Entertainment
Team Cole or Alex? My Life With the Walter Boys’ Love Triangle Timeline on December 26, 2023 at 11:59 pm Us Weekly
Noah LaLonde as Cole, Nikki Rodriguez as Jackie, Ashby Gentry as Alex Netflix (3)
My Life With the Walter Boys’ messy love triangle between a girl and two brothers may feel familiar — and that’s exactly how it was designed.
The series, which is based on Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name, follows Manhattanite Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) as she moves in with family friends following the death of her parents and sister. While settling into her new rural lifestyle in Colorado, she finds herself developing feelings for two nearly estranged brothers: Cole (Noah LaLonde) and Alex Walter (Ashby Gentry), who couldn’t be more different.
“[The story] was inspired by Damon and Stefan [Salvatore] from The Vampire Diaries,” Novak told Entertainment Weekly in December 2023. “There’s just something so compelling about a love triangle, and there’s so many YA books that have been influenced by that show.”
The Vampire Diaries novels were released in the early ‘90s by author L. J. Smith. The books were later adapted into an 8-season series for the CW, which starred Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert, a girl who falls in love with vampire brothers: Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder). My Life With the Walter Boys has followed a similar trajectory, with the story starting on writing and publishing website Wattpad before being adapted into a novel and later getting picked up by Netflix. The first season dropped on the streaming service in December 2023 and the romantic drama was picked up for season 2 just weeks later.
While the Walter Boys novel ends with Jackie breaking up with Alex to be with Cole, the TV series takes a different approach. Viewers watched as Jackie gave into her feelings for Cole as the two exchanged a passionate kiss at the end of season 1, despite her still being in a relationship with Alex. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she beelines it back to New York City with her uncle Richard (Alex Quijano), leaving nothing but an apology note behind.
“We have to make changes to make it work as a TV series,” showrunner Melanie Halsall explained to EW. “The way that relationships unfold, especially Jackie and Alex’s relationship, is slightly different than in the book. And what happens at the end will surprise people because that is different than the book, but I’m hoping that gives the audience — both the audience that loves the book and the new audience — a bit of a surprise.”
Halsall explained that after a season filled with drama, she wanted everything to feel peaceful in the Walters’ world by the finale before letting things finally explode.
“By Episode 10, everything’s settled down,” she said. “Her relationship with Alex is going well. Alex and Cole have a truce. She and Cole seem to be getting on OK as friends — and then I wanted to blow all that up. That was always my intention, to lead the audience down a certain path and then blow it all up.”
Where the trio goes from here remains to be seen, but as for who the actors are rooting for, Gentry told Popternative that his opinion on the love triangle changed over time.
“When we were shooting it, I was very much like, ‘How can you watch this show and not be Team Alex?’ Like, it did not make sense to me,” he said after the series hit Netflix. “I’d even talk to Noah and be like, ‘How are you not Team Alex? You read the scripts!’ Then I’m watching it back again and I kind of get it. I get why there’s a tension. I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe there is this true love thing that comes into it.”
Keep scrolling for a full timeline of the love triangle between Jackie, Alex and Cole:
Jackie Arrives
The first episode of the series sees Jackie arriving at the Walter family ranch, where Cole is immediately on her radar after she meets him by the pool. The pair’s chemistry is there from the jump, with Cole nicknaming Jackie “New York.” Alex and Jackie, meanwhile, connect when they’re put in the same class. As the rest of the brothers continue to give her a hard time, Alex offers her a friendly hand.
Courtesy of Netflix
The 2 Sides of Cole
While Jackie and Cole connect during an evening by the water in episode 2, she later finds out that he was the brains behind a prank that left her with bleached hair. At the same time, she and Alex get closer when he shows her his favorite place on the farm: the kids’ loft. The two jump into stacks of hay and even share a near kiss before getting interrupted by Cole.
A Near Kiss Twice Over
Cole convinces a stressed-out Jackie to cut school on episode 3, leaving Alex scrambling to cover for her. Day drinking at a party, Jackie drunkenly almost kisses Cole during a game of Truth or Dare but ends up puking on him instead. Back at the ranch, she tries to kiss Alex while thanking him for always being there for her, but he tells her he wants their first kiss to be when she’s sober.
