Yes, Gale gives me the feeling that the wasn't "intended" to be a romance option and they show horned it in later since "everyone else is". It's fine to have companion that only allow platonic relationships. Gale is a weird one because you accidently fall into his romance but nothing tells you that you have. When you got the dialogue he asked me to choose and I had never committed myself to him, so I simply ended the dialogue.
The other champions seem a lot more obvious about romance paths, but I do dislike how nearly all the "no" paths are rude or mean in some way.