Rulers of Fortune

RULERS OF FORTUNE: Off‑Camera Chaos, Leaked Kisses & Mafia Lovers – All the Real-Life Drama Behind Netflix’s Hottest Crime Series

A young hustler takes on Rio’s gambling underworld on screen – but off screen, the cast of Rulers of Fortune (Os Donos do Jogo) is serving almost as much scandal as their characters. latestnetflix.com's view is that From a viral “technical” kiss to a script leak courtesy of Juliana Paes’ breakfast, here’s the juiciest, real gossip swirling around Netflix’s Brazilian mafia hit.

On-Set Drama & “Technical” Passion

The Deleted Kiss Netflix Tried to Bury (and Then Posted Themselves)

Netflix Brazil casually dropped a deleted scene from Season 1 showing Mel Maia (Mirna) and André Lamoglia (Profeta) in a samba-school rehearsal turning choreography into a full-on, steamy make-out session. The streaming giant shared the cut moment with the caption: “Que beijo foi esse? Essa cena deletada e INÉDITA de Mirna e Profeta em Os Donos do Jogo agora vai morar nas mentes de todo mundo!” – and fans did exactly that: lost their minds .

• The scene, set at a carnival rehearsal, has the pair kissing so intensely that viewers immediately questioned whether this was still acting.
• It was originally cut from the season, then resurrected online as promo – cue accusations of Netflix weaponizing deleted intimacy for engagement .

The On-Set Kiss That “Escaped” the Set

Months earlier, a kiss between Mel Maia and André Lamoglia, filmed for the series, “did not stay restricted to the set” and leaked onto social media, where it quickly went viral .

• Fans joked this was definitely not just a “beijo técnico” (“technical kiss”), leaving comments like: “Esse é o beijo técnico kkkkkkk” and “Tem mais química do que com a Jade” – a pointed shot at André’s rumored off-screen flame Jade Picon .
• Another viral comment sympathized with Jade: seeing “my man” kissing like that “for work” would make it hard to sleep afterwards .
• The leak turned what should’ve been just another scripted kiss into a full-blown fandom investigation into who André really has chemistry with.

Romance Rumors: Boxers, Exes & Carnival Affairs

André Lamoglia: The Walking Brazilian Gossip Magnet

Long before he became Profeta, André was already a fixture on gossip pages:

• He previously dated co-star Giullia Buscacio, with Brazilian press describing him as her “romance with an internationally famous actor,” and noting they grew closer when he visited Rio in 2021–2022 .
• He’s also been linked to influencer Jade Picon. At Carnival in Rio, they were seen side by side at a VIP Camarote at Marquês de Sapucaí; reports described the appearance as a revival of an older fling, with sources saying they’d been involved since at least her 2022 soap-opera days .
• Another Brazilian gossip item also tied André to Rafaella Santos, Neymar’s sister, as part of his rumored dating history .

None of these relationships have been fully “hard-launched” by André himself; he repeatedly says he prefers to keep his private life private , which of course only makes the rumors juicier.

Mel Maia’s “Discreet” Relationship – and a Reported Jealous Boyfriend

While fans were busy shipping Mirna and Profeta, Mel was quietly dating Luan Medeiros, a 30-year-old boxer and boxing coach .

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• In interviews, Mel stressed that she’s not hiding the relationship but protecting it: “Não é esconder, é privar” (“It’s not hiding, it’s keeping private”) .
• TikTok edits and fan accounts spun this into a jealousy narrative, with viral clips titled along the lines of “Ciúmes de Luan: Mel Maia e Beijos na Nova Série” (“Luan’s jealousy: Mel Maia and the kisses in the new series”), joking about how her real-life boyfriend might react to those very hot scenes with André .
• In a PodPah appearance, André himself leaned into the running joke, saying there was “zero chemistry” with Mel off screen and quipping: “Já viu o namorado da Mel? Ele é boxeador profissional” . Translation: I am not about to mess with a pro fighter.

Romance vs. Reality: Press & Fandom Stir the Pot

• A feature on André in O Globo outright framed his on-screen romance with Mel Maia as sparking questions about Jade Picon: “Romance fictício com atriz e vida real com Jade” – fictional romance with Mel, real-life romance with Jade .
• Fans picked sides online, with some insisting André has “more chemistry” with Mel, others defending Jade as the “real” partner. None of the parties have confirmed anything beyond the Luan–Mel relationship.

Leaks & Secrets: When Breakfast Becomes a Spoiler

Juliana Paes’ Breakfast-of-Champions Script Leak

In June 2026, queen Juliana Paes (Leila) gave fans exactly what producers fear most: a peek at confidential Season 2 material – all while innocently showing off her breakfast .

• She shared Instagram Stories of a table laid with black coffee, pão na chapa, and a stack of binders and papers… which just happened to be season 2 scripts and the shooting schedule, watermarked with the Paranoïd production logo and labeled with her name .
• Fans instantly zoomed in and screen-grabbed the pages, spotting color-coded highlights, a filming timetable and the show logo.
• Headlines gleefully called it “Juliana Paes leaks the script of Season 2,” framing the cozy photos as an accidental spoiler drop .
• Officially, it’s presented as a lighthearted mishap, not a major scandal – but you can bet someone at Netflix reminded the cast about those NDA clauses.

