It’s the curious case of the missing facts!
Many media insiders raised their eyebrows on Monday evening when a cheery piece appeared on People magazine’s web site announcing the news that Michelle Williams is pregnant and engaged to “Hamilton” director Thomas Kail.
But the piece — which features a family-album-worthy “paparazzi” shot of the happy pair — conspicuously neglected to mention the fairly juicy fact that both Williams and Kail were in serious relationships with other people when they met just a few months ago.
The omission led tabloid veterans to speculate that Williams’ camp slipped the exclusive to People on the condition that the weekly keep mum about the potentially embarrassing circumstances of their happy union.
Adding to the intrigue, the item seems timed to appear right before Sunday’s Golden Globe ceremony — so that Williams’ bump doesn’t grab the headlines that night.
Kail and Williams met while filming FX’s “Fosse/Verdon,” which reportedly shot in New York between November 2018 and March 2019. She is nominated for a Globe for best actress in a limited TV series or TV movie.
Williams married musician Phil Elverum in July 2018, and in April 2019 the very same People magazine reported that the pair had separated “earlier in the year.”
Kail, meanwhile, had been with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” actress Angela Christian from 2006 until 2019. It’s unclear exactly when they split.
In Monday’s story, People rather brazenly quoted Williams talking about her love life after the death of her late partner, Heath Ledger — in a July 2018 Vanity Fair story that was all about her marriage to Elverum.
“I never gave up on love,” Williams told the glossy — of Elverum. But People used the quote as if it were about Kail.
A follow-up story by People did mention that Williams had been married to Elverum last year. Reps didn’t comment.