The Biggest Romance Rumors To Ever Surround Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt has been in a number of high-profile relationships over the years. There was his eyebrow-raising romance with his "Too Young to Die?" co-star Juliette Lewis, which began when she was 17 and he was 27. "We're strangers now. Isn't that weird?" Lewis told The Guardian in 2006. "I don't know him as an adult, and he doesn't know me. I know that he likes interesting women, always has."
Some of the other women who have intrigued Pitt over the years include his two ex-wives, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. But Gwyneth Paltrow reminded us that she and Pitt never made it to the altar when she interviewed him for her Goop website in 2022. "I finally found the Brad I was supposed to marry. It just took me 20 years," she joked, referring to her husband, Brad Falchuk. Then there's Robin Givens, who had to set the record straight about her romance with Pitt. On "Watch What Happens Live," she said that Mike Tyson was substantially embellishing the truth in his book, "Undisputed Truth," when he shared his account of the time he caught Pitt and Givens together. She denied Tyson's claim that Pitt begged the boxer not to hit him, saying, "Does that sound like Brad? I mean, Brad's got some swag."
Tyson certainly wouldn't be the first person to start an untrue rumor about Pitt, but there might be an occasional kernel of truth in the gossip about the actor's love life.
Geena Davis's alleged clandestine fling with Brad Pitt
The role that put Brad Pitt on the map was his turn as a dreamy drifter who disrupts a road trip in the 1991 classic "Thelma & Louise." He charms Geena Davis' titular character before robbing her and her bestie blind, and if Jason Priestley is to be believed, Pitt Stole Davis' heart in real life as well.
In his 2014 autobiography "Jason Priestley: A Memoir," the "Beverly Hills, 90210" star revealed that he and Pitt were roommates before their careers took off. He claimed that Pitt was having a clandestine fling with Davis, writing, "He was always sneaking off to see her. He went to her place, of course: she was a major movie star, recently split from Jeff Goldblum, who wouldn't have come near that duplex." Priestley also wrote about some of his "Beverly Hills, 90210" co-stars in the book, and one of them, Shannen Doherty, seemed to dispute the veracity of his claims. "Memoirs are so funny. The truth is rarely told, after all, they are trying to sell a book," she tweeted. Priestley later told ET Canada that he was clearly the tweet's target.
Davis didn't mention an off-screen romance with Pitt while talking about him on "The Graham Norton Show" in 2022, but she did confess to being awestruck by the actor when she first met him. "He's so charismatic and so incredibly talented that I was screwing up his audition ... I'd forget to say my line," she revealed.
Sienna Miller has been linked to him more than once
The tabloids have tried to romantically link Sienna Miller to Brad Pitt multiple times. In 2015, In Touch (via Radar) claimed that Pitt was smitten with Miller. At the time, he was producing a movie Miller was starring in, "The Lost City of Z" — and he was still married to Angelina Jolie. "Angelina yelled that she didn't want him near Sienna. They barely talked to each other for the next day," a source told the tabloid. But during an appearance on "Sway in the Morning," Miller rubbished this claim. "So this is the truth about that: Brad Pitt is producing the movie that I just wrapped, but I didn't see him, he's not been to the set," she said, adding that she'd only met Pitt in person two times.
The rumors returned in April 2017 after Pitt and Jolie announced their separation. This time around, a witness told Page Six that Miller and Pitt got flirty during a dinner with a large group celebrating the Los Angeles premiere of "The Lost City of Z." The source claimed, "They were talking to each other all night." When Page Six asked Miller about its own report, she said, "I'm not going to even dignify it with a response. It's predictable and silly."
In June 2017, tabloids revived the rumors yet again, reporting that Pitt and Miller were spotted getting cozy at the Glastonbury music festival. However, a source in Pitt's camp claimed this didn't happen.
