All About Harriet Cains, Luke Thompson’s Rumored Girlfriend and ‘Bridgerton’ Co-Star
Benedict Bridgerton may soon be in the hot seat as the next bachelor looking for his other half, but the actor behind him, Luke Thompson, has reportedly already found love on the show.
Thompson and her Bridgerton co-star Harriet Cains, who plays Philippa Featherington, have been sparking dating rumors for months. Here’s what to know about Cains and why she and Thompson are rumored to be dating.
Cains and Thompson sparked dating rumors in January 2024 after they were photographed having fun at an event.
The couple was spotted cuddling at the Vanity Fair EE Rising Stars party on January 31, 2024. However, neither Cains nor Thompson have confirmed or denied the romance rumors, even after multiple media outlets reported on their off-screen romance. Cains posted a photo on Instagram from the event but neglected to comment on whether she was dating Thompson.
Thompson, who has no social media presence, explained his desire for privacy in an interview with Vestal magazine. “I don’t think ‘staying away’ is the right word,” he said of his approach to social media. “For a lot of actors, social media is a clever way to keep up with the show. So on some level, I really wanted to be involved; I just didn’t think I could do it. I realized that a constantly updating platform wasn’t something I felt equipped to handle; it was like a sledgehammer to my ability to focus. And I wanted to be able to focus when I needed to. It also seemed like a lot of effort, so maybe I’m just incredibly lazy.” The 35-year-old actor reiterated that stance again in an interview with Country & Town House last month. “I don’t really find [fame] weird. I think it’s possible,” he said. “I feel like it’s more of a choice than people think. I think if you want to keep your privacy, you can. But there’s a trade-off. It means you have to say no to some things that you really want to do. But I don’t believe that’s something you have to suffer through.”
He added that his avoidance of social media isn’t a deliberate choice to stay out of the spotlight: “That’s a bit of a myth. The reason I don’t do social media is because of how it affects my addictive behavior. It makes me anxious, how it affects your ability to focus—I worry about not reading a book in a long time, and I have trouble focusing on a movie. But maybe part of me thinks I’m not capable of dealing with that. And it doesn’t quite fit with my vision of what this is. But, you know, people have different visions of what this is.”
Cains has declared Thompson her favourite Bridgerton Luke in 2021. Cains joked on Instagram, posting that Thompson was her favourite Luke in the Bridgerton set in 2021, suggesting that the two are at least good friends. Thompson’s co-star, Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton, also shares the same name. “My favourite Luke @lukenewtonuk,” she wrote.
Thompson addressed being one of two Lukes in an interview with The Guardian in April 2024. Playing the brother of another actor named Luke, “It’s okay because I tend to be called ‘Lukey T’ and he’s ‘Newts’. To suddenly be Lukes…. I grew up thinking I was the only Luke in the village but that’s come back into fashion. We’re all around the same age, so there must have been a Luke moment in the late 80s/early 90s!”
Cains opened up about how Bridgerton changed her life in May 2024. In an interview with Country & Town House, Cains shared her impressions of the Bridgerton cast and how her character Philippa is different from her real-life self.
“I absolutely love her,” she said of Philippa. “She doesn’t take life too seriously and she always lightens the mood. It’s fun to play someone who doesn’t think before she speaks. Usually there’s a subtext to say, but not Philly.”
On working with the cast herself, Cains said, “It was a playground. I felt like I was going into my 10th year at school. Everyone was so cheerful and the atmosphere was so fun. We were lucky to have so much time together. I loved working with Polly Walker and Lorraine Ashbourne. I learned so much from them.”
She also touched on how the show has and hasn’t changed her real life. “It has changed my life but ironically, nothing has changed!” she said. “I’ve continued my life exactly as it was.”
