Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson have been together for three years. Did you know that? I didn’t. They really are a pretty lowkey couple, although I might think that simply because I don’t pay too much attention to them. In December, Dakota was photographed wearing an emerald ring on her left hand ring finger, and there was speculation that perhaps Chris had proposed. We never really got a confirmation or denial either way. Then, a week ago or so, the NY Post ran this story about how Dakota and Chris are “secretly living together” in his fancy $12.5 million Malibu home. Chris bought that Malibu property last year, and I guess he bought it for himself and Dakota to build a home together. Now People Mag is confirming the Post’s story with an added bonus of “dinners with Gwyneth Paltrow.”
After three years of dating, Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson are — literally! — closer than ever. The low-key couple have been living together in the Coldplay frontman’s sprawling $12.5 million mansion in Malibu since he purchased it in October, a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.
“Chris was always a big fan of Malibu,” the source says of Martin, 43, who moved to the oceanfront town after his divorce from Gwyneth Paltrow in 2016. “He loves the beach and often goes surfing and running.”
While the source says the actress — who still owns her home in the Hollywood Hills — “seemed like more of a city girl” before she met Martin and started dating him in 2017, she has grown to love her new laid-back lifestyle.
“She seems to enjoy it as much as Chris does,” the source says. “They both love the outdoors and often take beach strolls. They also support local restaurants.”
Though they’ve mostly hunkered down in Malibu during the coronavirus pandemic, the couple — who have sparked engagement buzz as Johnson, 31, has stepped out recently wearing a dazzling emerald ring on that finger — often head to L.A. for Sunday dinner with Paltrow, 48, her husband, Brad Falchuk, 49, and her and Martin’s kids, Apple, 16, and Moses, 14. (Falchuk also has daughter Isabella and son Brody from his marriage to ex-wife Suzanne Bukinik.)
“It’s obvious that everyone still gets along great,” says the source.
Last January, Paltrow also talked about how much she loves having Johnson in her life. “I just adore her,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “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.”
I used to think this whole situation was kind of toxic and I felt sorry for Dakota and I thought Gwyneth Paltrow was probably still super-involved in Chris’s life and that Gwyneth probably inserted herself into his relationship with Dakota. But after three years… I don’t know, maybe Dakota just waited her out? Or maybe Chris quietly began putting up some boundaries. Plus, I think Dakota is part of a dynastic Hollywood family, even more so than Gwyneth. Which means Gwyneth “approves.” In any case, I bet they are engaged and they’ll probably announce it once the pandemic is over.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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