Celebrities thinking about posting about their lavish Valentine’s Day shenanigans should tread cautiously, a PR expert says.
For years, since social media became popular, celebrities around the world have given their followers glimpses into their glamorous personal lives, including how they celebrate holidays. Valentine’s Day, like Christmas, is usually a holiday where fans get to see certain celebrities flaunt their wealth the most.
Before the onslaught of luxurious posts that are sure to come from some celebrities, they should think about being more “mindful of the moment” instead of bragging about Valentine’s Day, public relations expert Grayce McCormick at Lightfinder Public Relations has told The Daily Express US. Otherwise, it could backfire on them, leading to significant backlash.
McCormick said, “Valentine’s Day is one of those moments where celebrities can easily go wrong by forgetting how emotionally loaded the holiday is for everyone else.
“From a PR standpoint, lavish gift posts can absolutely backfire, not because romance is bad, but because bragging is easily misread. In a time when so many people are dealing with inflation, loneliness, heartbreak, or loss, a diamond necklace montage can feel less like love and more like a flex.”
The PR expert added, “The best advice PR teams give around V-Day is simple: be mindful of the moment. Audiences don’t mind wealth; they mind disconnect. Valentine’s Day is supposed to feel intimate and human, not like an ad campaign for excess.”
McCormick detailed what certain celebrities do right on the holiday. The expert said, “There’s a difference between communicating joy and performing privilege. As Lady Gaga has always embodied, love resonates most when it feels inclusive: ‘I just wanna see you shine.’
“And Taylor Swift has built her entire brand around emotional relatability, the idea that love is about meaning, not price tags.
“Celebrities who do it well tend to focus on something more universal: gratitude, family, humor, or even self-love. A simple post honoring a partner, kids, or friends often lands far better than ‘look what I got.”
“Bad Bunny is a great example of someone whose public persona often ties love back to roots – culture, family, identity – not just luxury. That kind of love feels grounded.
McCormick added that Pablo Neruda said it best: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where…” The PR expert added, “That’s the energy people actually want – not spectacle, but sincerity.
“Even Yeats had that sense that the deepest things are quiet: love as something deeply personal, not something staged.
The expert concluded, “Ultimately, Valentine’s Day content works best when it feels like a window into real connection, not a billboard.”
Some celebrity couples who have boasted about their Valentine’s Days in the past include Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. All of which are no longer together.
Lopez and Affleck celebrated their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple by getting new tattoos in 2023.
A set of photos shared by Lopez on Instagram showed the actress and singer showing off her new ink — an infinity sign that appears to have the names “Jennifer” and “Ben” written in an elegant script.
An arrow also goes through the middle of the symbol, which sits above Lopez’s ribcage.
In February 2021, Machine Gun Kelly shared on Instagram that he wears a drop of Fox’s blood encased in glass as a necklace.
“I wear your blood around my neck,” the singer wrote with a close-up of the necklace in tribute to “my bloody Valentine,” to whom he got engaged in January 2022.
Despite finalizing their divorce in 2022, West and Kardashian always set the bar high when it came to lavish Valentine’s Days.
In 2019, West surprised Kardashian with a serenade from world-renowned saxophonist Kenny G in their living room.
Kardashian was stunned as she filmed the moment and posted the clip on Twitter (now X). The video showed the musician performing as he stood in the middle of a room filled with white, pink, and red roses placed in individual vases.
“NO BIG DEAL KENNY G IN MY LIVING ROOM!!! Happy Valentines Day,” the reality star wrote.
The following year, West took Kardashian on a romantic trip to Mexico. She shared snaps from their vacation, including some of herself enjoying the beach and views from their hotel room.