Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin: A Complete Relationship Timeline
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Dakota Johnson and Coldplay front man Chris Martin have been together for five years and counting. The habitually private pair met after Martin’s conscious uncoupling from ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, with whom he shares children Apple and Moses. For a very brief time, Johnson and Martin broke up, before Paltrow herself encouraged them to reunite. But they’ve been going strong ever since, even sparking engagement rumors in 2020.
Here’s how the actor and rocker fell in love.
2017
October 2017: Johnson and Martin spark dating rumors after being spotted on a date at Sushi Park in Los Angeles. Years later Johnson would go on to tell Vanity Fair that they met through a friend and “never really left each other.”
“Chris and Dakota walked in together and sat at a table for two tucked away in the corner,” an eyewitness tells Us Weekly of the fateful sushi date. “They seemed very happy to see each other and immediately jumped into conversation. She was catching him up on work and the different projects she has coming up. She was telling him where she is going to be and asking him what he thought. They both seemed to really respect each other’s opinions. Chris was very charming and personable. His face lit up when he was talking to her. He hummed a little bit and asked her what she thought of a song. She clearly loves his music and was really into it. They were flirty and laughing the entire meal. He paid for dinner and held the door for her. They both thanked the chefs on the way out.”
November 2017: Fans notice Johnson standing in the sound booth at a Coldplay concert in Buenos Aires, the final stop on the band’s Head Full of Dreams tour. A week later Martin and Johnson are seen canoodling during a trip to Israel, where they catch a Nick Cave concert and hang out with the Aussie rocker over appetizers in Herzliya.
December 2017: The dating rumors pick up speed ahead of the holidays. “Chris sends Dakota his music to get her opinion,” a source shares with Us Weekly. "It’s more than just a fling.”
2018
January 2018: Johnson and Martin step out on a few more dates in the new year: dinner at Soho House, long walks on the beach in Malibu, and memorably, their first public appearance, at Stella McCartney's autumn 2018 runway show. The lovebirds opt to use a private entrance instead of walking the carpet together, but inside the event they're clearly an item.
“They walked in holding hands and Dakota was not letting go—she was super into the PDA,” an onlooker reveals to People. “When Chris let go of her hand, she slipped her arm through his.”
That same month Johnson’s father, actor Don Johnson, offers up his take on the relationship rumors in an interview with Digital Spy. “Yeah, that’s…uh, troubling, isn’t it?” he says. “No, she’s a big girl; she can handle herself.”
February 2018: Johnson and Martin are photographed holding hands and chatting with Drew Barrymore outside Ellen DeGeneres’s 60th-birthday party. Paltrow and now husband Brad Falchuk attend the bash as well.
May 2018: Johnson’s mother, actor Melanie Griffith, gives a glowing review of Martin to People: “I adore him. But she is very private about her life and I respect that.”
July 2018: The pair stroll into a Radiohead concert in Boston hand in hand, seemingly on a double date with Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul and his wife.
September 2018: It wouldn’t be a whirlwind celebrity romance without matching ink! At the beginning of the month, Johnson and Martin quietly debut identical infinity sign tattoos on their forearms. A few weeks later Johnson coyly confirms her budding romance with Martin in her Tatler cover story interview. Finally!
October 2018: TMZ falsely reports that Johnson and Martin are expecting, claiming that a celebrity-studded gender-reveal party was taking place at Martin’s home, where pink and blue balloons were seen floating overhead. But representatives quickly clarify that it was a birthday party.
During an Ellen appearance the following month, Johnson joked about the mix-up. “The only thing I’m pregnant with is a lot of really good ideas,” she quips. “But not any babies.”
November 2018: Martin and Johnson make a pilgrimage back to Sushi Park, the restaurant where they first sparked dating rumors, shortly after hitting their one-year relationship milestone.
A source tells Us Weekly around this time that the couple will “be engaged soon. Chris is head over heels.” The insider also claims that Martin is holding off on an engagement until after Paltrow weds Falchuk in September. “He wanted to make sure the kids didn’t have too much change all at once,” the source said. “He’s a great dad.”
Martin spends Thanksgiving with Paltrow and their two children, Apple, 15, and Moses, 13. A source tells E!, “Gwyneth thinks [Johnson] is lovely. She gets on very well with her and is happy for Chris. They’ve spent a good amount of time together and have a very nice friendship.”
2019
April 2019: The couple both go barefoot for a walk in the park with her Jack Russell terrier–schnauzer mix, Zeppelin. The outing marks their last before putting their relationship on a brief hiatus.
