 divorce […]

Nader previously teased to Us that working on Baywatch was a “pinch-me moment” for her.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

“Every time I put it on every single day, even if it’s 4 a.m., I still well up a little, and I’m like, ‘Let’s do this!’” she exclusively told Us in April.

Nader also shared that she was entering a “new era” where her wellbeing was her top priority.

“I’m eating a lot healthier and I’m not partying as much, which, you know me, that’s pretty hard,” she added. “But I’m doing it, and I’m working out a lot and taking care of my mind, body, that whole situation. So, it’s a new era, a good one.”

Actress and singer Demi Lovato is firing back at rumors that she has been cloned. In recent years, singers like Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, and even actors like Jim Carrey have all been subjects of conspiracy theories that they have been replaced with clones. When Lovato decided to call out one TikTok video, however, the fan seemed to double down that her comment was actually “confirmation” that her theory was true, igniting concern online.

3

Fans have come up with some crazy conspiracy theories about Lovato over the years, but the singer often doesn’t address them directly. However, she seemed to take issue with one video in particular, where a user named alexserves on TikTok alleged that Lovato’s weight was key to proving she was replaced by a clone, among other claims.

“girl go outside and leave my weight out of the equation,” Lovato wrote in a screenshot shared by the FauxMoi Reddit account.

The user replied: “that was just one little snippet to bring attention to the different versions of you that are out there but the fact that it’s the only thing you focused on Confirms [sic] everything else! Thank you!”

Lovato’s Sister Also Weighs In On The Controversy

Another user shared a screenshot of Lovato’s sister Dallas commenting on another video by the same user. “Cute how this creator deleted my comment.. AS I WAS SAYING, there is no mind control, body swapping, clone, Illuminati, Reptilian BULLSH-T going on,” she wrote. “This is an artist who is LOCKED IN.”

Advertisement

She continued, “She was giving the energy of the song and anyone that’s ever been an artist or a performer knows that. If you wanna sit in delulu land and make videos speculating and scrutinizing people for fun have at it. But don’t come for my sister.”

The user who made the video replied to the comment, writing, “Yes I deleted your comment [because] I thought you were a fan. I didn’t know you were her sister but since you’re back… I think it’s insane that you are acting like this doesn’t happen in Hollywood. This is known knowledge and for you to act like I’m the crazy one… after the E Files were released and after EVERYTHING your sister has been through is insane!!! I would be embarrassed if you were my sister. Now run along.”

However, Dallas was not going to let her get the last word. She responded: “This sounds less like a conspiracy and more like a conversation to have with a mental health professional. Wishing you the best.”

Demi Lovato Fans Come To The Singer’s Defense

3

Many fans were quick to defend Demi – and her weight – in the comments. “I feel bad what celebrities go through on a daily basis,” one user wrote. “Yes, they’re in the spotlight but for years the amount of people that genuinely get shocked when a celebrity gains or loses weight is ridiculous. They’re human just like anyone else.”

Another user replied, “My weight always fluctuates and it’s impossible not to [because] of health reasons. I couldn’t imagine struggling or simply f-cking existing with millions/billions of eyes on me for likely the rest of my life.”

Advertisement

“Or heaven forbid, a child actor dares to grow into an adult,” a third user pointed out. “It’s crazy how much people compare them at 15 to 18 to 24 and then use it as proof for surgeries or eating disorders.”

Other Celebrities Have Been Pulled Into The Clone Debate

3

One user asked, “When and where did this clone nonsense start and how can anyone believe it?”

A few users suggested that it likely began with a theory that Avril Lavigne was replaced with a clone following the success of her first album. “First I remember is Avril Lavigne and Dave Chappelle. It’s used to be YouTube conspiracy bs for kids but I guess they all grew up to have social media accounts now,” one user wrote.

“Worst one is for Selena Gomez. People who talk about it are just crazy,” another follower wrote, while a third fan brought in the theory that Paul McCartney was replaced with a clone at the height of The Beatles’ fame.

Although many celebrities don’t usually address the theory that they were cloned, Britney Spears’ son Jayden addressed the rumors in a video released earlier this month, claiming that people are “gullible” and the media uses that “to their advantage.”

