real life
"How do we stop it from snowballing?" Stevie sighed, holding the bridge of her nose with the tip of her fingers.
"Honestly?" Her publicist, Georgia, queried. "We can't. Not really."
Stevie groaned deeply into the phone. "Can we not just ignore it?"
"Stevie. Right now the public love you. If you ignore it, then all they are going to do is turn against you because you seem unauthentic. We can't risk that. Euphoria comes out in June and Midsommar in July. Public perception is important right now, especially if you plan on booking any more roles."
"What do you mean?" Stevie was really taking the events to heart. They had played it so well, choosing not to talk about each other publicly so that they wouldn't incriminate themselves. Then Sonny came along and ruined everything.
"If casting directors see that the public perception of you is negative then they won't want to hire you, because then the public perception of their film will be negative." Georgia explained. "So. What are we going to do? You need damage control. You need to go on a podcast or a radio show or something to clear up any misconceptions.... I've got it: Lexie!"
"Lexie!" Stevie shouted excitedly.
When Stevie had first started acting, just 5 months after breaking up with Timothée, she moved into a model apartment in Los Angeles so that she could film The Nice Guys. There she met Lexie. At the time Lexie was an aspiring model, who had just gone through a break up herself. Because of this, Stevie and Lexie had been joined at the hip for pretty much the entirety of Stevie's stay. Nowadays, Lexie had swapped modelling for activism, creating her own podcast to promote female empowerment. She was the perfect choice.
"I'm Instagram DMing her from your account as we speak." Georgia's voice sounded on the other end of the phone.
"Kind of an invasion of privacy." Stevie protested.
"If I'd left it up to you to DM her then we wouldn't be able to get you an interview until September." Georgia concluded, leaving no room for argument. "Also, I have access to your accounts for a reason."
"Whatever. Thank you." Stevie smiled. She truly had the most supportive people behind her.
...
stevieelgort
los angeles! i am once again inside of you
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podcast
"Welcome back to the GirlCult podcast, brought to you by Galore Magazine and your host, Lexie Jiaras. This show aims to showcase and celebrate all women from all angles. Here we talk our guests successes and failures, journeys and evolutions, as well as dive into their personal life. I hope you enjoy hanging out with us!"
"Hi everyone and welcome to the Girl Cult podcast. Today I am joined with one of my all time favourite humans: Miss Stefanie 'Stevie' Elgort!" Lexie started, clapping after Stevie's introduction. "Stevie is an actress, part time songwriter and bedroom pop star from New York City. She has starred in movies such as Assassination Nation and The Nice Guys and is set to star in HBO's Euphoria and Greta Gerwig's Little Women, both coming out later this year. Hi Steve!"
"Hello!" Stevie exclaimed, slightly too eager. "How are you doing on this fine day?"
"I'm fabulous, and yourself?" Lexie replied.
"I'm actually so nervous." Stevie admitted, biting her lip. "I don't know why."
"It'll be fine." Lexie reassured her. "I'm so excited you're here. We're actually sitting on the floor of my apartment right now recording this guys."
"It's very intimate." Stevie confirmed.
Lexie cleared her throat. "Okay, so let's take it back to the beginning of your life. So you were born and raised in New York City?"
Stevie nodded. "Yeah. On the Upper West Side."
"What is it like growing up in New York City?"
"It's actually so much fun. It's fucking expensive. But it was fun. I had a really happy childhood."
"What were you into as a child? Like any hobbies?"
"I loved dance and I did cheer as well."
"Now, I wanna talk about something I'm very curious about, but that I've never actually had the balls to ask you myself." Lexie started.
Stevie stifled a laugh. "Go for it."
"What is it like to come from a famous family?" Lexie opened up. "I know that you hate getting asked that question but I couldn't help myself."
Stevie chuckled lightly. "I don't hate that question, it's just so hard to answer. I don't know what it's like to not come from a famous family, you know? Like that is my normal."
"Okay, well then what is fame like for you? Because obviously in a showbiz sense you've kind of been there and done that with your family, but does it feel any different now that it's your turn?"
"Yeah, definitely. When I'm watching a family member, I kind of disassociate and I see them as a celebrity, as opposed to like my brother or my dad. So when I'm watching them do the whole press circuit it's like I'm just watching an interview with any other celebrity. But now that it's my turn and now that I'm here talking, it seems a lot more real. Like I'm still me, I haven't yet transformed into the celebrity."
"I think that's probably a good thing. It makes you a lot more real." Lexie grinned. "About your family: Do you feel any pressure because you come from a famous family?"
"It's a difficult question to answer. On one hand, I am very aware of the privilege and the popularity and the opportunities that my family name brings to me. I'd never doubt for a minute that it would have been a hell of a lot harder for me to get to where I am now without my contacts and without my family. However, I do think that people hold you to a higher standard because of your family's achievements. It's similar to if your older brother got into an Ivy League College, everyone kind of expects you to get in too. For me, a big focus of my career has been to emerge from my family's shadow, especially Sonny's, and build a name for myself as an actress and not just Sonny Elgort's sister."
