By clothing-bag, 06/03/2023

From the meeting in Mallorca to the first "conscious mismatch": the wedding of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

Ignorant of these things, the public was limited to enjoying the mimetic couple. Sometimes there were public declarations of love, like when he won a Golden Globe for 12 monkeys and from stage he referred to her as: "the love of my life, my angel, Gwyneth Paltrow." In an interview in Rolling Stone in 1997, he claimed to be impatient to get married, "I can't wait." And then, in June of that same year, they broke up, which also broke the hearts of half the world and made the other half happy. There were no clear explanations as to why. Years later, she would declare that it had been her decision because she was not really ready for marriage, and would take the blame on her back with statements to Diane Sawyer such as: "My internal problems tripped the whole relationship, I felt really responsible as if I was the architect of my own misery, I just made a big mess." At the time there were unconfirmed rumors that she had cheated on him with her partner in Two Lives in an Instant, John Hannah (although other sources claimed that during filming she drank from a mug with Brad's face stamped on it as a sign of his devotion).

With the breakup still fresh, a very dramatic Gwyneth recounted: “It changed my life. When we broke up, something permanently changed in me. My heart broke that day, and it will never be the same again." Due to the disgust, the young woman lost a lot of weight (even more), and not only her; his father, who adored Pitt, was devastated. With the perspective of time, Gwyneth would clarify about their relationship: “I loved every second, but it was not healthy. I would not change anything. Even the things I hate the most about myself because of what happened, the darkest moment of all, I wouldn't change. Because it has made me what I am." On another occasion, he would summarize the reasons for the breakup like this: “I was a girl. It took me until I was 40 to get my head out of my ass. You can't make that decision when you're 22, I wasn't ready and he was too good for me…I didn't know what I was doing. So, Brad Pitt, if you're listening to this… I screwed up, Brad."

But how do you get over breaking up with the most desired man in the world? Dating another who, although not at his level of popularity, is close. In 1997 Ben Affleck was the new golden boy in Hollywood for his breakthrough in the industry at the hands of his close friend Matt Damon with Good Will Hunting. Who was behind much of his triumph? Of course, Harvey Weinstein and Miramax. It was he who introduced Ben and Gwyneth over dinner, sparking an on-and-off relationship that would last for three years. We saw them perform together in Bounce and Shakespeare in love, and they even played matchsticks between their friends Matt Damon and Winona Ryder. Friendship whose days were numbered in the case of Winona and Gwyneth, because according to gossip, the blonde was visiting Winona Ryder's house when she saw the script for Shakespeare in love, she arranged it for her without hesitation and thanks to that she she would end up playing the role of the Shakespearean heroine who would win her an Oscar. The victory of the film and Gwyneth as an actress at the '99 Oscars is considered the culmination of Weinstein's aggressive and in-your-face promotional campaigns; the definitive change in the Hollywood of the 90s in which the "independent" cinema was escalating to become the pinnacle of the industry.