Marion Cotillard has denied claims that she and Brad Pitt hooked up
A 2016 Time editorial drew parallels between "Allied" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," the movie that brought ill-fated spouses Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together. The plots of both involve espionage and a mistrustful married couple — and they both sparked rumors of infidelity. It was Pitt who denied being unfaithful to his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, when he and Jolie worked together on "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." In 2009, Pitt explained to W magazine, "We were still filming after Jen and I split up." But in 2016, it was Pitt's "Allied" co-star Marion Cotillard who found herself denying claims that she had an affair with Pitt that led to Jolie filing for divorce.
That September, Page Six published a report claiming that Jolie had hired a private investigator because she didn't trust Pitt or Cotillard. "She felt that [Pitt] was fooling around with [Cotillard] on the set, and it turns out, he was. And that was the final straw," the outlet quoted a source as saying. Cotillard denied the salacious story on Instagram, writing, "I am not used to commenting on things like this nor taking them seriously but as this situation is spiraling and affecting people I love, I have to speak up." She revealed that she was still in a happy relationship with her longtime partner, French actor Guillaume Canet — and that they were about to welcome their second child. "He is my love, my best friend, the only one that I need," she wrote.
Kate Hudson thought the tabloid fodder was entertaining
In 2016, Star magazine reported that a red-hot romance was brewing between Brad Pitt and "Almost Famous" star Kate Hudson. The tabloid even claimed that the couple was ready to cohabitate and that Kate's mom, Goldie Hawn, was thrilled about the supposed relationship. Woman's Day also ran with the rumor, quoting a source as saying, "They've become extremely close over the past few weeks, following several secret meet-ups." Shock jock Howard Stern did his part to help perpetuate the Pitt gossip when he spoke to Hudson about her dating life on "The Howard Stern Show." While pressing her to describe her ideal guy appearance-wise, he threw out Pitt's name, and Hudson replied, "Yes, I think Brad is very, very handsome."
Kate's brother, Oliver Hudson, had some fun with the Star story on Instagram. He shared a photo of the tabloid's cover and concocted his own wild contributions to its narrative, giving Goldie and her longtime partner, Kurt Russell, their own hilarious roles to play. "My mom's overtly flirting with him! Shes wearing these little nighties around the house now?! But ALL DAY!! Like at 3pm! And Pa just keeps saying 'All right!! It's Brad Pitt!!'" he wrote.
Hudson addressed the dating rumors herself when she appeared on "Watch What Happens Live" in late 2017. "I hadn't actually seen [Pitt] in, like, four years. It was kind of an awesome rumor," she said, per People. "I kind of liked it. I was like, 'Okay, fine. We're having twins!'"
Jennifer Lawrence gushed that he smelled 'like sandalwood'
In 2017, Brad Pitt and "X-Men: Apocalypse" star Jennifer Lawrence were thrown together by a glossy, gossipy matchmaker. "Brad has had his eye on Jennifer for years," a source told Star magazine (via The Sun). "Brad and Jennifer have been enjoying lots of late nights together. There's an intense connection between them!" But while the pair might have looked good in ink in the minds of imaginative tabloid editors, sources in Pitt's camp told The Sun that Tyler Durden and Katniss Everdeen had not teamed up to become a formidable fanfiction couple brought to life.
Lawrence reluctantly killed the romance rumor herself when she appeared on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2018. "No, I've met him once in like 2013, so it was very random," she said, per Us Weekly. "But, I also wasn't like, in a huge hurry to debunk it!"
During a 2014 appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Lawrence opened up about how exactly she met Pitt. She explained that her bestie, Laura, had extracted a promise from her to bring Laura to the Oscars as her date if she got nominated for a third Oscar. They were hanging out at the bar when they spotted Pitt. "[Laura] was like, 'Get Brad Pitt over here,'" Lawrence recalled. She didn't think this was within her power, but Laura convinced her to shoot her shot. "So I just went, 'Hey Brad Pitt! Hey Brad Pitt!' And then he came over. He smelled like sandalwood, it was unbelievable."
Ella Purnell was the target for online trolls
Actors who work together are easy targets for tall tabloid tales, but when Brad Pitt produced a TV series Ella Purnell starred in, she came with a film credit that made her an irresistible fictional match for Pitt.
