Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk's Complete Relationship Timeline
For Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk, their marriage was almost a surprise. They’d both already been married before and had children reaching their teens. But after a few years together, it was clear that this relationship was for the long haul.
When they first met, it was on the set for the popular series Glee, of which Falchuk is a co-creator. Paltrow was making a guest appearance on the show as a substitute teacher named Holly Holliday. The year was 2010, and Paltrow was still married to Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Falchuk was married to producer Suzanne Bukinik.
The couple started dating in 2014, shortly after they each ended their marriages. They didn’t go public until 2015 when they attended Robert Downey Jr.’s 50th birthday party together. They were engaged by 2017 and married a year later.
Here’s the complete timeline of Paltrow and Falchuk’s love story.
2010
All in all, Paltrow appeared on five episodes of Glee as her substitute teacher character Holly Holliday became a recurring role on the show. Falchuk told Harper’s Bazaar in 2020 that they first became friends on set when they realized how much they really have in common.
“She’s stunning and she’s charming and she’s completely disarming,” he said. “We had similar enough backgrounds—a little bit Jewish, a little bit East Coast, her dad was a TV producer—and so we just sort of developed this really lovely friendship.”
July 2014
The pair were spotted out and about in August of 2014, going together for dinner in Los Angeles, but People said that they went on a romantic vacation together the month before in Utah.
April 2015
Paltrow’s Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr. held a birthday party in Santa Monica, California for his 50th, and there were lots of celebrities in attendance. Two of them were Paltrow and Falchuk, and they were clearly very much together.
May 2015
Paltrow’s mother, Blythe Danner, screened her film I’ll See You in My Dreams in London, and Falchuk attended the event with his girlfriend of almost a year.
July 2015
The couple were seen driving around in Rome and went on to vacation in the Amalfi Coast and Positano.
September 2015
Paltrow was by Falchuk’s side at the Scream Queens premiere that fall, and he seemed to be referencing Paltrow in his tweet about “dinner for two” later that night.
January 2016
They reportedly spent the new year in Mexico and were joined by Paltrow’s children, Apple and Moses. They then headed to Austria and Paris together.
March 2017
For her boyfriend’s 46th birthday, Paltrow posted a sweet selfie of them together with the caption, “Happy birthday, handsome.”
April 2017
Falchuk started sharing more intimate shots of his girlfriend, like this one of Paltrow having coffee early in the morning.
May 2017
It turns out it’s one of a series that he jokingly called, “My Girl Getting Ready.”
June 2017
Falchuk shared another behind-the-scenes snapshot of Paltrow getting ready for some event on his Instagram grid.
September 2017
For her 45th birthday, Paltrow got a tribute from her boyfriend who shared a photo of her enjoying some pizza and wine. He wrte, “This is the most beautiful woman of all time and today is her birthday. We are all so lucky that she came into the world (but no one is luckier than me). Happy Birthday, Love.”
He added, “PS – this is pretty much the most #Gwyneth pic I could find – it has pizza, red wine, her phone and that f-cking perfect smile.”
October 2017
They come up with the perfect self-referential Se7en couple’s costume.
November 2017
It is reported that the couple is engaged, but there’s no confirmation. A source said at the time, “They both knew it would happen, but it wasn’t a big thing to them because they were both in long marriages before. There wasn’t a rush.”
January 2018
The couple finally confirmed their engagement and appeared in Goop Magazine‘s Sex & Love issue, saying in a joint statement, “We feel incredibly lucky to have come together at this juncture in our lives when our collective successes and failures can serve as building blocks for a healthy and happy relationship.”
Paltrow told People after that she’s excited about the wedding planning, saying, “I’m excited about everything! I’ve never had a wedding before… So even though I’m 45, I sort of feel like a 21-year-old.”
She added that they hadn’t “really started making any formal plans.”
“It’s kind of fun to talk about with my girlfriends,” Paltrow continued. “They send me pictures of dresses—they’re as excited about it as I am. It’s pretty cute.”
