Glen Powell‘s ex-girlfriend Gigi Paris appeared on the latest episode of the “Too Much” podcast and spoke out for the first time about the end of their relationship in April 2023 amid romance rumors between Powell and his “Anyone But You” co-star Sydney Sweeney. The two actors later confirmed to The New York Times they leaned into the fake romance rumors in order to boost the film’s publicity, a strategy that worked as “Anyone But You” was a box office sleeper hit with $220 million worldwide.
“I just wanted respect, especially if it’s gonna be public,” Paris said on the podcast about seeing the rumors of an alleged real-life romance between Powell and Sweeney. Although she didn’t name the actors, the podcast is billed as Paris talking about “the very public unraveling of her four-year relationship with a certain A-list celebrity ex.”
“Like, don’t make an ass out of me,” Paris continued. “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… It wasn’t [gaslighting], it was just, ‘This is what I have to do for my job.’”
Speaking to The Times in April 2024 after the box office success of “Anyone But You,” Powell said that “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.”
Sweeney was directly involved in the marketing of “Anyone But You” as a producer on the film and added: “I wanted to make sure that we were actively having a conversation with the audience as we were promoting this film, because at the end of the day, they’re the ones who created the entire narrative.”
During her podcast appearance, Paris said she was “shattered” when she made the decision to walk away from her relationship once it became clear no one but her was interested in bringing clarity to the romance rumors. She told a story about flying to Australia, where “Anyone But You” was filmed, and alleged that she was then told not to visit the set.
“He called and said, ‘The producers and I have discussed that I think it’s best that you don’t come to visit … And that’s when I hung up. And I was like, this motherfucker is done to me,” Paris said. “That phone call really is what broke me. I thought we had hope, like, maybe when I got there that, like, things would maybe get better. But once I got that phone call, I just knew it was done. I had lost whoever that person was that I loved.”
Variety has reached out to Powell’s representative for further comment.
Powell told Variety after the success of “Anyone But You” that he was “definitely trying to find the next thing” for him and Sweeney to work on together.
“Please send us all the scripts you got,” he added. “You know we’re here for it. It’s been really wonderful to read a lot. Sydney reads everything, by the way, and in record time. She’s the fastest reader I think I’ve ever met. It takes me a little longer, but we’re reading everything and just trying to see what makes sense, what we can turn into something that audiences are going to respond to.”
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