diff --git a/apps/strapi/src/api/blog/content-types/blog/schema.json b/apps/strapi/src/api/blog/content-types/blog/schema.json
index d6f31d78..55455f75 100644
--- a/apps/strapi/src/api/blog/content-types/blog/schema.json
+++ b/apps/strapi/src/api/blog/content-types/blog/schema.json
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@
       "type": "component",
       "component": "forms.newsletter",
       "repeatable": false
+    },
+    "featuredBlogPost": {
+      "type": "relation",
+      "relation": "oneToOne",
+      "target": "api::blog-post.blog-post"
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/strapi/types/generated/contentTypes.d.ts b/apps/strapi/types/generated/contentTypes.d.ts
index fc974d3b..283da2b0 100644
--- a/apps/strapi/types/generated/contentTypes.d.ts
+++ b/apps/strapi/types/generated/contentTypes.d.ts
@@ -650,6 +650,10 @@ export interface ApiBlogBlog extends Struct.SingleTypeSchema {
     createdAt: Schema.Attribute.DateTime
     createdBy: Schema.Attribute.Relation<"oneToOne", "admin::user"> &
       Schema.Attribute.Private
+    featuredBlogPost: Schema.Attribute.Relation<
+      "oneToOne",
+      "api::blog-post.blog-post"
+    >
     locale: Schema.Attribute.String
     localizations: Schema.Attribute.Relation<"oneToMany", "api::blog.blog">
     navigation: Schema.Attribute.Component<"blog.navigation", false>
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/app/[locale]/blog/page.tsx b/apps/ui/src/app/[locale]/blog/page.tsx
index 531b3fa3..65d68d48 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/app/[locale]/blog/page.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/app/[locale]/blog/page.tsx
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ import { NewsletterSignup } from "@/components/newsletter/NewsletterSignup"
 import { StrapiSeoStructuredDataByFullPath } from "@/components/page-builder/components/seo-utilities/StrapiSeoStructuredData"
 import {
   BLOG_INDEX_EXCLUDED_CATEGORY_SLUGS,
+  getBlogIndexPosts,
   getBlogNewsletterHubspot,
-  type BlogPost,
 } from "@/lib/blog-utils"
 import { getBlogIndexMetadata } from "@/lib/metadata"
 import { fetchBlog, fetchBlogPostsPage } from "@/lib/strapi-api/content/server"
@@ -49,8 +49,10 @@ export default function BlogIndexPage(props: PageProps<"/[locale]/blog">) {
   )
 
   const hubspotForm = getBlogNewsletterHubspot(blog)
-  const featuredPost: BlogPost | null = allPosts.posts[0] ?? null
-  const remainingPosts: BlogPost[] = allPosts.posts.slice(1)
+  const { featuredPost, remainingPosts, excludeSlugs } = getBlogIndexPosts(
+    blog?.data,
+    allPosts.posts
+  )
 
   return (
     <>
@@ -68,6 +70,7 @@ export default function BlogIndexPage(props: PageProps<"/[locale]/blog">) {
             total={allPosts.total}
             loadMoreLabel={t("loadMore")}
             excludeCategorySlugs={BLOG_INDEX_EXCLUDED_CATEGORY_SLUGS}
+            excludeSlugs={excludeSlugs}
           />
         </HeroContainerContent>
 
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/blog/BlogPostsList.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/blog/BlogPostsList.tsx
index 584deaa2..7bd341b9 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/blog/BlogPostsList.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/blog/BlogPostsList.tsx
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ interface BlogPostsListProps {
   readonly tagSlug?: string
   readonly authorSlug?: string
   readonly excludeCategorySlugs?: readonly string[]
+  readonly excludeSlugs?: readonly string[]
 }
 
 export function BlogPostsList({
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ export function BlogPostsList({
   tagSlug,
   authorSlug,
   excludeCategorySlugs,
+  excludeSlugs,
 }: BlogPostsListProps) {
   const [posts, setPosts] = useState<readonly BlogPost[]>(initialPosts)
   const [offset, setOffset] = useState(initialOffset)
@@ -53,10 +55,11 @@ export function BlogPostsList({
         tagSlug,
         authorSlug,
         excludeCategorySlugs,
+        excludeSlugs,
       })
 
       setPosts((prev) => [...prev, ...res.posts])
-      setOffset((prev) => prev + res.posts.length)
+      setOffset((prev) => prev + res.fetchedCount)
       setHasMore(res.hasMore)
     })
   }
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/blog/blog-posts-load-more.ts b/apps/ui/src/components/blog/blog-posts-load-more.ts
index 68aa7f6b..5532e696 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/blog/blog-posts-load-more.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/blog/blog-posts-load-more.ts
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ export interface LoadMoreBlogPostsArgs {
   readonly tagSlug?: string
   readonly authorSlug?: string
   readonly excludeCategorySlugs?: readonly string[]
+  readonly excludeSlugs?: readonly string[]
 }
 
 export interface LoadMoreBlogPostsResult {
   readonly posts: BlogPost[]
+  readonly fetchedCount: number
   readonly hasMore: boolean
 }
 
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ export async function loadMoreBlogPosts({
   tagSlug,
   authorSlug,
   excludeCategorySlugs,
+  excludeSlugs,
 }: LoadMoreBlogPostsArgs): Promise<LoadMoreBlogPostsResult> {
   const { posts, total } = await fetchBlogPostsPage(locale, {
     offset,
@@ -38,8 +41,15 @@ export async function loadMoreBlogPosts({
     excludeCategorySlugs,
   })
 
+  const excluded = new Set(excludeSlugs)
+  const filteredPosts =
+    excluded.size === 0
+      ? posts
+      : posts.filter((post) => !excluded.has(post.slug as string))
+
   return {
-    posts,
+    posts: filteredPosts,
+    fetchedCount: posts.length,
     hasMore: offset + posts.length < total,
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/lib/blog-utils.ts b/apps/ui/src/lib/blog-utils.ts
index 61283930..b87dfed8 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/lib/blog-utils.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/lib/blog-utils.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,33 @@ export function getBlogNewsletterHubspot(
   return null
 }
 
+export function getBlogIndexPosts(
+  blog: BlogData | null | undefined,
+  posts: readonly BlogPost[]
+): {
+  featuredPost: BlogPost | null
+  remainingPosts: BlogPost[]
+  excludeSlugs: string[] | undefined
+} {
+  const hasFeaturedPost = !!blog?.featuredBlogPost
+
+  const featuredPost = hasFeaturedPost
+    ? (blog?.featuredBlogPost as BlogPost)
+    : (posts[0] ?? null)
+
+  const remainingPosts = featuredPost
+    ? posts.filter((post) => post.documentId !== featuredPost.documentId)
+    : [...posts]
+
+  return {
+    featuredPost,
+    remainingPosts,
+    excludeSlugs: hasFeaturedPost
+      ? [blog?.featuredBlogPost?.slug as string]
+      : undefined,
+  }
+}
+
 export function combineAuthors(
   author: AuthorAvatarData | null | undefined,
   coauthors?: readonly AuthorAvatarData[]
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/lib/strapi-api/content/server.ts b/apps/ui/src/lib/strapi-api/content/server.ts
index afd31d44..95a58192 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/lib/strapi-api/content/server.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/lib/strapi-api/content/server.ts
@@ -750,6 +750,9 @@ export async function fetchBlog(locale: Locale) {
       newsletter: {
         populate: { hubspotForm: true },
       },
+      featuredBlogPost: {
+        populate: blogListPopulate,
+      },
     },
   } satisfies FindFirst<"api::blog.blog">