"I get that, like no matter what you do you're going to be compared to him even though you guys are two completely different people."
"Exactly. I've just tried to embrace it now, because I guess my surname did kinda give me my start and I'm very thankful for that."
"So, something that a lot of people don't know about you is that you actually worked on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign with her in 2016? How was that? That sounds like an incredible opportunity."
"Yeah, It really was. I turned 18 in 2014, so the most recent election was the first that I was legally allowed to vote in, but I kind of felt that voting alone wasn't enough. I am really interested in politics. I was going to go to college to study International Relations, but I ended up not going. Still, it really is key for us young people to educate ourselves on current affairs and start getting involved now. This is our country and our planet and we shouldn't be scared to speak up about what we want and what we believe is right. I'm very thankful to Hillary for taking me on board as an intern and letting me help out and educate myself at the same time."
"So when did you decide that you didn't want to go to University?"
"It was just the moment that I stepped foot on my first movie set, I was just like "no." I just knew. I'm an all or nothing kind of person, and in my head, I wasn't 100% on going to college, but I was 100% about acting."
"I've never actually asked you this, but was that a hard conversation to have with your dad?"
"Not my dad, but my mom! I stayed at my sister's house for two nights after I broke the news because she was so angry. But then, she called me like "I'm sorry, it's your passion, do what you gotta do."
"Why was she so apprehensive at first, do you think?"
"Well..." Stevie chuckled, causing Lexie to laugh too. She already knew the answer to the question. "It was a year in which I experienced... shall I say, a lot of change in my life? And I think she was concerned more so than angry. Because I hadn't really been myself for a while and I think she thought that I was just acting in the moment and that I'd regret it. Like I think she thought that I wasn't thinking about the consequences. So I just deferred my entry for a year to please her, but then I never ended up going."
"What big changes did you experience in that year?"
"Well, as you already know, my boyfriend of almost 3 years broke up with me. And then I just kind of really let that affect me. We'd been together since I was 15 and when we broke up I was 18. Those are like, your formative years. I'd never experienced being alone before and I guess I didn't really know who I was without him."
"This boyfriend... what was his name?" Lexie raised an eyebrow at Stevie.
Stevie rolled her eyes. She knew that the whole reason she was here was to clear the air on all of the rumours. She sighed. "...Timothée Chalamet."
"So. the rumours are true?"
"You already know the rumours are true!"
"The listeners don't!"
"It feels so weird to say it out loud and know that people are going to know about it now."
"Why have you never spoken about him before now? Did you have like an agreement not to talk about each other?"
"No, no. I don't know, really. Neither one of us ever explicitly said that we weren't going to talk about it, it was just a kind of mutual understanding. We were together for almost 3 years, you know? We both understand how the other's brain works and I think we both just assumed that the other person would be uncomfortable talking about something that was so intimate and personal to us. You know me, Lex, I hate talking about my personal life."
"For those listening at home, Stevie and I first became friends like a few months after the break up and I could tell that she was going through it but it took me sooooo long to get her to tell me about it."
"I just suck at intimacy."
"What I really want to know is how people even found out that the two of you dated?"
"Right. Well. Timothée and Sonny have always been good friends, like even before him and I dated, and they hang out like literally all the time. But, there was one time when they went to a basketball game together and then someone from our old school posted on Twitter like 'That's so strange, how is Stevie okay with that?' etc. etc. Word of mouth. It travels fast, especially in this day and age with all of these update accounts."
"But it was never proven?"
"Not until now."
"Okay even though I already know the whole story, can you please just tell us about your relationship like how did it start? how did it end? unless that's too personal."
"No, that's fine. Uhhh, we met at a party in the summer of my Freshman year of high school and just hit it off I guess. And then we were like dating over the summer, but not boyfriend and girlfriend yet and then he officially asked me to be his girlfriend in July."
"And then you broke up when you were 18, right?"
"Yeah, it was like February 2015."
"Why did you guys break up?"
"It was just the distance more than anything, I think. Because I was obviously planning to go to Georgetown, so I was working on college applications and stuff and he was always out of state working on movies. We never saw each other and I think it just got all too much."
"You weren't expecting him to break up with you though, right?"
"Expose me, Lexie. I dare you."
"No, I—"
"No, it's fine. You're right, anyway. I just kinda thought that we were just going through a rough patch, because we'd always been really good together. I thought it was just temporary, but yeah then he broke up with me. Permanently."
"And then did you talk after? What was the deal?"
"No, we had zero communication until we both got cast in Little Women."
"Jesus. What was it like walking onto that set and seeing him after so long?"
"Brutal... to say the least. You can tell yourself so many times that you're completely over someone, but until you get closure it will always be a what if?"
"Did you get closure?"
"Oh, yeah. I was angry with him for a long time, but after speaking to him I realised that he did what was best for him in that moment and I can't really be angry with him for that. We've had a lot of conversations about it since. But it was just that initial time."
"So how was it for you to work with your ex? Like you played each other's love interests, right?"
Stevie paused for a moment to think about what she was going to say. "Honestly, I think that it motivated me more than anything. You know, just because we aren't together romantically anymore, doesn't necessarily mean that there is any love or respect lost. You know, I've known Timothée since I was 15 years old and all I've ever wanted to do was see him succeed."
