Maisie Smith and Max George have confused followers by claiming to be expecting a child.
The 34-year-old Wanted vocalist and the 21-year-old starlet met on Strictly Come Dancing and have since been close, jetting off on numerous vacations and packing on the PDA.
Max and Maisie previously prompted conjecture that they were engaged – speculation that did not pan out – and the pair created further uncertainty this week when they revealed Maisie was expecting.
But not everything was as it appeared.
On Monday, the pair shared a photo of Maisie apparently cradling a pregnancy bump while Max gazed on in amazement, captioning it, ‘We’ve received some really happy news.’
The next photo, however, replaced a love emoji over Maisie’s ‘bump’ with the words: ‘I just had the greatest 5 course dinner of my life.’v
Fans were confused and wounded by Max and Maisie’s apparent joke, with many turning to social media to express their displeasure with the ‘thoughtless’ joke.
One Twitter user named both Max and Maisie, saying, ‘I don’t believe this is something either of you should be joking about,’ while another said they were presently suffering pregnancy loss and found it tough to see the pair ‘joke about [being] expectant.’
‘Pregnancy jokes are not and never will be amusing,’ another wrote, while one asked exasperatedly: ‘What on earth is Maisie Smith’s Instagram story.’
As one individual phrased it, “pregnancy jokes are not, and will never be, funny.” Fans, your careless tales tonight have harmed many people. People who have experienced the loss of a kid. People who are unable to procreate for whatever cause. Please improve.’
It comes after supermodel Heidi Klum was chastised for donning a prosthetic bump and acting pregnant as an April Fool’s joke, with admirers calling it ‘tacky’ and cruel.
Max and Maisie announced their relationship last year, and have previously been the subject of controversy due to their 13-year age difference, which Maisie claims ‘never crosses my thoughts.’
‘People ask me, “Do you notice it?”, and I never have. We’re so like-minded. I’ve got friends in their 30s and 40s. You connect with who you connect with’, Maisie told Hello! last year.
Max added: ‘It never enters my mind. Maisie has already done so many things that I’m in awe of – I look up to her.’