This story originally appeared on Out.
Joe Locke is being called a cheater on social media after news dropped that he dumped co-star Sebastian Croft after a three-year secret love affair while filming Heartstopper.
The news confirmed a long-standing fan theory that the two young men's onscreen chemistry had led to romance. But things got worse for Locke after the relationship was made public in an interview with Croft, and rumors started spreading that Locke had cheated on him with an OnlyFans star, who has since spoken out on social media.
Locke has yet to address the swirling rumors, but that hasn’t stopped people on social media from spreading the allegations far and wide.
Were Joe Locke and Sebastian Croft in a relationship?
In an interview with British tabloid The iPaper about his upcoming EP and his time on The Celebrity Traitors, Croft finally revealed details of his secret affair with Locke.
Croft admitted Locke dumped him over the phone after the two had dated in secret for three years.
"It hurts, but also the truth is there's not a good way to deliver news like that," Croft told the publication. "For a long time, I was angry about the how. But the truth is, the thing that hurts is the why, which is the reason. When they reach the point where 'I've decided my life is more interesting when I don’t have you in it,' that could not hurt more."
Locke has yet to confirm the relationship, but one of Croft’s friends also spoke to another U.K. tabloid, spilling the tea about keeping the relationship under wraps and what it meant to Croft.
“Bash and Joe never made their relationship public, although Heartstopper fans had guessed they were dating,” the unnamed friend told The Sun last week.
"In fact, they were in a loving relationship for almost three years," the friend said. "When Joe left him, Bash was heartbroken. Joe was his first great love. He’s channelled all those feelings into this new EP, the songs are incredibly emotional and give an insight into everything that happened.”
Did Joe Locke cheat on Sebastian Croft?
Once the messy end of Locke and Croft's secret love affair came to light, social media denizens began circulating rumors that not only did Locke dump his former co-star over the phone, but he cheated on him with an adult content creator.
The rumor that Locke had an illicit affair began spreading across social media after X (formerly Twitter) user @connorjbassett posted a collection of photos alleging Locke had cheated with OnlyFans star That.Gay.Guy.Nick.
The timeline put forward by the social media user remains unclear, but the posts featured screenshots of Locke allegedly interacting with Norris’ social media posts, as well as selfies the two took together.
Who is That.Gay.Guy.Nick?
That.Gay.Guy.Nick, whose real name is Nicholas Norris, is an adult content creator with more than 370,000 followers on X and a popular OnlyFans account where he posts photos and adult videos.
Neither Locke nor Croft have responded to the cheating scandal, but Norris took to social media to shut down the rumors that he was involved in the affair.
Norris confirmed he and Locke spent time together, but insisted they met only after Locke and Croft's relationship had already ended.
“But fr in all seriousness, this is a nothing burger. They had broken up before we even met, we just hung out a couple times. Pls go outside and touch grass,” he said in a since deleted post on X.
Norris hasn't spoken out about the rumors again since removing the post.
