It’s the romance that Coronation Street fans didn’t see coming — but now can’t get enough of. Carla Connor and Lisa Swain, affectionately dubbed “Swarla” by the internet, have become the soap’s hottest slow-burn couple, and speculation is reaching a fever pitch over whether wedding bells could soon be ringing.

The fandom exploded this week after longtime Corrie writer Damon Rochefort dropped a tantalising teaser during a behind-the-scenes interview. While careful not to reveal too much, Rochefort grinned when asked about Swarla’s future and simply said, “Let’s just say some characters might want to start shopping for hats.”

Naturally, viewers pounced on the comment. “That’s it, we’re getting a Swarla wedding!” one fan screamed on X (formerly Twitter), accompanied by a flurry of heart and ring emojis. “He said hats! HATS!!! That means a wedding invite is coming.”

Since then, social media has been ablaze with theories, fan-made wedding invitation graphics, and even mock dress designs — some picturing Carla in a sharply tailored white tuxedo, Lisa in a sleek jumpsuit with her trademark no-nonsense glare softened just slightly for the occasion. One post even imagined Roy Cropper officiating the ceremony with Eccles II as ring bearer.

But how realistic is a Swarla wedding? And more importantly — who’s going to pop the question?

While neither Carla nor Lisa have officially confirmed their feelings for each other on-screen, their chemistry has been undeniable since early 2025, when a string of emotionally charged scenes in the factory, police station, and Roy’s Rolls gave viewers their first taste of something deeper than friendship. The pairing was slow, subtle, and refreshingly mature — a contrast to the soap’s usual whirlwind romances. But the emotional weight of their bond has only intensified over time.

Fans point to key moments: Carla comforting Lisa after the fallout with her daughter, Lisa defending Carla from a false harassment claim, and the now-iconic night they got locked in the Bistro wine cellar during the power outage. That scene, where the two women shared a bottle of red and opened up about their traumas, is now considered the birth of Swarla.

“They haven’t kissed yet, and they haven’t said ‘I love you,’” one superfan explained on a YouTube breakdown. “But the way they look at each other? That’s better than any love scene.”

And now, all signs seem to point toward a major turning point. The recent episodes showed Carla making cryptic remarks about not “waiting forever to be happy,” and Lisa has been noticeably awkward around her — a clear sign in soap world that someone’s hiding big feelings.

So who’s going to crack first?

“I think Carla will do it,” said one fan confidently in a Corrie Facebook group. “She’s always been direct when it matters. She’ll get down on one knee — in the most Carla way possible — probably in a factory boardroom, holding a bolt gun instead of a ring box.”

Others believe Lisa might be the one to make the first move, especially now that she’s beginning to open up more emotionally. “She’s been through a lot — with Becky, with her daughter, with the job,” a commenter wrote. “Carla’s her safe space. I think Lisa’s going to realise that and propose, maybe in private, maybe in front of Carla’s family. Quiet but heartfelt. That’s very Swain.”

And then there are those who think the writers might skip the proposal altogether — and give us a surprise wedding.

One viral theory making the rounds suggests that a “crisis event” will force Carla and Lisa to confront their feelings and tie the knot on a whim. “Imagine they’re helping someone else with a wedding — maybe Tracy and Tommy have a second ceremony or something — and then Carla just turns to Lisa and goes, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s just get married, right now.’ That would be iconic.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Coronation Street has stunned viewers with a secret ceremony. Who could forget Steve and Becky’s Vegas-style elopement, or Tyrone and Fiz’s emotional hospital wedding? A surprise Swarla wedding could easily rank among the most unforgettable.

Behind the scenes, the buzz seems to match the fandom’s enthusiasm. Damon Rochefort’s hint is just the latest breadcrumb. Earlier this summer, Corrie producer Iain MacLeod praised the unexpected pairing in a press interview, calling their chemistry “genuine and grounded” and saying they were “very much on our radar” for major upcoming storylines.

Even the actors themselves have played coy in recent appearances. Alison King (Carla) recently dodged a wedding-related question during an appearance on Loose Women, smiling and saying, “All I’ll say is: Carla always surprises people.” Vicky Myers, who plays Swain, added fuel to the fire during a fan Q&A, saying, “You’ll definitely want to stay tuned this autumn.”

Corrie viewers certainly will. Fan art featuring Swarla wedding scenes has been trending on Instagram and Tumblr. A Change.org petition titled “We Deserve a Swarla Wedding 2025” has already garnered over 10,000 signatures in just three days. And a Swarla-themed café event in Manchester is being planned by local fans, complete with pink and navy-themed décor — a nod to Carla’s usual wardrobe palette and Swain’s uniform blues.

The popularity of Swarla has also been celebrated as an important moment for representation on British television. While Coronation Street has included LGBTQ+ characters before, the slow-burn, older queer romance between two powerful women in their 40s and 50s has been especially meaningful to many viewers.

“I see myself in them,” one fan shared online. “It’s not a teenage crush or a fling — it’s two women who’ve been through hell, finding something real in each other. If they get married, it won’t just be romantic. It’ll be revolutionary.”

For now, ITV is keeping tight-lipped about what’s next for Carla and Lisa. But with Damon Rochefort’s hint, mounting fan speculation, and narrative breadcrumbs falling fast, a wedding — or at the very least a proposal — seems more likely than ever.

Will Carla pop the question? Will Lisa surprise everyone with a quiet vow? Or will the writers flip the script and throw Swarla straight into a whirlwind wedding without a moment’s notice?

Whatever happens, fans are locked in. The countdown to “I do” has unofficially begun. And one thing is clear: Weatherfield has never been more ready for love.