When Purnell was 17, she auditioned for the princess role in the 2014 Disney movie "Maleficent." Instead, she got cast as the younger version of Angelina Jolie's misunderstood dark fairy. Purnell was 21 when In Touch cast its own version of a dark curse on the young actor by spinning a story about how she bewitched Pitt. The tabloid claimed that the smitten Pitt used his power as a producer to cast Purnell as the lead in the Starz drama "Sweetbitter." Said a source, "Ella is incredibly flattered by all the attention she's getting from Brad." Meanwhile, Jolie got the evil queen treatment. "She absolutely hates that Brad is cavorting with someone who played the teenage version of her in a film," the insider added.
In a 2022 interview with the Independent, Purnell revealed that she initially joked about the rumors with her friends, finding them hilarious. But then she saw how the public was reacting to them. "I read all the comments saying, 'She's a little slut. She's a gold-digger. She wants to get famous. She's a homewrecker,'" she recalled. "Not one person was saying, 'Shame on Brad for dating practically a child.'" She expressed regret over not calling out this misogynistic behavior at the time.
Neri Oxman reportedly had crazy chemistry with Brad Pitt
In 2018, Page Six reported that Brad Pitt was hanging out with a romantic prospect outside of Hollywood: Neri Oxman, an MIT Media Lab professor and renowned architect. Architecture is one of Pitt's passions, with the actor once telling Interview, "I've been asked if I'd ever direct, but me, I'd rather build." But was he trying to build a future with Oxman?
Reportedly, Oxman's architectural expertise is what brought her into Pitt's orbit — he needed help on an unspecified project and was pointed in her direction. While they hit it off, their relationship was reportedly platonic and professional. "Their friendship has not turned into romance ... as both are cautious," said an insider to Page Six. However, the source did add, "Brad is very interested in spending more time with Neri, she is fascinating." Soon, Us Weekly was reporting that Pitt and Oxman were in the throes of a full-blown romance, complete with international travel. "Their chemistry is off the charts," an insider said.
But according to The New York Times, Oxman was actually romantically involved with hedge fund manager William A. Ackman, whom she would later marry. Oxman was well aware of the romance rumors and the paparazzi's desperation to photograph her, so she toted around accessories befitting a brilliant academic like herself, including a copy of the "Feynman Lectures."
Charlize Theron and Brad Pitt are great friends
In 2019, The Sun claimed that Charlize Theron had fallen for Brad Pitt after meeting the actor through her ex, Sean Penn. According to the tabloid, an eyewitness spotted the pair getting cozy at the Chateau Marmont. "They were ridiculously touchy-feely and his arm was around her back. At one point he winked at her," said the source. "Brad seemed in a really good place — they both looked really happy." The insider also claimed that the pair had been involved in a month-long love affair that hadn't become serious enough for Pitt to introduce Theron to his kids.
While the two had recently spent some time together filming a Breitling watch ad, a source told ET that the actors had not become romantically involved. "Brad and Charlize have known each other for years and recently became even better friends after working together," the insider dished. "They enjoy each other's company and connect on many levels." The insider also claimed that Pitt didn't want his next serious relationship to be with a fellow actor.
Theron joked about the dating rumors when she appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." The actor and her "Bombshell" co-stars, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie, were playing a game called "Who Would Charlize Rather?" when they were asked to choose between Pitt and Michael B. Jordan. After Kidman revealed that she never dated Pitt, Theron said, "But I apparently did. I had an entire relationship that I didn't even know about."
Is there hope for Braniston?
Some Braniston fans will always hold out hope that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt will become the next Bennifer 2.0. Their reunion would give celebrity gossip enthusiasts another nostalgia-induced serotonin overload, but the couple's most dedicated shippers have had to settle for far-fetched fiction and microdoses of the exes together. In early 2019, the tabloid New Idea published a wild rumor that Aniston and Pitt had not simply reconnected but had also honeymooned in Paris — which was obviously hogwash. New Idea had previously penned a tall tale so absurd that Aniston's rep eventually addressed it, telling the Express, "This is just another complete fabrication and has no relationship to reality." The rumor? That Pitt and Angelina Jolie's daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, wanted to start calling Aniston "mummy."
