Just a short while ago, Chris Evans was keeping busy in his Massachusetts home during quarantine, doing promotions for his Apple TV series Defending Jacob and generally trying to stay in the public eye, with additional interviews with his Marvel pal Paul Rudd and more. Most recently, he was spotted across the pond spending time with Yesterday actress Lily James and leaving lots of questions in the wake of the interlude.
The two were seen leaving a private club in London on Saturday. The Daily Mail caught them leaving the club, after which the former Downton Abbey star Lily James, 31, and recently retired from Marvel actor Chris Evans, 39, left in the same taxi and headed back to The Corinthia Hotel, where the actor has been staying during his jaunt across the pond. During normal times, none of this would be worth remarking on beyond the fact the two were seen together in a possibly romantic context, bu we’re in the pandemic and nothing about this jaunt is normal.
First and foremost, there’s the whole travel ban on American citizens in the U.K. right now. The country has already made some exceptions, particularly in the realm of entertainment, so it’s not a huge shock Chris Evans is in London right now as he has several projects on his upcoming slate, including Little Shop of Horrors and more. However, even for U.S. travelers who have been allowed to head to the U.K. there’s supposed to be a two-week quarantine period. Which leads us to the question: Is Chris Evans in Lily James’ bubble?
If they are in a “ bubble” together, that would mean the two may have a project together coming up, though it’s equally possible there’s some bubble rule-bending going on. Lily James was previously romantically connected to Doctor Who actor Matt Smith and while the two reportedly split, they had been seen with one another back in May when they went on a bike ride.
People reports the actor isolated in the U.S. before heading to the U.K., but that seems different than the rules previously outlined by Variety about how the “bubble” is supposed to work. In fact, the "support bubble" has been a big deal since it was first outline in the U.K. Parties in bubbles for family or other personal life interactions are not supposed to shift bubbles from week to week. There are also bubble environments for work, which the U.K. government and the British Film Institute classified. Those in a work bubble are expected to stay in said work bubble. including film productions. Or as the government noted in a statement:
[The government] recognizes the ability of international productions to isolate cast and crew from the general public, and that individual studios and production companies have developed practical solutions for safe working practices, including rolling out new training programs for screen industry workers filming in studios and on location.
So, if this is all true, obviously there have been some crossed wires or crossed expectations somewhere with someone. We’ll have to wait and see if this was a one-off event for both Chris Evans or Lily James or if there’s a personal or professional reason they are spending time with one another. This could be anything from forming a new bubble to flaunting the rules. We'll have to wait and see if this story pans out further.
In the meantime, it is worth noting that when the couple got to the hotel, they met inside, but Chris Evans allegedly went through the front door while an employee reportedly helped Lily James to slip in the back. So, there was at least the attempt at discreetness here, though clearly it didn’t work super well.
