by Nadia Cohen
The initial suggestion of romance between them sparked headlines across the globe since the British musician had recently split from his wife, Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow.
Shortly before the rumours began to swirl, Jennifer said in an interview that she was ready to date again. ‘Basically, what I’m saying is all I need in a relationship is somebody to watch TV with me,’ she said, before adding that she also wants a guy who will be super comfortable around her and feel like he can be himself – in every way: ‘You know, a guy who isn’t afraid to fart in front of me,’ she said. ‘Also, rather than have big, passionate love I’d rather have just a peaceful time. Those relationships are deeper because you can be your true self with somebody, and somebody can be their true self with you.
‘I don’t like fighting, and I find argumentative people the most annoying people on the planet. Like, why do you still want to be fighting? It’s just unattractive. I would just rather have somebody that has the same taste in reality TV,’ she told Vanity Fair.
And when asked about her budding romance with Martin by French magazine Madame Figaro, Jennifer appeared very embarrassed, as they had only been dating a matter of weeks. She giggled and stammered: ‘I do seem to like Englishmen, don’t I? Oh gosh, I don’t know. You guys [Englishmen] are just so charming. Oh God, now I’m blushing and scratching and itching and sweating.’
While there were suggestions that Jennifer had perhaps started dating Chris before he and Gwyneth officially ended their ten-year marriage, this was never confirmed. The pair were first officially linked three months after his much-publicised ‘conscious uncoupling’ from Gwyneth. The high-profile power-couple announced their somewhat unconventional split on Gwyneth’s lifestyle website Goop, which has often been mocked for advocating unusual diets, expensive designer clothing and wacky beauty fads, such as vaginal steaming!
In a blog post revealing the end of their marriage, Gwyneth wrote: ‘It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate.
‘We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children, and we ask for their space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time. We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.’
But the carefully chosen wording of their announcement caused much amusement and mockery – especially on Twitter. British publicist Mark Borkowski identified ‘conscious uncoupling’ as the phrase of the morning, and at the end of the day blogger Perez Hilton signed off with: ‘I’m going to consciously uncouple from my laptop now. I kindly ask for privacy while I sleep.’
Businesses ‘consciously uncoupled’ from their directors, and actor Colin Firth announced his ‘conscious uncoupling’ from the voice of Paddington Bear when Ben Whishaw took over the role. Meanwhile the Plain English Foundation declared the phrase to be 2014’s worst example of spin and jargon.
Months later, Gwyneth admitted that the phrase was ‘kind of goofy’, but added that it simply boiled down to separation ‘with minimal acrimony’.
She said: ‘We’ve made a lot of mistakes, and we’ve had good days and bad days but I have to say, I’m proud of us for working through so much stuff together and not naming and shaming.’
In April 2014, Chris told BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe that he felt he had to split from Gwyneth in order to work on his own emotional wellbeing. ‘I wouldn’t use the word breakdown,’ he said, when asked about the end of his marriage. ‘This was more a realisation about trying to grow up, basically. If you can’t open yourself up, you can’t appreciate the wonder inside. So you can be with someone very wonderful, but because of your own issues you cannot let that be celebrated in the right way.’
He went on to tell the DJ: ‘What changed for me was, I don’t want to go through life being scared of it, being scared of love, being scared of rejection, being scared of failure.
‘About two years ago I was a mess really because I can’t enjoy the thing that we are good at, and I can’t enjoy the great things around me because I’m burdened by this. I’ve got to not blame anyone else and make some changes.’
While Chris seemed to move seamlessly on to his low-key romance with Jennifer pretty swiftly, many sources say they had in fact agreed to take their relationship very slowly for the sake of his two children, Apple and Moses.
It later emerged that he and Gwyneth had quietly separated about a year before making the actual announcement – which came as a shock because two months prior to their official split, they made the usual move of appearing in public together three times. Although they had gone to great lengths throughout their marriage to avoid being photographed together, the pair made a rare show of togetherness over the Golden Globes weekend in 2014, culminating in Gwyneth singing his praises at the awards bash held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
While Iron Man actress Gwyneth was not up for an award that year, Chris was nominated for Best Original Song from the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, with a song called ‘Atlas’ by his band Coldplay. Few could have predicted that in a matter of months, in an unexpected turn of events, the couple would be estranged and Chris would be dating The Hunger Games’ leading lady.
In July 2014, during an interview with the Valentine in the Morning radio show, Chris confirmed he was back on the market, and once again opened up about his relationship with Gwyneth post-split, saying: ‘The thing we told everyone at the beginning of the year is true. We are very close. We are not together. But we’re, you know, that’s the truth and that’s it. You know, there’s a lot of love. No scandal, I’m afraid. I wish I could give you scandal.’
Jennifer, meanwhile, made it clear she was also available, and looking for her ideal man, just as her romance with Chris gradually began to gather momentum. The couple were spotted together on several different occasions, despite their best efforts to keep a low profile in the early stages.
