Two of the most well-known faces in entertainment attempting to vanish inside Brisbane Airport on a Sunday afternoon is almost comically contradictory. Over the weekend, Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi gave it their all, donning tight-fitting face masks, dark sunglasses, high-wrapped scarves, and the entire disguise playbook. Elordi covered himself with a hoodie. Jenner covered herself with a baseball cap. Then, thousands of dollars’ worth of designer luggage from Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and The Row followed. The carry-ons did not receive the memo if anonymity was the intended outcome.
After spending about a week in Australia, the couple reportedly celebrated Elordi’s 29th birthday in the coastal region surrounding Byron Bay and his home state of Queensland. For the majority of people, it’s the kind of trip that would be unremarkable: a breakfast at a neighborhood café, a dog walk through a peaceful beach town, or a birthday visit home. But when you’re the star of “Euphoria” and “Frankenstein,” a walk past The Byron Bay General Store becomes tabloid currency, and you’re a supermodel next to the Kardashians.
The coordinated raincoats they wore on a walk earlier in the week and the paparazzi photos aren’t what make this particular getaway noteworthy. The journey appears to indicate this. According to people close to the couple, Jenner “definitely sees a future” with Elordi, and things have progressed more quickly than she had anticipated. According to one insider, they were “inseparable.” Another claimed that the recent series of trips—to Hawaii, Tokyo, and now Australia—has only strengthened the bond. Here, a pattern is emerging that doesn’t appear to be casual.
Elordi, who was raised in Brisbane before Hollywood called, has made no secret of his unease with the ancillary machinery of celebrity. He stated unequivocally that he has “no relationship with social media” and plans to maintain it in an interview with “CBS Mornings” earlier this year. He claimed that acting in films was his dream. He is not interested in anything else, including the celebrity-industrial complex, the Instagram ecosystem, or the gossip cycle. Jenner may be drawn to him because of this posture, which feels more and more uncommon among actors his age.
When it comes to romance, Jenner has always been the most reserved Kardashian-Jenner. In 2019, she told Vogue Australia that she views her relationships as “sacred” and would rather keep them private. Both of her previous relationships—with Devin Booker and Bad Bunny—were subject to intense scrutiny and did not fare well. She seems to have gained some insight from those encounters. This time, friends and family claim to notice a different energy.
What hasn’t happened yet might be the most telling detail. Sources claim that Jenner is purposefully delaying introducing Elordi to the entire Kardashian family. The logic is straightforward and surprisingly self-aware: “Very few men survive that.” It’s the kind of quote that seems absurd until you look at the past. Most relationships aren’t designed to handle the pressures of integrating a new partner into the Kardashian-Jenner family’s media empire.
It’s genuinely unclear if Elordi, who is private, cautious, and allergic to social media, will be able to handle that situation in the long run. For the time being, though, the couple appears happy to switch between time zones, avoid cameras with differing degrees of success, and work things out away from the commotion. A rainy Sunday at Brisbane Airport isn’t the most glamorous location for a love tale. However, it may be the most truthful one they will receive.