Brad chatted with ET about his ex and the possibility of the pair posing for a photo together at the 2020 Golden Globes. "I'll run into Jen, she's a good friend. Yeah," Pitt said. "The second most important reunion of her year? ... That was a play on 'Friends.'" Days later, the exes tried to break the internet by being photographed — gasp! — touching each other at the SAG Awards. Aniston spoke about the reaction to their awards season interactions in an interview with ET. "It's hysterical," she said. "But what else are they going to talk about?" They may never get back together, but fans can always rewatch Braniston's steamy 2020 "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" table reading.
He denied that he was dating Alia Shawkat
In November 2019, In Touch reported that Brad Pitt had possibly found what he was searching for in "Search Party" star Alia Shawkat. "Brad's telling friends she's one of the most interesting women he's met in L.A. in a very long while," an insider said. "He really likes spending time with Alia. He's excited to fall in love again." As the tabloid noted, this was one of the instances where the parties involved had actually been seen together. Photos of Shawkat and Pitt admiring an art exhibit at the Wilding Cran Gallery were published, while other tabs shared pictures of the actors at the Hollywood Bowl. However, Pitt was photographed chatting with a different woman while they watched Kanye West's opera, "Nebuchadnezzar."
In December 2019, Pitt attempted to dispel all speculation about his love life in one fell swoop. "I don't know how many women they've said I've been dating the last two or three years, and none of it's true," he told The New York Times Magazine. But in March 2020, he and Shawkat were papped grabbing a bite at an In-N-Out, so his effort was in vain. Shawkat addressed the dating rumors herself in a June 2020 interview with Vulture. "We're not dating. We're just friends," she said. She later told The New Yorker that she spoke to Pitt about the gossip, recalling, "He was, like, 'I'm sorry. It happens. If you hang out with me, it happens.' He had no awareness of it at all."
Nicole Poturalski slipped Brad Pitt her number
When Brad Pitt and Alia Shawkat checked out Kanye West's "Nebuchadnezzar" opera in November 2019, the other woman Pitt was photographed animatedly conversing with at the event wasn't immediately identified. However, in August 2020, Page Six reported that she was Pitt's rumored romantic partner du jour, a model named Nicole Poturalski. According to the outlet, Pitt and the German native were spied enjoying a romantic vacay in France.
An eyewitness claimed that they saw Poturalski with Pitt in Berlin three months before the rumored couple was photographed at Ye's opera. Pitt was in Berlin for the "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" premiere, and the source purportedly saw him flirting with Poturalski during an afterparty.
According to the Daily Mail, Pitt actually met Poturalski through her husband, Berlin restaurant owner Roland Mary. When Pitt was filming the 2009 film "Inglourious Basterds," he reportedly dined at Mary's upscale eatery, Borchardt, and befriended Mary. An insider claimed that Pitt stopped by the restaurant when he was in town for the "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" premiere, and Poturalski happened to be there. "She passed him her number," the source dished. The insider also claimed that Mary was likely cool with his wife's purported dalliance, explaining, "They are still married but you could describe their relationship as an 'open marriage.'" Pitt and Poturalski never actually confirmed that they were in a relationship, but in October 2020, a source told Us Weekly that they had called it quits.
Renée Bargh and Andra Day both found themselves in the tabloids
In 2021, two women earned the boast-worthy distinction of having to deny dating Brad Pitt. While "Extra" reporter Renée Bargh was interviewing Pitt at the 2020 SAG Awards, she reminded him of how he'd joked that people automatically assume he's dating any woman he's ever spotted with, which prompted Pitt to stand beside Bargh and raise his eyebrows suggestively. New Idea referenced the interview months later when it claimed that Pitt and Bargh were FaceTiming each other and occasionally hanging out in person.
