Fame PicturesThings aren't always what they seem.
Even when what they seem to be is seriously backed by what people who should be in the know are actually saying.
Take Halle Berry's much-reported (yet never confirmed by the couple) engagement to Olivier Martinez. He obviously liked it. And he definitely put a ring on it. But at this point, everything beyond that just might be guesswork.
The first round of reports that she and her French beau of more than a year were engaged came the first week of January, when the now infamous and much-theorized about emerald ring first made its debut on that finger on Halle's left hand.
Like many rumors, that one came and went…and then came back again with such force this week that their engagement was finally reported as fact—by Us Weekly and People, both citing unnamed sources close to the couple confirming the betrothal. People even had additional confirmation from the designer of the supposed engagement ring, Gurhan, via a press release.
Heck, even Martinez's still-tight ex, Kylie Minogue, took it upon herself to tweet out congratulations to the couple on their impending trip down the aisle, writing, "Congrats to Olivier Martinez and Halle Berry!! #wedding."
Despite all this seeming rock-solid proof, there were still murmurs to the contrary, with new sources speaking out to various outlets claiming that, yes, while Martinez gave Berry a ring, it was more of a commitment bauble and not of the engagement variety.
Well, cut to today, when E! News spotted Halle out and about running errands (with the unavoidable jewel on her finger) and ably dodging the parade of paparazzi questions hurled her way about her alleged betrothal.
Aside from her silence on the matter, there's some fresh backtracking by the U.K. jeweler that confirmed and took credit for the engagement ring. Now, there's some serious doubt about whether any question was ever really popped.
"Although Halle is a great fan of Gurhan, we cannot confirm that she is wearing a Gurhan design," the company told People, failing to explain why the jeweler first confirmed it was not only its design, but specifically of the engagement variety.
In any case, whether Halle and Olivier are engaged or not (and the evidence certainly seems to be pointing a different direction than it did just a few days ago), one thing is indisputable: the couple is still very much together. And maybe, just maybe, sharing a laugh over this whole thing.