It Was Like Dating Prince William! Gwyneth Paltrow on Pitt Romance

Gwyneth Paltrow has offered a rare glimpse into her high-profile 1990s romance with Brad Pitt, comparing it to “dating Prince William” in a Vanity Fair April cover story published Tuesday. The 52-year-old actress and Goop founder reflected on their whirlwind relationship, which began during readings for Legends of the Fall (1994) and deepened while co-starring in Se7en (1995). “He’s a very intriguing character,” Paltrow said of Pitt, now 61. “It’s like having dated, I don’t know, Prince William or something. That’s always going to come up.”

The comparison underscores the intense public fascination that trailed the couple, who became engaged in December 1996—Pitt proposing on a balcony in Argentina—only to split six months later. Paltrow, then 24, ended the engagement, later admitting on Call Her Daddy in May 2023 that she wasn’t ready for marriage despite their “major love at first sight.” She told Vanity Fair the association persists because Pitt’s allure mirrors royalty’s mystique—enduring and inescapable.

Their bond, born on a film set, was marked by Pitt’s protective gestures, like confronting Harvey Weinstein over an alleged advance on Paltrow in 1997, a moment she called “fantastic.” Yet, at 22, she felt unmoored, later reflecting, “I hadn’t explored who I was.” Now married to Brad Falchuk since 2018—after her “conscious uncoupling” from Chris Martin—Paltrow harbors no regrets. “I embrace the roads I take,” she said.

Pitt, recently divorced from Angelina Jolie in January 2025 and dating Ines de Ramon, remains a friend. Posts on X echo the nostalgia, with fans marveling at their ‘90s glamour. For Paltrow, the Pitt chapter is a youthful, indelible tale—less about regret, more about a prince-like figure whose intrigue endures.