-Powell-and-Gigi-Paris-(right).png?trim=0,7,0,7&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Glen Powell’s ex slams actor over ‘PR scheme’ romance rumors with Sydney Sweeney – UK Times")
Glen Powell’s ex-girlfriend, model Gigi Paris, has broken her silence on their painful and public breakup, directly addressing the way it was handled.
Paris, 32, and Powell, 36, were in a three-year relationship before splitting in early 2023 amid rumors that the actor had become entangled in an on-set romance with his Anyone But You co-star Sydney Sweeney, 27.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of Emma Klipstein’s Too Much podcast, Paris opened up about the end of their relationship.
Without naming Powell or Sweeney, Paris alluded to the media frenzy around the stars, which the actors later admitted they leaned into. “It was just, this is what I have to do for my job. I had two options. I could either pretend like I was going along with everything and have everyone wonder, like, ‘Are they hooking up? Are they not hooking up? Is she okay with this? What the f***?’ Or stand up for myself and say, ‘No, I’m actually not okay with this, and I’m walking away.’ So that’s what I decided to do … I was shattered,” said Paris.
“I just wanted respect, especially if it’s gonna be public,” she added. “Like, don’t make an ass out of me. Like, just don’t make a fool out of someone you’ve been with for over three years talking about forever with. Just have some decency, you know? And at the end of the day, it was like, well, work comes first. And if that’s the case, power to you, that’s your priority. I gotta walk away. What sucked was how it was handled. I felt like I was just fed to the dogs.”
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At the time, Powell and Sweeney stayed silent on the rumors while continuing to cosy up together at red carpet premieres. Powell later told The New York Times: “The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry. That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”
Paris criticized the Top Gun: Maverick actor for not shutting down the gossip. “Where are you when you just need to stand up and say, ‘No, I would never cheat on my girlfriend. I wouldn’t do that.’ That’s all that needed to be said. And that wasn’t said… Never once,” she claimed.
“It was serving them for their PR. Later on, it turned out that it was all, I don’t know if there was a relationship there or not, but then they came out to say it was all a PR scheme at the expense of our relationship. Like, it was just crazy.
“Just to sell a movie or not, who knows?” she questioned, “And I honestly hoped that they’d end up together, because I was like, at least it would make it worth it for me, you know? I hope they are in love or whatnot.”
The Independent has contacted Powell and Sweeney’s representatives for comment.
Powell and Sweeney led Will Gluck’s 2023 romcom, Anyone But You, about two people who have to fake they’re the perfect couple to keep up appearances at a friend’s destination wedding.
Sweeney, who had been engaged to movie producer Jonathan Davino at the time of filming, has confirmed that she is now single.
When asked last month if she was still planning a wedding, the Euphoria star responded with a hard “no.”
“I’m learning a lot about myself, spending more time with my friends. And I’m loving it,” Sweeney said.