"Is there any chance of you guys getting back together?"
"I hate to disappoint, but no plans as of yet."
"As of yet?" Lexie eyed her.
"A joke. No one hold out any hope for a reunion."
"Oh! That's something I'd like to know. Do the Stimothée shippers ever get to you at all?"
"No, not at all. I don't mind it all. I went through it myself with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. I get it."
"Okay, so you're 18, still in high school and Timothée's just broken up with you. What did you do next?"
"First of all, I cut all of my hair off."
"Understandable."
"Then, I withdrew from society for a few months. I deleted all my social media, I shut out all of my friends. I tried to write about a million songs, but I could never finish any so I stopped writing. I tried really hard in school and graduated from La Guardia in the May. Then The Nice Guys happened."
"How did that even happen?"
"Basically, Shane Black was holding auditions for the role of Chet, so I went with Sonny for moral support and then he met me and was like 'Are you an actress?' and I was just like 'No' and then he was like 'Well, do you want to be one?' and again, I said no because at this point I was dead set on going into politics."
"Stevie... sweetie why?"
"He was literally... astounded. But he gave me his business card and told me to call him if I changed my mind. Meanwhile, Sonny is furious at me. So we got home and he went straight to my parents and was like 'Stevie basically just got offered the main female role and she said no and I think you guys should force her to do it because I think it would be really good for her mental health.' and all that shit. Long story short I was forced into doing the movie by my family."
"Thank god you did. Otherwise you never would have met me."
"Thank god I did. If I hadn't done that movie then I'd be sitting my final exams of college right now. And I'd probably still be depressed. Getting out of New York for a few months, meeting so many new people and filming my first movie; it really helped me to get out of that negative headspace. I can never thank Shane enough for doing that for me. Acting was like my therapy, so I decided to carry on doing it. I got myself an agent and just went from there really."
"Yeah, I think that's something that people don't really know about you. You never wanted to act."
"Yeah. In high school you had to pick one major out of Dance, Drama, Art, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, and Technical Theatre and I chose Vocal Music. I never even entertained the idea of becoming an actress because as much as I wanted to do it, I just thought that I would always be living in Sonny's shadow. If I was considering being anything it was a singer. Well, maybe not a singer but a songwriter."
"You are amazing at writing. I was listening to Don't Watch Me Cry in the shower this morning. Would you ever consider releasing any music yourself."
"...Well..."
"Stevie!"
"Nothing is confirmed, but I have started writing again. I wrote a song called 'blushing!' for a band called BETWEEN FRIENDS and then I've been experimenting with some old songs and writing new ones for myself as well."
"When you write a song, do you write it from personal experience?"
"Yes. Almost always."
"So, who was 'blushing!' about?"
Stevie laughed and bit her lip. "Am I allowed to say? I don't know..." She paused for a moment. "Oh, fuck it! It was about Jacob."
Lexie widened her eyes in surprise. "Jacob Elordi?"
"Yeah."
"But you denied that you two were dating."
"Yeah but it's my Instagram comments, not the Supreme Court."
"Wait! So are you still dating now?!"
"No. We agreed it was better to just stay friends."
"I'm actually shocked. I had no idea."
"It was just me being a private person again. I don't like to share relationships and things because what if you break up?! Then you have to go through your Instagram and archive all of your posts."
"Yeah... Sorry ! I lost sight of what we were talking about! So: new music from you? Coming soon?"
"We'll see."
"So. Also coming soon: Euphoria? What else?"
"Euphoria premiers on HBO June 16th, Midsommar is out June 18th and Little Women is out on Christmas Day!"
"Well. This has been amazing, I'm so glad we finally had the chance to sit and do this! Thank you so much for coming and chatting and for being so honest about everything! And thank you to all of the listeners for coming and hanging out with us! Bye!"
"Thank you so much for having me! Bye!"
...
stevieelgort
poured my heart & soul out to one of my oldest pals lexiejayy for girlcultfest podcast 😌✌🏼 i literally spilled all the tea on my family, past relationships and career so y'all better listen to it 🥴 link in bio x
👤 lexiejayy, girlcultfest, galore
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view all 14,385 comments
user1 STIMOTHÉE SHIPPERS our time has come
— user2 finally 😭😭
user3 i cant believe that stevie and timothée really dated for 3 and a half years... like what
user4 ok but stevie's explanation of the break up made me think there's a possibility of them getting back together 👀
user5 everyone talking about stimothée yet sis literally confirmed that her and jacob were a thing😮
— user6 i know 🥰
jacobelordi thank u for the shoutout stef
— jacobelordi gonna go stream the song u wrote about me 😎
— stevieelgort 🖤🖤
sonnyelgort sorry for exposing u 😔
— stevieelgort i forgive n forget ❤️
tchalamet thx for exposing our secret love affair 😪
— stevieelgort thx for being okay with it ❤️
— tchalamet 😌✌🏼
— user7 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
thank u guys so much for all the votes & comments on the last chapter 🥺💜 much love