Bargh addressed the dating rumors in a 2021 interview with PopSugar (via the Daily Mail). "It's absolutely hilarious that those even came about and that people actually believed them." The gossip was so widespread that it started coming up when she was getting to know actual romantic prospects. "If I ever go on a date with a guy, they're like, 'Cool, you know, I just feel weird because I can't compare to Brad Pitt!'" she said. But by the following September, she'd found Mr. Right and gotten pregnant.
"The United States vs. Billie Holiday" star Andra Day is yet another woman who was surprised to find herself on the list of Pitt's rumored romantic conquests. Gossip mags reported that Day and Pitt got flirty at the Academy Awards and even exchanged phone numbers. However, Day later told ET, "We're not dating. We don't even know each other. It is hilarious. It was thin air. Somebody was bored that day."
Emily Ratajkowski went from Brad Pitt to Pete Davidson
In September 2022, it was reported that model Emily Ratajkowski was potentially rebounding from her divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard by getting to know Brad Pitt on the down-low. Sources revealed that Pitt was also seeing other people, a sure sign that he and Ratajkowski weren't yet serious. "Brad and Emily have been hanging out as friends," its source told Us Weekly. "But they like each other and are excited to see where things go." People, meanwhile, reported that the pair first bonded over their appreciation for art after meeting through a mutual friend. "They have a lot to talk about and always have a great time when they hang out," another insider dished.
The source ET spoke to pointed out that Ratajkowski was recently divorced and Pitt was embroiled in more than one messy legal battle with his ex, Angelina Jolie, so they both were in a place where they weren't ready for something serious. Ratajkowski seemed to confirm this when she took a blowtorch to the flurry of romance reports by telling Variety that she was relishing her new life as a single woman. She shut down the Pitt romance rumors for good in November 2022 by starting to spend a lot of time out in public with — who else? — "SNL" lothario Pete Davidson.
A neighborly fling with Lykke Li
In January 2022, The Sun reported that Brad Pitt had found a love interest close to home: Swedish singer Lykke Li. The outlet revealed that Li lives in the same neighborhood as Pitt, making it much easier for the pair to keep their supposed romance under wraps. "It's worked out perfectly for Brad, to have someone he likes living so close," a source said. However, another insider asserted that Pitt and Li were just pals.
A People report also claimed that this was another case of one of Pitt's female friends being unwittingly cast as his love interest by the tabloids. The magazine's source explained that Li is part of a friendly clan of creatives whom Pitt befriended, adding that "Arrested Development" star Alia Shawkat also hangs with the artistic crowd.
According to a rumor shared by the celeb gossip account Deuxmoi (via Twitter), former "Full House" star Mary-Kate Olsen has also been spied chilling with Pitt and his pals. "They all had a dinner party at MK's and Brad was there and apparently was hanging out a lot with MK, chain smoking cigs & weed and just having a good time hanging out with each other," the anonymous tip read. The writer claimed that this made the atmosphere tense because Li was also there.
A blossoming romance with Ines de Ramon
In November 2022, photos of Brad Pitt were released, where he was seen having the time of his life at a Bono concert with a group of pals, including Sean Penn, supermodel Cindy Crawford, and her husband, Randy Gerber. But it was the presence of Paul Wesley's ex, jewelry exec Ines de Ramon, that generated enough fodder to keep the gossip mill churning at full speed for days. De Ramon and Wesley were married for three years before announcing that they were calling it quits in September 2022.
A source told In Touch that Pitt and de Ramon were introduced by friends and hit it off fairly quickly. "She's gorgeous, smart, funny, loves art and architecture and she isn't intimidated by him in the least," the insider said of why Pitt was purportedly falling hard for de Ramon. But a source in Pitt's camp told People that the couple wasn't yet serious enough to be exclusive.
The following month, the pair was still going strong — Pitt brought de Ramon as his date to an afterparty for the "Babylon" movie premiere in Hollywood, and they were spotted looking affectionate and comfortable together. According to Us Weekly, Pitt also invited de Ramon to his 59th birthday bash. "Brad and Ines are officially dating now, they really enjoy each other's company and are having a great time in the early stages of an early relationship," a source said.