A Messy Mix-Up
Jackie bonds with Cole about their shared losses while the two are left home alone to do yard work as punishment for skipping school in episode 4. As the power goes out in the house from a storm, the electricity between them heightens, and they almost kiss before the family returns home — and Alex finds them together.
A Not-So-Happy Holiday
Episode 5 sees Jackie’s first Thanksgiving with the Walters. After her family’s tea kettle is accidentally broken, Cole sneaks away to try and piece it back together. Alex, meanwhile, makes his own grand gesture by taking her to a spot where she can see the sunset between two trees — something he hopes will remind her of the Manhattanhenge when she’s missing New York City. Just as Cole finishes her kettle, he sees Jackie and Alex sharing their first kiss.
Courtesy of Netflix
Coming to Blows
Alex and Jackie settle into their relationship in episode 6. The pair are in romantic bliss before she discovers that Alex and Cole fought over a girl before she arrived. She learns that Cole, upon returning from out of town over the summer, kissed Alex’s then-girlfriend, Paige, at a party. When Jackie confronts Alex about why he didn’t tell her, Alex confesses he was afraid to be honest for fear that Jackie would realize she’s out of his league. Later, Alex and Cole drunkenly get in each other’s face, resulting in Alex punching Cole in the face.
A Rain-Soaked Confession
Alex and Cole’s issues continue to escalate, while their brother Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis) gets taken to the hospital. Cole later picks Jackie up when she gets lost in the woods and he questions why Jackie is with Alex, accusing her of dating his brother because he’s “safe.” As they get caught in the rain, Cole reveals he never knew that Alex and Paige were dating and he never meant to hurt his brother.
Chris Large/Netflix
A Truth Revealed
After Cole spirals in episode 7 and tells Jackie he wishes she never moved to Colorado, he and Alex finally make amends over their differences. When giving Jackie a ride home later that day, Cole’s truck breaks down and he admits that he doesn’t want to hurt Alex, but he can’t “not want” to be with Jackie, leaving the twosome at a crossroads.
Awkward Nuptials
As Alex grows more attached to Jackie, she finds herself drifting from him due to Cole’s confession. She and Cole share a sweet moment in a field while picking wildflowers, which she later finds out represents unrequited love. After Alex tells Jackie he’s in love with her and then passes out from too much champagne, Jackie discovers the tea kettle Cole fixed but never gave to her. She confronts him in the barn, and the pair share a passionate kiss. The next morning, she flees to New York City, leaving only a note behind.
My Life With the Walter Boys’ messy love triangle between a girl and two brothers may feel familiar — and that’s exactly how it was designed. The series, which is based on Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name, follows Manhattanite Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) as she moves in with family friends following the
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By Bolanle Media | July 2, 2026
Photo: Tyla at the 2026 Met Gala in custom Valentino — days before making the biggest business move of her career.
There are career moves, and then there are statements. Tyla just made a statement that will be studied in music business classrooms for years.
The South African superstar — born Tyla Laura Seethal, 24 years old, and already the proud owner of two Grammy Awards — has officially signed a multi-million dollar global deal with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s powerhouse entertainment company, walking away from Epic Records to align herself with the most influential roster in the music business. The signing was confirmed across social media with a major digital announcement this week, and the reaction from industry insiders was immediate — shock, admiration, and the quiet acknowledgment that someone just changed the trajectory of African music forever.
From “Water” to a Global Phenomenon
Let’s not forget where this all started. In 2023, a 21-year-old from Johannesburg released a song called “Water” that nobody could quite categorize and everybody needed to hear. Within weeks, it had sparked one of the most viral TikTok dance challenges of the decade, charted simultaneously across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa, and earned Tyla a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance — the first year that category even existed.
That win wasn’t just personal. It was a signal. African music — Afrobeats, Amapiano, and now what Tyla herself calls A*Pop — was no longer knocking at the door of the global mainstream. It had walked through it. And Tyla had handed it the key.
