The A-list actors ended their engagement in 1997.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt recently reunited for a Goop conversation and proved that they are friendly exes!
During the interview, which is centered around Pitt’s Goop-approved cashmere brand, the A-list actors reflects on their time together. Paltrow -- who got engaged to Pitt in 1996 -- recalls a special moment she had with her father, Bruce Paltrow, who really loved Pitt.
In the spirt of Father’s Day, the actress asks the Bullet Train star to talk about the special bond he had with the late director.
“I’ll never forget when we were engaged and he came to me one day, his eyes full of tears, and he said, ‘You know, I never really realized what they mean when they say you’re gaining a son. Like, I’m gaining a son. What impact did he have on you? Why did you love him, even though we didn’t get married, unfortunately," she asks Pitt.
After Pitt jokes about “everything working out,” Paltrow is quick on her feet with a cheeky response.
“Yes, it does. I finally found the Brad I was supposed to marry. It just took me 20 years,” she says about her husband, Brad Falchuk.
Pitt has no hard feelings, as he confirms that the pair still have a special bond. “And it’s lovely to have you as a friend now,” he says. Adding, “And I do love you.”
“I love you so much,” Paltrow replies.
Paltrow and Pitt began their relationship in 1994, after meeting on the set of Seven. The pair got engaged in 1996, but never made it down the aisle and called it quits in 1997.
In the years following, Paltrow was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin from 2003-2016. They share two children together. The actress later married Falchuk in 2018.
Meanwhile, Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston from 2000-2005, and later Angelina Jolie from 2014-2019. He and Jolie share six children together.
Despite their relationship not working out, Pitt shares that Paltrow’s father had a profound effect on the man he is today and inspired him as a dad.
“One of the many things I loved about Bruce -- because he did have a profound effect on me and is someone I still think about -- was he really fostered your voice, your independence,” he tells Paltrow.
“He carved the way for you guys to be who you are. And I think that’s so important to parenting, you know? So the child is free to find out who they are and what they love and what they don’t. You guys were just so free in your conversations. And witty. And intelligent. And funny as f**k.”
He adds, “He could be tough if he needed to be, but it would be rare—only if someone was out of line. And it would come with…not a slap on the wrist but a little drop of wisdom, and he’d let you make the choice. That seemed to be his way. Just to offer you this wisdom and let you figure it out. And knowing to have that faith in your child—they’ll get there when they get there.”
Pitt says that he felt “paternal energy” from Paltrow’s father and the actress shared it was because he had her father’s seal of approval.
“Me too,” she said about her dad's energy. “I mean, he was my father, but he was very much a mentor. He loved being that role for the people that he really loved, and you were definitely one of them.”
In 2015, Paltrow shared that she and Pitt’s split was hard for her father to handle. "My father was so devastated when we broke up," she told Howard Stern at the time. "My father loved him like he was his son."
Paltrow credited her young age as the reason for their split. “I was such a kid, I was 22 when we met," she explained. "It's taken me until 40 to get my head out of my a**. You can't make that decision when you're 22 years old, you know? ... I think I was a kid and I wasn't ready, and he was too good for me."
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