A source told People magazine: ‘Even though they are busy, the relationship is solid. They see each other when they can. Jennifer understands that the children come first with Chris and that his relationship with Gwyneth is based around the family and will always be a part of his life. Things are good between them.’
However, the cat was well and truly out of the bag in the summer of 2014 when Jennifer was spotted kissing Chris at a Kings of Leon concert in LA. Up until that point they had managed to keep their romance under wraps, rarely being pictured in the same place at the same time. But it had proved impossible for the relationship to go on undetected any longer.
Sparks had first flown after they had been introduced following a Coldplay concert at the Royal Albert Hall: ‘Jen was blown away at his London show. His music is absolutely part of the attraction,’ a source told Us Weekly. ‘The better she gets to know him, the more she likes him.’
It seemed they had hit it off immediately when first introduced at the after-party held at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, following the concert.
After texting for six weeks and enjoying a few initial dates, Chris introduced Jennifer to his friends over dinner and then to his grandparents. She in turn took him to meet her parents. But they kept it quiet until the Kings of Leon concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where Chris was a surprise performer. Jennifer was spotted taking pictures of him on her phone while he played piano on two numbers. After the concert, it was reported on gossip website Just Jared: ‘They engaged playfully with each other, appearing like a couple in love. She kissed him on the lips several times.’
Us Weekly reported that Jennifer had arrived with friends and Chris seemed to be looking for her, then when he performed on stage he could not take his eyes off his new girlfriend. ‘Just before the show was supposed to start, Jennifer Lawrence walked toward the stage, surrounded by a couple girlfriends, trying to find their seat,’ a source said. ‘They looked a little rushed, like they wanted to get to their seat before the show started, so someone on the theatre staff h
elped them out.’
The insider continued: ‘Chris gave a good look around the room and then spotted someone up on the balcony. He pointed and said, “Aha! I see you!” and then smiled and waved. He kept looking up in the direction during the show and smiling, pointing, singing to her.’
A source told E! News that Jennifer ‘danced the entire time and knew every word to every song.’
The insider continued: ‘She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Jennifer stared adoringly at Chris, both hands in the air, dancing and singing along to “Magic”.’
After the show she left through a back exit, trying to leave unnoticed by holding her handbag over her face as she was led towards a waiting car.
That was the first official contact between the two, although Jennifer had been spotted at a number of Chris’s gigs in various locations over the previous three months, and spectators had started to suggest that she was rather more than just another devoted fan. Shortly after that now infamous Kings of Leon gig, she was seen backstage, taking pictures of Chris as he performed at the sell-out iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas.
Jennifer was pictured walking around backstage at the festival, where Chris and his band were performing. While the pair had yet to confirm their romance the official Twitter account of iHeartRadio hinted that they were already going strong: ‘SPOTTED #JenniferLawrence Backstage! Wonder who she’s here to see? *Cough New b/f #ChrisMartin Cough* #iHeartRadio,’ a post read.
And a source told RadarOnline.com: ‘At around 7pm on Friday night, Jennifer and Chris were making out backstage in an area that only allows security and a select group of celebrities in.
‘She had her arms around his neck. They were kissing passionately before he took the stage!
‘Jennifer was watching from backstage and looked like the proudest girlfriend in the world! They spent the entire weekend together. They were not trying to hide it at all.’
After two songs had played – ‘Talihina Sky’ and ‘Notion’ – the pair were snapped together making their return to Los Angeles by private jet, and by that stage things were clearly getting serious. Just a few weeks later they were spotted on a romantic dinner date at La Dolce Vita in Beverly Hills, according to People magazine: ‘They were super cute together,’ an eyewitness said. ‘They were laughing a lot and Jennifer was acting all goofy!’
And a source told HollywoodLife.com: ‘The evening took a romantic turn when Jennifer leaned over the table to get a kiss and was met halfway by a waiting Chris. That really was the most PDA [Public Display of Affection] that was seen during the dinner, but they definitely were having a blast. Plus, the way the seats are, they are more like a booth feel, so they were next to each other and close.’
The site also reported that the couple shared a bottle of red wine and also their food: ‘They had a lot of food, calamari, a couple of pastas, the steak, I don’t remember everything they had but I was impressed because they ordered a lot and they finished it all,’ the source added.
And although they had not been dating very long at that stage, Chris was supportive of Jennifer when the hacking scandal broke, and nude photos of her were leaked on to the internet; he himself had years of experience when it came to handling public scrutiny.
‘Chris has been right there for Jen. She doesn’t know how she would have got through this without him,’ an insider told Grazia magazine. ‘Chris is being totally calm and like a rock. He has deep feelings for Jennifer and is broken-hearted that she’s been targeted in such an intrusive way.’
After the initial shots were posted on a photo-sharing website, it was claimed Jennifer had sought refuge at Chris’s Malibu home. He was not staying there at the time as he was spending time with Gwyneth and their children, but let her use his house to escape the press attention.
He had apparently tried to reassure her, saying the situation would run out of steam, but when that showed no sign of happening and a second wave of photos was released shortly after, Chris made sure Jennifer had all the practical and emotional help she needed.