June 2019: Johnson and Martin part ways after 18 months of dating. Per The Sunday Express, the breakup stems from conflicting visions of the future. “Chris made it clear he wants more kids as soon as possible, but Dakota’s career has really taken off and that’s the last thing she wanted to think about right away,” a source says. “It got to the point last month where a light seemed to flick on in both their heads and they realized they were pulling in completely opposite directions, so they decided to call it a day.” A friend of the couple even tells The Sun, “There was talk of engagement” prior to the split, “which has come as a real surprise to everyone.”
August 2019: Luckily, the two end up reuniting by the end of the summer. According to Us Weekly, Paltrow played a key role in “pushing” the pair to reconcile. The public catches wind of the news after the two are photographed at Johnson’s wrap party for Covers. And the following month, Martin joins Johnson at the premiere of The Peanut Butter Falcon.
October 2019: Martin makes the internet swoon when he dedicates Coldplay’s “My Universe” to Johnson during a London performance. “This is about my universe and she’s here,” Martin says, gesturing to Johnson in the audience.
Johnson and Martin show up to her 30th-birthday party together (yes, that birthday party). Paltrow attends as well and wishes the actor a happy birthday on Instagram.
December 2019: For Christmas, Johnson joins Martin, Paltrow, Apple, and Moses on a family trip to Aspen.
2020
January 2020: When Paltrow graces the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, she gushes about Johnson and the blended family they now share. “I love her,” Paltrow says. “I can see how it would seem weird because it’s sort of unconventional. But I think, in this case, just having passed through it iteratively, I just adore her. I always start to think of the ampersand sign—what else can you bring in, instead of being resistant to or being made insecure by? There’s so much juice in leaning in to something like that.
“It’s not like there’s a finish line: ‘Oh, we consciously uncoupled; we’re done,’” she continues. “It’s a lifelong commitment to constantly reinvent your relationship with your ex, which you do presumably because you have children together. I don’t see a reason to do it if you don’t have children together. Some people do. But I think we put all the hard work in at the beginning. I would say very rarely is it difficult now. We’ve learned how to communicate with each other. We love each other. We laugh. We have the best of each other. It’s really nice. It makes you feel like you don’t have to lose.”
February 2020: Johnson wins major girlfriend points for directing the music video for Coldplay’s “Cry Cry Cry.”
March 2020: The couple celebrates Martin’s 43rd birthday with his children at Disneyland. A few weeks later Johnson’s close friend Olivia Wilde shares a clip of the happy couple on Instagram. In it Johnson jokingly performs a handwashing tutorial while pretending Martin’s hands are her own.
2021
February 2021: People reports that Johnson and Martin have been living together at his $12.5 million Malibu home for months. The two can frequently be seen driving around in the vintage Ford Mustang Martin bought her the previous year.
March 2021: Unconfirmed engagement rumors start to swirl again when Johnson is seen sporting a sizable emerald ring on her wedding finger.
July 2021: The couple goes on a romantic getaway to Palma de Mallorca, Spain. While on vacation, they’re seen taking a boat ride and wearing matching baseball caps.
October 2021: Martin calls Johnson “my universe” during a concert in London.
December 2021: Johnson describes her home life with Martin in a cover story interview with Elle. “We go out sometimes, but we both work so much that it’s nice to be at home and be cozy and private,” she says. “Most of the partying takes place inside my house.”
2022
January 2022: Martin makes an adorable cameo during a virtual Sundance Film Festival Q&A session to promote Johnson’s new movie Cha Cha Real Smooth. When technical difficulties strike, Johnson calls Martin over to her for technical support. In the clip, she giggles and he throws up a peace sign before quietly exiting the room.
November 2022: In a full-circle moment, fellow concertgoers spot Johnson dancing her heart out at another Coldplay show in Buenos Aires.
Johnson tells Vanity Fair that she loves to tour with Martin when she’s not working. And Martin returns the favor by visiting her on the Boston set of the superhero flick Madame Web.
2023
June 2023: In a video shared by the Daily Mail, Martin can be seen singing directly to Johnson during a set in Naples. Johnson blows him a kiss in response.
2024
March 2024: A source tells People on March 8 that the Coldplay frontman, 47, and the Madame Web star, 34, “got engaged years ago, but were in no rush to get married.” This tracks with their other comments, such as when Johnson casually referred to Martin’s kid as her stepson, and the fact that she was spotted occasionally wearing a large emerald on her ring finger.
June 2024: The pair are “going strong,” a source tells People. “They’ve had ups and downs, but now they’re definitely back on,” reports the article, which is a strange statement as we hadn’t heard any rumors of them being off. Something up?
This post will be updated.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
