‘DeuxMoi’ unmasked: who is the Hollywood gossip monger?

In the shadowy underbelly of Hollywood’s rumor mill, where A-listers’ secrets spill like overpriced lattes, one anonymous Instagram account has reigned supreme: DeuxMoi. But the veil has lifted—meet Melissa Lovallo, a 50-year-old former Ralph Lauren executive from Manhattan’s chic Financial District. What began as a humble 2013 fashion blog with pal Meggie Kempner morphed into a pandemic-powered gossip juggernaut in 2020, amassing over 2 million followers with juicy, unverified celeb scoops. Anonymity was her superpower, until now.

From flop to phenomenon

DeuxMoi‘s origins trace back to a 2013 fashion and beauty blog Lovallo co-ran with Meggie Kempner but it fizzled out by 2015 leaving the Instagram account dormant. Then came the COVID lockdown in March 2020 – Lovallo revived it soliciting anonymous celebrity sightings from bored followers stuck at home. What started as lighthearted shares quickly snowballed into a must-follow feed.

Early tips were tame like spotting stars at grocery stores but by late 2020 DeuxMoi boasted 500 000 followers hooked on the unfiltered gossip. Today with over 2 1 million devotees it dishes everything from A-lister hookups to diva demands all crowd-sourced and unverified echoing the chaotic thrill of early-2000s tabloids like a reality TV guilty pleasure.

Lovallo guarded her anonymity fiercely slapping disclaimers on posts dodging cameras distorting her voice in podcasts and insisting on faceless interviews. Even when Hailey Bieber sussed out her identity back in 2020 the model kept mum. But cracks appeared her dad confirmed it to reporters and old colleagues tied her to unearthed photos.

Monetizing the mystery

Beyond the buzz, DeuxMoi has become a lucrative empire for Melissa Lovallo, pulling in cash through a $5-a-month Substack newsletter ranked 54th in popularity, plus sponsorships from heavy hitters like Hulu, Netflix, and Liquid IV. Add merch drops priced from $25 to $130, and paparazzi-esque exclusives, and it’s clear anonymity fueled a gossip goldmine.

Lovallo channeled her experiences into the 2022 novel Anon Pls, a fictional take on running a scandal-spilling account that mirrors DeuxMoi‘s rise. The book caught Hollywood’s eye, landing a script order from HBO Max for a TV adaptation, blending her real-life intrigue with scripted drama flair.

Yet, anonymity was always DeuxMoi’s secret sauce, empowering unfiltered scoops without backlash. With her identity now exposed, questions swirl: can the account thrive sans mystique, or will this unmasking dim its star-powered allure in Tinseltown’s rumor game?

The power of anonymity

DeuxMoi‘s unverified blinds have sparked wildfires in Hollywood, from alleged A-lister feuds to behind-the-scenes tantrums, drawing parallels to the cutthroat drama of Succession‘s media empire. This crowd-sourced chaos empowered Lovallo to post without fear, turning mundane tips into viral sensations that kept celebs on edge.

Yet, not all scoops landed softly—take the 2023 Taylor Swift rumor alleging a secret marriage and miscarriage with Joe Alwyn, swiftly retracted with an apology after her publicist debunked it. Such missteps highlighted DeuxMoi‘s toothless edge, blending harmless sightings with potentially harmful speculation.

With anonymity stripped, Lovallo’s platform faces scrutiny; insiders wonder if exposed operations will curb submissions or invite lawsuits, potentially taming the wild gossip beast that once thrived in the shadows of Tinseltown’s glittering facade.

The unmasking fallout

With Melissa Lovallo’s identity now public, DeuxMoi faces an uncertain future, as the cloak of anonymity that shielded her from Hollywood’s wrath dissolves. Insiders speculate that fewer tipsters might share bold blinds, fearing traceability in a post-unmasking era, potentially diluting the account’s raw, unfiltered edge.

Former colleagues from Lovallo’s Ralph Lauren days corroborated her ties to unearth photos, linking her fashion-industry roots to DeuxMoi‘s evolution. These connections, revealed by investigative outlets like the Daily Mail, underscore how her professional network fueled early gossip streams without exposing her face.

As DeuxMoi navigates this exposed chapter, questions linger on sustainability—can it retain its viral pull sans mystery, or will legal pressures from irked celebs tame the beast? Lovallo’s empire, built on shadows, now steps into the spotlight, testing gossip’s true staying power.

The final reveal

As DeuxMoi steps out of the shadows with Melissa Lovallo at the helm, the gossip game’s power dynamic shifts—her once-ironclad anonymity fueled a fearless empire, but exposure begs the question: can this unmasked maven sustain the thrill, or will Hollywood’s rumor mill demand a new phantom to chase?