'Everyone was letting loose': We finally know the story behind Rita Ora and Taika Waititi's 'throuple' kiss.

Remember that time, from about mid-2020 to mid-2021, when it felt like every celebrity on earth was in Australia making a film?

What a time.

We had news of Zac Efron dating a Byron Bay cafe worker, Matt Damon doing interviews live from the TAB and Kate Walsh hitting the beaches of Perth. But by far the most ~scandalous~ headline to come out of that time surrounded the filming of Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder (but sadly, did not include Chris Hemsworth).

In May 2021, paparazzi images showed Tessa Thompson, Rita Ora and her now-husband, Thor director Taika Waititi, getting cosy on a Sydney balcony. There were kisses and cuddling, and it gave us all violent flashbacks to our own drunken hookups. 

Very quickly however, speculation turned to a possible 'throuple' between the trio.

Watch: Thor: Love and Thunder trailer. Post continues below video.

A couple of months later, Waititi told the Sydney Morning Herald he wasn't upset by the images going public, even though it caused a stream of rumours including that he was 'reprimanded' by Marvel bosses.

"I think in the world of the internet, everything goes away pretty quick," he said.

Except, well, that's not true is it? The interest is forever.

Speculation has followed Ora and Waititi's relationship, including their secret 2022 wedding, ever since those images made their way onto a Daily Mail homepage.

Now, in an interview for GQ, Ora has spoken about it for the first time.

"I just chose to not acknowledge that because it's ridiculous," she said of the 'throuple' discussion.

"I think when some things are so absurd, and it's hard to fathom any sense of it, you just have to ignore it. I've taken that approach for a lot of things, because you don't want to put energy towards something that's nonexistent."

The now infamous photos were essentially just drunken fun, she said.

"Have you ever been in a situation where you've had a lot of drinks and everyone's your best friend? And then the next day you’re like, 'I was talking to this person in the smoking area for four hours and I've got no idea who they are?'" she asked.

(Yes, women's bathrooms become the friendliest place on earth when everyone's had a couple of drinks.)

"Literally – that was just a bunch of friends having a good time," Ora continued. 

"They [Taika and Tessa] had a crazy schedule and everyone was letting loose. I love that. Each to their own."

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Waititi was directing the latest Thor film, which starred Thompson as Valkyrie.

"The good news though, is that when I was on Twitter talking to my fans, all of my incredible LGBTQIA+ fanbases were like, actually – whether this is true or not – I'm so inspired that this is being normalised publicly," she concluded. "That made me really happy. You don’t know who it's touching."

In general, Ora said she found tabloid speculation about her life and relationship was so overwhelming at times that she'd thought 'maybe this isn't worth it', but ultimately her love of singing outweighed that feeling.

"It's a really thin line, you know; I'm never ungrateful for the job. [But] no one's really gonna understand that world if you're not in it. It's really difficult to mentally understand it. You can't train for this shit."

Ora and Waititi began dating in early 2021 after six years of friendship. 

While Waititi and the Thor cast were in town making the Marvel flick, Ora was also around as a judge on The Voice Australia and appreciated seeing a friendly face while on the other side of the world to her home in London.

So you could say Australia was the ultimate match-maker. 

For the two of them. 

Not three. 

TWO. 

This is one rumour we can put to bed.

Feature image: Getty/Mamamia.