For several months now, unconfirmed reports that Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson have split up have circulated online at regular intervals. Up until recently, they’ve been denied either by Martin and Johnson’s reps or by new pictures of them looking very much together. 

However, last week, a source told People that ‘it feels final this time’ following reports that they had broken up for good. The actress and musician first started dating in October 2017 and were last pictured together in mid-May in Malibu, where they share a home, but prior to that hadn’t been seen together since January.

Neither Martin nor Johnson have responded publicly to these new reports. But some fans believe Johnson has nodded to a possible end to their relationship while discussed her role in her new film, Materialists, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. When asked what made the role ‘feel different’ she replied: ‘The complexities of all the characters. The paradox. Everyone being confused about what the f**k they’re supposed to do with their hearts and what’s the right move. I found that very honest, and I found it just so relatable.’

Johnson went on, ‘For a long time, we’ve all been so quick to judge relationships or how they should happen, how they should exist in the world, when people should get married, divorce is bad. All these things that actually, if you think about it, why is divorce bad? Why do people have to get married or at a certain age or only once? Why? It doesn’t matter.’

It’s possible she was referring to the ebbs and flows of her own relationship with Martin – one that has played out in the public eye. They were rumoured to have split for the first time in June 2019, before getting back together in December and prompting engagement rumours. In March 2024, reports claimed that the couple had been ‘secretly’ engaged for six years, with a source telling People they were ‘in no rush to get married’.

Last August, break up rumours started up again, however Johnson’s rep insisted the couple was ‘happily together’. Shortly afterwards, she was seen wearing a large, emerald engagement ring for the first time in front of paparazzi. A source later claimed that the duo has ‘had issues and taken breaks in the past’ as they ‘both love their careers’ and ‘are balancing things the best they can’.

Earlier this week, Johnson added fuel to the latest bout of rumours by describing her dating non-negotiables. Today show host Craig Melvin asked Johnson and her Materialists co-star Chris Evans, ‘If either of you were to engage with a real-life matchmaker, what would be one non-negotiable for you?’ While Evans declared his partner ‘must love dogs’, Johnson’s answer was arguably more telling. ‘Like, not an a**hole,’ she said, which won a laugh from the audience.

The actress was also seen without her engagement ring and while she has not always worn it, especially in public, its absence has been read by some as further confirmation that the couple have parted ways.

‘They really tried to work through their issues, but the age gap was often a problem,’ one source said The Sun. ‘She’d expressed that she may want children in the future, whereas Chris is kind of done with that part of his life.’ Another source suggested Martin had been ‘dragging his feet’ when it came to the wedding – as a six plus year engagement might suggest. ‘She was sick of him dragging his feet on setting a date,’ the source offered.

‘Dakota wanted this relationship to work,’ claimed another source. ‘She not only loves Chris, but his two kids, and that loss feels incredibly painful. The decision to end things was amicable, but Dakota is finding it hard. Over the past year, it became clear that their relationship had stalled and wasn’t moving forwards. Settling down, as in Chris properly taking his foot off the pedal, isn’t going to happen. And, ultimately, it was one of the many straws that broke the back of them.’

Whatever state their relationship might be in, it seems Martin is keen to remain on amicable terms. He performed with his band Coldplay over the weekend and made sure to shout out Johnson’s new film at the end of the gig. ‘Thank you so much, everybody. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to each other. Don’t forget to see Materialists. We love you.’

Neither Johnson or Martin’s reps have officially confirmed the break up.