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- Gwyneth Paltrow was engaged to Brad Pitt in the ’90s before she called it off in 1997.
- In the new book Gwyneth: The Biography, Amy Odell claims that while Paltrow refused to speak about Pitt’s 2000 marriage to Jennifer Aniston, she was privately “sad.”
- Elsewhere in the book, Odell writes that Paltrow ended things with Pitt after getting advice from her friend and makeup artist.
These days, Gwyneth Paltrow is known as something of a queen when it comes to handling her relationships with grace. She coined the term conscious uncoupling alongside her ex-husband Chris Martin—and, yes, she has a remarkably healthy relationship with him. She also frequently shares her adorable “boyfriend breakfasts”—made for her and her husband Brad Falchuk, naturally.
As it turns out, Paltrow has always been a true master of managing her relationships while in the public eye—even when it came to one of her first high-profile partners. Back in 1994, Paltrow starred in David Fincher’s Se7en alongside Brad Pitt. The pair got engaged two years later, before splitting in 1997.
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In Amy Odell’s new biography about the actress, Gwyneth: The Biography, Odell recounts how Paltrow kept the split as private as possible—even when Pitt moved on and proposed to Jennifer Aniston two years after their break-up.
During one interview in 2000 at the Toronto Film Festival, Paltrow was “asked how she felt about Brad Pitt marrying Jennifer Aniston,” writes Odell, per Us Weekly.
“Are you really asking me this question?” Gwyneth replied, adding, “I can’t comment on this kind of thing.”
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Although Paltrow refused to discuss Pitt’s marriage, Odell claims that “in reality, Gwyneth confided to friends that she’d felt sad when she learned they were getting married.”
“(She was also fond of telling them that Brad ‘has terrible taste in women,'” adds Odell.
Odell also recounts how Paltrow opened up about Pitt during a meeting with Aerin Lauder of Estee Lauder. “According to someone familiar with the discussion, Gwyneth allegedly told her, ‘He’s dumber than a sack of s**t,'” Odell writes.
Elsewhere in the biography, Odell details why Paltrow decided to end things with Pitt. “He wanted to be with her but seemed to feel threatened by her success and all the attention she received.” Her friend and makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin told her: “You really need to end this.”
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Although Paltrow was understandably “sad” to see her ex-fiancé marry Aniston in 2000, Aniston and Pitt divorced in 2005, and Paltrow and the Friends actress remain friends to this day. In a January 2025 Instagram post, she was pictured hanging out with Aniston at an event, and back in 2023, she even shared a cute picture of Aniston kissing her on the cheek, writing that she was “so lucky” to have her as a friend.