Advertisement

Emmy Rossum and Lola Petticrew‘s new show, Furious, deals with difficult subject matter but makes an effort not to show graphic scenes of abuse.

“This is a show made mostly by women,” Rossum, 39, exclusively told Us. “You can feel that in the treatment of the women and the victims in the show.”

Rossum noted that “nothing is gratuitous” in the eight-part Hulu show.

“There are no flashbacks that are showing the violence against them,” she continued. “But we feel that in every aspect of them. We can see the specific ways that it shows up in their life.”

Related: Summer TV Preview 2026: Inside Must-Watch New and Returning Shows

The summer TV schedule is overflowing with highly anticipated premieres and returns including Legally Blonde‘s Elle, a spinoff of Dancing With the Stars, Every Year After and more. Based on Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, Every Year After follows Percy (Sadie Soverall), who grew up vacationing in Barry’s Bay and spending all her time […]

Rossum elaborated: “That is more meaningful to see the way that the history of that affects you now than needing to see it.”

Pulling inspiration from the 1987 film Black Widow, creator Elizabeth Meriwether explores dark themes of abuse and human trafficking in Furious through the eyes of several complex — and many times imperfect — characters.

At the center of Furious, which airs Mondays, is FBI agent Alice (Rossum) as she hunts for a mysterious and calculating female serial killer played by Petticrew, 30, who targets men that prey on girls.

“Often on television, we see women who are victims as perfect victims. They’re presented with halos. I really wanted the show to dig into what it actually feels like to be a victim of violence and how it can manifest in really strange ways,” Meriwether teased to Us. “It can end up making you make strange and tough choices.”

The crime drama, which also stars Scoot McNairy, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Jake Lacy, relies on twists and turns that even the characters don’t see coming. Petticrew, specifically, had their work cut out for them while exploring a murderous woman seeking revenge after years of sexual abuse.

For the actor, that meant finding the balance between fact and fiction.

“You have to toe the line between doing the research that you need to do without exploiting people who’ve been through what our characters have been through,” they explained to Us. “So it was really delicate work.”

Petticrew also made an effort not to bring work home, adding, “You have to be able to go in and do your best work and you can’t do that if you let the work eat away at you. Our cast were so phenomenal and we kept each other’s spirits up. Our crew is also just absolutely phenomenal.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Before jumping into the role, Petticrew did the necessary research.

“Liz pointed me in the direction of a lot of amazing things to read and videos to watch. You have to toe the line between doing the research that you need to do without exploiting people who’ve been through what our characters have been through,” they continued.” So it was really delicate work. But I am also lucky enough that a lot of this stuff is already there in the page because Liz Meriwether is so incredibly talented.”

Furious airs Mondays on Hulu.

Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey is breaking all kinds of records, deservedly so. The film, a retelling of the epic by the Greek poet Homer, chronicles the 20-year journey of Odysseus (Matt Damon), who spends a decade fighting in the Trojan War and another decade trying to return home to Ithaca. On his journey back, Odysseus visits the island of Aeaea, where he meets the witch Circe (Samantha Morton). Partly because of Morton’s hypnotic performance, and partly because of Nolan’s staging, the Circe sequence has become one of the most celebrated parts of The Odyssey, to the point where many consider her the film’s best character.

It makes sense that such a fascinating figure would capture our collective attention. Since time immemorial, Circe has been one of the most commanding and mesmerizing figures from Greek mythology, largely as an antagonistic figure, a seductress and betrayer prone to revenge against those who wrong her. In 2018, however, Circe received a much-needed reinterpretation courtesy of Madeline Miller, author of the beloved 2011 novel The Song of Achilles. The book, appropriately titled Circe, is a captivating character study of one of mythology’s most elusive figures, both a tragedy and a bold, poetic statement on agency, autonomy, femininity, and mortality.

What Is ‘Circe’ About?