‘Jennifer is one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, so of course she is worried about what people think. She also feels violated and betrayed. Privately, she tried to laugh it off the first time, but to have it happen a second time is horrific,’ a source explained.
Another source added that Chris and Jennifer had fallen for each other and despite the embarrassment caused by the scandal, he had no plans to leave her: ‘Chris doesn’t care that Jennifer took naked pics of herself, he’s more concerned that her privacy was invaded,’ a source told HollywoodLife.com. ‘The whole thing is disturbing and Chris has just been very supportive.’
The source revealed that Chris is not the kind of man who would break up with Jennifer when she needed him most: ‘He would never end things with Jennifer over something like this. The couple are using humour to get through this negative situation. It will pass, that’s what he tells her. And he just uses his quirky sense of humour to help her look at the funny side. They both do a lot of laughing together, which is what really attracted them to each other in the first place.
‘Jen is horrified over this leak and knows that this will possibly affect her upcoming roles.
‘She knows that A-list stars don’t have this type of controversy attached to them and is very much horrified over the whole situation.’
Chris apparently told friends that he was attracted to Jennifer because she was the polar opposite of Gwyneth: ‘Jennifer is loads of fun and they can’t stop laughing when they are together,’ a source told The Sun newspaper. ‘Chris feels he is dating someone who has everything he’s been missing out on in the past eleven years.’
Friends believed that Jennifer was a good boost for Chris following his split from clean-living Gwyneth, who is renowned for her healthy diet and strict fitness routine, while Jennifer smokes and drinks, loves red meat, only exercises when she has to and admits she enjoys tucking into junk food.
The source added that Chris felt the Hunger Games star had given him a ‘new lease of life’, adding, ‘Jennifer doesn’t take herself too seriously and when she is not filming she just wants to hang out and have a good time.’
And their budding relationship took a serious turn when the Coldplay singer started to write love songs about his new girlfriend: ‘He writes her songs and loves taking her to private romantic spots. Chris is sweeping Jen off her feet. That’s his thing,’ an insider told Us Weekly.
They also shared a special afternoon together at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in California to celebrate Jennifer’s twenty-fourth birthday in August 2014: ‘They were there on a date,’ the source dished. ‘They were very low-key, nobody realised who they were. The setting was super-romantic. They watched the sun go down.’
But their initial happiness was plagued by suggestions that Gwyneth was still very much on the scene, with some saying that she and Chris were actually involved in an open relationship, and were even considering a surprise reunion.
That said, reports were certainly confused and conflicted, as E! News reported: ‘On weekends, if one of them has the kids and the other doesn’t have plans, Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow will meet up and do something all together. They truly love one another and think the world of each other, they just aren’t a couple.
‘They will spend the holidays together and make sure the kids know they are always going to be a family.’
Another problem widely speculated upon was the thirteen-year age gap between Chris and Jennifer, and by October 2014 they appeared to have cooled things off as Chris spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and what would have been his eleventh wedding anniversary with Gwyneth, Apple and Moses. And at that time it began to look as if Jennifer would be left out in the cold as reports suggested that Chris was reuniting with his ex-wife.
He was a surprise performer at the amfAR gala in Los Angeles in October 2014, and Gwyneth, who hosted the event, was by his side all night. She kicked off the event by bringing Chris and his band
mate Jonny Buckland up on stage to perform the band’s hit songs, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Viva La Vida’. Introducing them, she gushed openly about her former husband, whom she described as Father of the Year to the crowd. ‘This brilliant singer-songwriter has sold 8 million records,’ said Gwyneth. ‘He has won every single award that there is to be won, especially Father of the Year, which he has won consecutively since 2004.
‘I am speaking of Chris Martin,’ she added, ‘and the incredibly talented Jonny Buckland, who together make up one-half of the legendary band Coldplay.’
There was still no suggestion that Chris had been in touch with Jennifer to offer her any words of reassurance when he was spotted with Gwyneth shortly after the gala at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, where his estranged wife was seen tenderly stroking his face. There were even suggestions that Gwyneth herself had called the paparazzi to capture the intimate moment in an attempt to drive a wedge between Chris and Jennifer.
And that same night, a glum-looking Jennifer was pictured elsewhere in the city having dinner with a friend, apparently furious that Chris and Gwyneth still appeared so close.
But then Gwyneth decided to go public with her new boyfriend, Glee producer Brad Falchuk, who she took to the premiere of her new film, Mortdecai. Not only did she hold hands with him, but she also made sure that photographers captured every romantic moment between them.
The situation confused Jennifer and as she struggled to make sense of it all, she escaped to the solace of her family home. A source told MailOnline: ‘Jen got tired of watching Chris play happy families with Gwyn and was annoyed that he was trying to keep her hidden away.’
While Chris was spotted in Malibu having dinner and celebrating the holidays with Gwyneth in an apparent attempt to keep the season as normal as possible for their young children, Jennifer flew home to Kentucky to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with her family in 2014.
