As the 2018-2019 film awards season came to a close following the 91st Annual Academy Awards, we couldn’t help but wonder: what’s next for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper?
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, the Mother Monster appeared to answer that question on Instagram when she commemorated the A Star Is Born chapter in the duo’s careers … and seemingly put an end to those ongoing romance rumors.
Alongside a sweet snapshot of herself and Cooper performing their famously emotional rendition of their song “Shallow” from the film at the 2019 Oscars, Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) wrote to her 34.1 million followers, “Nothing could be more special than sharing this moment at the Oscars with a true friend and artistic genius.”
In a follow-up post, the “Bad Romance” pop star appeared to add yet another button to her successful collaboration with Cooper. “A moment in my life I will never forget,” Gaga captioned a slideshow of Oscar night photos, which featured herself and fellow collaborators, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt. The foursome had won Best Original Song for their work on “Shallow.” She added, “My whole artistic journey flashed before my eyes. Thank you to the Academy and to the gentlemen who wrote and performed this song with me.”
Getty ImagesWith that, it looks as though Gaga and Cooper are calling it quits on their professional relationship. Following months of A Star Is Born promotion and a whirlwind awards show season, it makes sense. Given Gaga’s continued domination in the music industry over the last decade and Cooper’s penchant for award-winning on-screen work, we can surmise that these two probably won’t be hanging out and working with one another anymore (as much as it breaks our hearts to admit it). But hey, it was fun and entertaining while it lasted, right?
As Nicki Swift previously reported, Gaga, 32, and Cooper, 44, received two well-deserved standing ovations following their steamy performance at the Academy Awards last weekend. “During break, they came back to their seats from stage then audience gave them another standing o,” The Hollywood Reporter columnist Chris Gardner tweeted at the time. “I’ve never seen that happen for any performers. Cue embrace #Oscars.”
This “Shallow” duet was not only a culmination of years of work, it also infamously showed off the celebs’ undeniable chemistry and led some viewers to question whether there might’ve been a deeper connection between Gaga and Cooper. One person, for example, tweeted, “Raise your hand if you thought Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were about to make out.” The performance also drew headline-making reactions from Spice Girls pop star Mel B and Cooper’s ex-wife, actress Jennifer Esposito.
Getty ImagesOf course, speculation surrounding the nature of their relationship had already been following these two around for months. Serving as Cooper’s directorial debut, the critically acclaimed remake of A Star Is Born saw the actor take on country rock star and alcoholic Jackson Maine, as Gaga played his love interest and aspiring singer-songwriter, Ally Campana. While pushing each other’s artistic boundaries during the filming of this classic tale, Gaga and Cooper formed their seemingly unbreakable bond.
“I love her so deeply. It’s because we were at our most vulnerable together,” the movie star gushed to Time in September 2018. While continuing to sing Gaga’s praises, Cooper told People that the “Applause” hitmaker was an “incredible person.” Noting that he was “very lucky to have worked with her,” the actor-director added that “as great as this movie was,” his friendship with Gaga was what he’d “take away forever.”
For her part, Gaga has continually echoed these sentiments in the press. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a closer artistic relationship than I have had with Bradley, a closer exchange,” she previously said at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival (via Elle). “It meant a lot to me, and I think to both of us, that at the beginning of making this film we kind of shook hands literally and he said, ‘You are an actress.’ I said to him, ‘You are a musician.'” During her emotional acceptance speech at the Oscars, Gaga told Cooper, “There’s not a single person on the planet that could have sang this song with me but you.”
Getty ImagesThat said, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to believe Gaga’s relationship with Cooper is anything but platonic. Sure, the “Telephone” singer broke up with ex-fiancé Christian Carino earlier this month (via Us Weekly), but Cooper and his supermodel girlfriend, Irina Shayk, still seem to be going strong. The couple share 23-month-old daughter Lea. According to a source recently cited by Us Weekly, “Irina knows that Bradley and Gaga are artists. It’s a nonissue for her. They were in character putting on an Oscar performance.”
In a post-A Star Is Born world, then, besties Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper seem ready to go their separate ways. Cooper already has a couple film projects lined up. Meanwhile, Gaga is set to return to the Park Theater in Las Vegas to continue her Enigma concert residency. But after hitting it off artistically, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the sweet friendship between this fan-favorite on-screen pairing leads to future collaborations.
