Maybe she honestly thought she was being subtle? She meets a new guy, starts dating and it’s getting serious, but she knows everybody is shipping her with DD. So she stops their flirting, changes her username, gives us time to adjust and then starts attending events with PM. Mb they are distant like this irl, no handholding etc, she knows he’d be uncomfortable with kissing, what else she’s supposed to do? So she takes him on romantic holiday, takes off her top and lets them be pap’ed.

I could buy the first part of your theory, maybe, but I don’t think she took him on vacation and let them be paped. I know we’re all struggling with Gillian’s personality right now, but this would be very uncharacteristic. It’s supposed to be everything she despises, from the choice on going yachting on a celebrity hotspot to allow paps following her for days and allowing pictures of her boobs and ass to be released.
It’s not the Gillian I thought she was, and I still think it’s not the one she is.