April 2018
For her bachelorette party, Paltrow headed to Cabo, Mexico, then returned to Los Angeles for her engagement party, which had quite a guest list including Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Benji Madden, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Liv Tyler, and Kate Hudson.
September 2018
On September 29, 2018, Paltrow and Falchuk got married in the Hamptons with a group of about 70 guests, including Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr., Stella McCartney, Cameron Diaz, and Benji Madden. The actress saved some details of the event for release in GOOP, saying they had “perfect weather, a superlative dinner, a dance party for the ages, and a dress that defies adjectives. Hours later, when the last guest went home and the last champagne flute was cleared away, the day ended as it began—with beauty, love, and two very happy people.”
October 2018
In an interview with Marie Claire UK, Paltrow talked about getting married for a second time, saying, “For a while, I thought, I don’t know if I’d ever do it again. I have my kids—what’s the point? And then I met this incredible man, who made me think, no, this person is worth making this commitment to. I’m very much the marrying kind.”
December 2018
Ryan Murphy was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame, and in a speech, Paltrow thanked the producer and Falchuk’s frequent collaborator for “unwittingly” setting the two of them up.
January 2019
For their honeymoon, the couple headed to the Maldives, ringing in the new year as well. Paltrow shared a photo of them holding hands as they walked down the boardwalk together during their trip.
“Walking into the new year with a lot of gratitude for all of the wonderful moments of 2018, lessons and joys alike,” she wrote in the caption. “Wishing each and every one of you a truly magnificent, happy 2019.”
During an interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Paltrow said that the trip included all of their kids and her ex Chris Martin.
“My new husband and his children, my children, my ex-husband, our best family friends [all went]. It was a very modern honeymoon,” she said. “It was great, we had such a good time.”
September 2019
In an interview with InStyle, Paltrow says she and Falchuk are moving in together, which was apparently a post-marriage step.
“Married life has been really good. We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle. And now we’re moving in together this month.”
She added, “I adore my husband. He’s brilliant and deeply kind. I feel like he’s a real equal too. And he pushes me in the best ways. I really like being married. It’s fun.”
At the end of that month, Paltrow celebrated their one-year anniversary, writing, “Year one, done.”
They also attended the premiere of Netflix’s The Politician together.
January 2020
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Paltrow shared more about how living together is going, joking, “So our sex life is over. I thought it was really interesting how resonant that was for people. One of my best friends was like, ‘That is my dream. Don’t ever move in.’ I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life. So this is something I’m trying to remain aware of now as we merge together.”
March 2021
On The GOOP Podcast, Paltrow told guest Gabrielle Union a bit about step-parenting Falchuk’s two kids.
“I have two beautiful stepchildren, who are the same age as mine,” she said. “It’s funny because when I became a stepmother, when I knew I was going to become a stepmother, I was like, ‘Shit, I have no idea how to do this. There’s nothing to read. What do I do? Where do I step in? Where do I not? Like, how do I do this?’”
She continued, “It’s been a really interesting challenge for me and I love them… I’ve learned so much about myself through the process.”
October 2021
Paltrow told People that she and Falchuk still feel like newlyweds.
“I have a little bit of a blessing that we’re still in the honeymoon phase,” she said. “I am really lucky I married Brad. There is just something about us together. We’ve been able to build on all the stuff we’ve gone through in life and create something really amazing. And I’m grateful for our chemistry. That can get you through some tough spots!”
She also made an appearance on Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Red Table Talk and discussed how she’s having amazing sex these days. Paltrow joked, “Yes, but I’m a newlywed, so it’s like I’m cheating maybe a little bit. You know?”
October 2022
Paltrow explained to Vogue how she came up with her “Boyfriend Breakfasts,” a popular tradition she shares on GOOP and Instagram.
“When we were dating, we started this tradition of me cooking him breakfast every Saturday morning,” she said. “I would come up with all of these really creative breakfasts. It was something I put time into every week planning. I called them boyfriend breakfasts.”
She added, “I actually think it’s a strong feminist statement to cook for the people that you love if you want to.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.
