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Years before Bradley Cooper began a long-term relationship with girlfriend Irina Shayk, and way before he starred as Lady Gaga's love interest in A Star Is Born, he was previously married to fellow actor Jennifer Esposito. Below, we look back at the former couple's relationship, along with what Esposito actually thinks about her ex's on-screen chemistry with Lady Gaga.
She's an accomplished actress.
Ever heard of a little show called NCIS on CBS? Or perhaps you've watched Mistresses, The Affair, or Blue Bloods, starring the king of mustaches Tom Selleck? If so, then you've certainly seen Esposito on your television screen. The actress made her television debut with a Law & Order role in 1996 and has nabbed big roles ever since. She also shares a SAG Award with the cast of Crash after the film won Best Cast in a Motion Picture in 2006.
This year, she'll appear in Amazon's upcoming original series, The Boys, which focuses on a group of vigilantes who want to bring justice to other superheroes who abuse their powers. Esposito will star as recurring character CIA Agent Susan Raynor, Deadline reports.
Esposito and Cooper were only married four months.
Cooper and Esposito tied the knot in late December 2006. However, their marriage was short-lived: four months, to be exact. Esposito filed for divorce in May 2007, according to Us Weekly. So what exactly went wrong with their marriage?
Back in 2011, when Cooper was a guest on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show, he touched on his failed union with Esposito. "It was just something that happened. The good thing is, we both realized it […] Sometimes you just realize it," Cooper said, according to Us. "It just wasn't right. It's interesting […] things happen!"
According to court papers obtained by SF Gate, "the effective date of the termination" of Cooper and Esposito's union was November 10, 2007. The site adds that both parties agreed to honor the terms of their nuptial agreement: "Each party forever waives any right to receive spousal support from the other party."
She's an author who isn't afraid to call out an ex as a "master manipulator."
In 2014, Esposito released her first memoir Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease–What Doctors Don’t Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again. And let's just say she had some scathing words to share about a failed relationship that "hit an all-time low."
"I should have noticed the red flags from the beginning—actually, they were more like an entire marching band squad of red flags—but I ignored them because, honestly, I didn't think the relationship was really going to go anywhere," she wrote, without directly naming the ex.
Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease--What Doctors Don't Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again
Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease--What Doctors Don't Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again
They both went on to new relationships.
Before Cooper linked up with Shayk, he dated Renée Zellweger (2009 to 2011), Zoe Saldana (on and off but called it quits for the last time in 2012), and Suki Waterhouse (2013 to 2015).
In 2016, after Shayk's Victoria's Secret runway debut, it was revealed that she was expecting a child with Cooper. She gave birth to a daughter, Lea de Seine Shayk Cooper, the following year. There were also rumors the notoriously private pair were engaged when Shayk was photographed with a ring on her finger.
Cooper and Shayk usually keep their relationship low-key, but have made a few key appearances on the red carpet this year, including the Golden Globes, National Board of Review gala, and the Oscars.
Meanwhile, Esposito dated Aussie tennis player Mark Philippoussis, and the two became engaged in October 2009, according to People. However, the couple reportedly called off their engagement in September 2010, according to PopSugar. In 2014 she married British model Louis Dowler (who previously dated Kate Winslet); however, according to several posts on her Instagram, it appears she's moved on to a new man—fitness expert Jesper Vesterstrøm. (He has a slew of affectionate shots with her too.)
She's an avid cook and baker.
The cookbook author loves to bake and in 2012, she opened a gluten-free bakery in the East Village neighborhood of downtown New York City called Jennifer’s Way, where she sold gluten-free bagels, cookies, and rolls.
She currently has a podcast called Chew on This with Jennifer Esposito and a cooking-focused Instagram account, dedicated to documenting her healthy diet and gluten-free eats.
She's seemingly responded to Cooper's chemistry with Lady Gaga.
During the Oscars, A Star is Born co-stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed "Shallow," the film's signature ballad. As they sat on the piano bench and performed the emotional song together, Gaga and Cooper's chemistry was on another level and it almost felt like we were peering in on an intimate get-together of two very, very close collaborators.
David Spade Instagrammed a photo of the stars with the cheeky caption: "Is there any chance these 2 aren’t fucking?" Esposito simply commented, "Ha."
However, she later clarified that the comment was in direct response to Spade's caption rather than Cooper and Gaga's relationship. "I literally laughed at him [Spade] because he was so bold in what he was saying," Esposito said in an Instagram video. She added that she "thought it was funny. I’m allowed to think something’s funny."
The actress explained that she did not watch the Oscars and that her message was not targeted at Cooper, his girlfriend Irina Shayk, nor Lady Gaga. “I feel bad for those people who are involved on the other side of the ‘Ha’ because it wasn’t at them.”
While Gaga and Cooper's artistic chemistry is clear, the two are strictly friends. After the ceremony, the singer revealed that Cooper gave her some sage advice during their last rehearsal for the Oscars performance: "Let's just drop a little bit of joy." She later praised her co-star and director as "a true friend and artistic genius" on Instagram.
This post has been updated.
Nicole Saunders is the beauty editor at Best Products with over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing lifestyle content. She specializes in breaking down complicated topics, like high-frequency wands and microcurrent devices, into easy-to-understand guides. She takes great pride in heavily researching and testing featured beauty products, — such as hairdryers and foundations — on our site, and spotlights her all-time seasonal favorites in her quarterly column Best New Beauty. And she tests quite literally thousands of launches for our Beauty Awards package.
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