What followed was a whirlwind two years of sold-out shows, magazine covers, red carpet domination, and a growing reputation as one of the most stylistically fearless artists on the planet. She attended the 2026 Met Gala — her third consecutive appearance — wearing a custom Valentino gown dripping in diamond chains with a sweeping teal skirt, styled by the legendary Law Roach, with beauty by Pat McGrath. The look was breathtaking. But it was also strategic. Every Met Gala appearance, every fashion moment, every carefully placed interview has been building toward exactly this: the infrastructure to match the vision.
What Roc Nation Actually Means
To understand why this deal matters, you have to understand what Roc Nation actually is — because it is not simply a record label.
Founded by Jay-Z in 2008, Roc Nation is a full-service entertainment company with divisions spanning artist management, touring, brand partnerships, film and television, sports management, and philanthropy. Its roster has included Rihanna, Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, and Megan Thee Stallion — artists who didn’t just sell records, but built multi-decade cultural empires that extended into fashion, film, business, and beyond. The through-line isn’t genre. It’s scale.
For Tyla specifically, the Roc Nation deal unlocks a completely different level of access. We’re talking about premium budgets for music videos and live production, top-tier brand partnership pipelines with luxury and lifestyle companies, film and television placement relationships that most artists spend a decade trying to build, and the kind of media weight that gets you on the cover of Vogue, Time, and Billboard in the same calendar year. Roc Nation doesn’t just manage artists — it engineers icons.
On the African music side, Tyla joins fellow Roc Nation signee Ayra Starr, the Nigerian pop star who inked her deal in 2025, deepening the label’s clear and deliberate strategic investment in African pop as the next dominant global genre. Jay-Z is not betting on a trend. He is betting on a generation.
The Album That Could Rewrite the Playbook
The timing of this signing is not accidental — it is surgical.
Tyla’s highly anticipated sophomore album, A*POP, is officially set to drop July 24, 2026, just three weeks away — a 14-track project that she has described as unapologetic, globally ambitious, and deeply rooted in her South African identity while simultaneously reaching for something universal. The lead single “She Did It Again” features Swedish pop titan Zara Larsson, a collaboration that announces in no uncertain terms that Tyla is not staying in any lane she didn’t build herself.
With Roc Nation’s full machine now behind the album rollout — promotional infrastructure, media relationships, tour routing, brand activations — A*POP arrives with a runway that Epic Records simply could not have provided at this scale. The industry is already paying attention. For music supervisors, film and TV executives, brand marketers, and entertainment investors reading this right now — put A*POP on your radar immediately. This is the kind of release that shapes culture, not just charts.
The Bigger Picture Nobody Is Talking About
Here is what gets lost in the excitement of a big announcement: the systemic significance of what Tyla just did.
The music industry’s historical relationship with African artists has been, at best, transactional — major labels slow to invest, quick to cash in on a viral moment, and consistently reluctant to build the kind of long-term infrastructure that turns an artist into a brand. Tyla has navigated that system with remarkable intelligence, refusing to be reduced to a trend, building her artistic identity on her own terms, and now — at 24 — arriving at the negotiating table with enough leverage to choose Roc Nation on her terms.
That matters. Not just for Tyla, but for every African artist watching this unfold from Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Houston. It is proof that the path from regional phenomenon to global superstar is not only possible — it is being paved right now, in real time, by a young woman from Johannesburg who refused to shrink.
For media companies, content platforms, entertainment executives, and brand strategists operating in the African diaspora space — this is your data point. African pop is not a niche. It is not a trend. It is not a moment. It is a movement, and Tyla just secured the most powerful co-sign available in the global music business to lead it.
Watch this space. Very closely.
Follow @bolanlemedia on Instagram for real-time music, film, and entertainment industry news. Read more at bolanlemedia.com
AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.
Spotlight on DJ Shinski
At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.
He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.
DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.
At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.
DJ Tunez and the rest of the night
Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.
Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.
Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir
Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.
If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.
Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel
A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.
It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.
A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs
Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.
The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.
Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.
The Women Behind the Show
Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:
- Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
- Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
- Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)
“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star
Already a Festival Favorite
The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:
- 🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
- 🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
- 🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
- 🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
- 🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
- ⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
- 📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez
Where and When to Watch
Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.
Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:
For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Christin Jezak
Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.
About The Roku Channel
Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About Encompass Digital Media
Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.
Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.
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