Netflix Promoting Its Own Deleted Sex Scene

The Mel–André samba-rehearsal make-out was not only cut from the original edit, it was then repackaged by Netflix as promo content, labeled as a “cena deletada e inédita” .

• The move caused debate among fans about how much more explicit the show originally was, and why Netflix trimmed it down only to dangle the footage later for hype .
• Given the show’s already steamy reputation, the very fact that this scene was considered “too much” for the final cut became a gossip item all by itself.

Queer Mafia Love & Fan Frenzy

Sombra & Esqueleto: The Mafia Husbands We Deserve

The surprise breakout ship of Rulers of Fortune isn’t Profeta and Mirna – it’s Sombra (Igor Fernandez) and Esqueleto (Ruan Aguiar), the show’s gay crime-world couple.

• TikTok and LGBTQ+ outlets across Latin America quickly crowned them the “gay mafia” icons of the series, with compilations of their scenes racking up tens of thousands of likes and hashtags like #SombraEsqueleto and “gay mafia Brazilian” trending in fan circles .
• One Spanish-language fan page highlighted them as “la pareja gay en ‘Los dueños del juego’”, turning their romance into a central selling point for international queer audiences .
• Actor Ruan Aguiar later described co-star Igor Fernandez as a “partner on screen and in life,” explaining how their real friendship helped build the emotional bond viewers fell for .

From Subplot to Representation Flagship

What the show likely expected to be a gritty side-story turned into a representation flashpoint: TikTok creators started presenting Rulers of Fortune as a must-watch “gay mafia” series, sometimes even overshadowing the central crime plot in their promos .

• The dynamic between the two became so popular that many fans now see them as the emotional core of the show and are openly demanding bigger storylines – and no tragic “bury your gays” endings – in Season 2.

Wild Trivia, Real-Life Inspirations & Fan Theories

Characters Inspired by Real Bicheiros

The show’s dangerous charm partly comes from how close it skates to reality. Brazilian coverage has broken down which real-world figures inspired some of the characters:

• Leila Fernandez, Juliana Paes’ stylish contravention queen, is said to be inspired by Sabrina Harrouche Garcia, a prominent figure connected to the real jogo do bicho universe .
• The narrative also draws from the story of Bernardo Bello, a high-profile bicheiro (illegal lottery boss), whose life and legal troubles are cited as a direct influence on the series’ depiction of Rio’s gambling empires .

This blending of fiction and notorious real personalities has sparked debate inside Brazil about whether the show glamorizes or critiques the criminal underworld.

Profeta Conspiracy: The Secret Guerra Heir?

Entertainment coverage has noted that fan theories around Season 2 are getting intense, with one especially popular idea: that Profeta is secretly a blood heir of the Guerra clan, explaining his improbable rise through the ranks and his entanglement with every family feud .

• Coverage of Season 2 speculation describes the show as full of “power struggles and mysteries,” with fans theorizing that hidden parentage and long-buried secrets will be the big twist .
• Co-creator Heitor Dhalia has teased that upcoming episodes will “answer questions you didn’t even know you had,” which fans take as a wink that at least some of their wild theories might not be totally off-base .
• For now, it remains unconfirmed, firmly in the “fans speculate” zone.

Fandom Fixation on Cut & Spicier Material

With Netflix openly sharing deleted kisses and articles detailing how sex scenes with Mel Maia, André Lamoglia, Xamã and Giullia Buscacio were choreographed to be sensual yet non-explicit , fans are convinced a hotter version of Season 1 exists.

• Brazilian media have described the series as “muito sexy” (very sexy) and highlighted that actors trained specifically to balance eroticism with Netflix’s content standards .
• That, plus the promo dropped of Mel and André’s cut scene , has sparked ongoing demands for an “uncensored” or extended edition from viewers who are sure more footage is locked in the vault.

Season 2: Samba, Script Pages & Higher Stakes

Production Kickoff: Samba + Spoilers

Filming on Season 2 officially kicked off with a very on-brand roda de samba at the Acadêmicos da Rocinha quadra in Rio, attended by much of the original cast and new additions .

• CNN Brasil reported that the dance-filled gathering marked the start of shooting and confirmed that the show’s second season would continue to explore the “universo do jogo do bicho” with even higher stakes .
• Shortly after, posts from Netflix and cast members like Dandara Mariana confirmed: “Estamos de volta! Em breve, a 2ª temporada de ‘Os Donos do Jogo’ pra vcs! E o bicho vai pegar, de novo!” (“We’re back! Soon, Season 2 of Os Donos do Jogo for you all! And the ‘beast’ will strike again, again!”) .

New Blood, Old Drama

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• Season 2 will bring in heavyweights like Elizabeth Savala, Duda Matte and Willean Reis alongside returning names André Lamoglia, Juliana Paes, Mel Maia, Giullia Buscacio, Ruan Aguiar, Chico Diaz, Bruno Mazzeo, Adriano Garib, and others .
• Behind the scenes, fan pages are already joking that the real plot of Season 2 is whether Juliana Paes will accidentally leak more than just the cover of her script next time.