John William Waterhouse/Oldham Gallery, UK/Public Domain

“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.” Those are the opening words of Circe, a first-person mythical fantasy tale from the perspective of the nymph Circe, daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid Perse. Spanning millennia and covering the entirety of her life, the book chronicles every major event in her journey. Crucially, it reinterprets Greek mythology through a distinctly feminist approach without ever feeling too modern or anachronistic. Rather than just focusing on The Odyssey, it adapts multiple myths and features many key figures, including Jason and Medea, Daedalus and the Minotaur, Hermes, and, of course, Odysseus and his son, Telemachus.

Author Madeline Miller brings a haunting, melancholy tone to her writing. Here, Circe is far from the scorned enchantress she’s usually depicted as in everything from classic poetry to DC Comics. Instead, the witch is a wistful, introspective, and self-reflective figure with remarkable emotional intelligence, curiosity, and a fierce will that makes her both resourceful and empathetic. Through the book’s 383 pages, we get to meet her intimately, experiencing her singular existence in careful detail and getting acquainted with her many contradictions.

Circe is one of modern literature’s most compassionate characters — her interaction with the tortured titan Prometheus is a vivid, sorrowful depiction of conflict, curiosity, and plain, untainted empathy. Unlike her unknowable, borderline cruel family, Circe is both entranced by and profoundly sorry for humanity. It’s precisely this sentiment that makes her such an interesting figure in the context of the Greek mythological world, populated by distant, unforgiving, and brutal gods, whose concern for mortals is limited to the amount of praise garnered from them. Yet, Circe is also defined by bitterness and longing, prompting her to seek retribution against those who wrong her. In this way, she’s fairly similar to Samantha Morton’s take in The Odyssey: both versions use magic not as a form of punishment or cruelty, but rather to exercise some control amidst unpredictable chaos. In a way, their actions are both a form of rebellion and a way to bring balance to a world that resists it.

‘Circe’ Does What Many Adaptations Can’t

Image via Bloomsbury Publishing

We live at a time when many adaptations of well-known tales miss the mark, especially those centered around villains. While many of these misguided projects try to excuse or, worse, reframe the characters’ villainous deeds as misunderstood rather than outright evil, Circe contextualizes the witch’s actions without forgiving them, thus allowing us to understand them fully. In doing so, Circe finds sympathy from us, if not atonement. Not that she needs it, though; Miller’s Circe is certain and accountable, willing to live with the weight of her actions and never denying her nature. Yet, she also expresses deep remorse for what she (correctly) identifies as an outstanding capacity for self-destruction. This self-awareness is what makes her such a vibrant, captivating protagonist, and what ultimately makes the end of her journey feel so earned.

The book’s power lies entirely in its ability to convey complicated yet universal feelings with a striking, lyrical beauty. For example, Miller paints Circe’s time in exile at Aeaea with a prose that feels both haunting and somber yet truthful. More than mere isolation, Circe’s time on the island goes from a punishment to a source of release, the chance to find and be herself, away from expectations and burdens. Pain is always close, as is regret, but Circe learns to bear it, finding solace, purpose, and ultimately realization.

Circe also shines with its emotional, romantic core. The last act of the book — the last seven chapters of the novel, to be more precise — focuses on the relationship between Circe and Telemachus, who arrives at Aeaea accompanied by his mother, Penelope, and Circe and Odysseus’ son, Telegonus. The book stays fairly close to Greek mythology concerning Odysseus’ ultimate fate and Telegonus’ role in it. Where it soars, however, is in its depiction of the bond between Circe and Telemachus. Miller paints their love as one born out of mutual understanding and genuine interest in the other’s plight rather than a mere physical attraction born out of circumstance.

‘Circe’ Is a Must-Read for Fans of Fantasy and Myth

Traditional fantasy stories usually concern magical beings, faraway kingdoms, and grand themes concerning the hero’s journey. Circe challenges these tropes by offering a quieter, more intimate, and incredibly rewarding story of introspection, self-discovery, the lie of divinity, and the power of mortality. In the process, it becomes an incredibly humane book, a text that uses the mythical and divine to make a statement on the natural and earthly. Miller offers reflections on loneliness, the weight of remorse, the changing ways of sorrow, and the power of caring, not only for others but, most crucially, for oneself. It’s a book that stays with you, and one of the greatest reinterpretations of Greek mythology out there.