Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Her Engagement to Brad Pitt and Why They Never Married

Before she found lasting love, Gwyneth Paltrow says she was once engaged to one of Hollywood's most famous leading men, and the split still comes with mixed feelings.

Gwyneth Paltrow took a walk down memory lane during her recent appearance on the “Wild Ride” podcast, back to the time she was dating Brad Pitt. The Goop founder shared details about how they met, their engagement, and why they never got married.

Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow at the Tribeca Film Center for the screening of "Fargo" in March 1996 | Source: Getty Images

Long before they met, Paltrow recalled first crushing on Pitt while watching him on “Thelma and Louise,” thinking, “That is the most handsome man.”

They eventually met while filming the 1995 thriller, “Se7en,” and according to the actress, who was 22 then, their initial encounter was “kind of a love at first sight thing,” describing it as “pretty awesome” and “really fun.”

After a very public romance, Paltrow admitted that they got engaged, but they eventually broke up. On why things ended, she said, “I don't know. I was just young and you know we were working all over the different parts of the world.” She added, “I think there was an aspect of it that was very heady….I was very young, and he was this beautiful movie star.”

Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow while strolling on Madison Avenue, New York City, on August 3, 1996 | Source: Getty Images

Paltrow also reflected on the pressure of being in a high-profile relationship and breaking up under the public eye.

“I was so bummed out when we broke up, and I think that the press aspect and all that makes it feel larger than life in a way,” she shared, adding, “You have to carry this like faux important like cultural importance piece, and it's like this extra burden and this extra almost shame…So it was hard.”

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt attending the 53rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in January 1996 | Source: Getty Images

Pitt and Paltrow met in 1994, got engaged in 1996, and broke up the following year. Paltrow has since been married twice. She wed Chris Martin in 2003 and welcomed two kids with the Coldplay frontman. They announced their separation in 2014 and finalized their divorce a year later In 2018, Paltrow wed her current husband, Brad Falchuk.