Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

We sometimes forget when under-the-radar couples get together in the Hollywood universe. One of our favorites? Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper and actress Jennifer Esposito. While they no longer cross paths after a whirlwind romance that ultimately ended in divorce, these starry-eyed lovers pulled at our heartstrings when they stepped out as an item in the mid-2000s.

Cooper went on to date Renée Zellweger, Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Zoe Saldaña, model-actress Suki Waterhouse, and model Irina Shayk, with whom he welcomed daughter Lea de Seine in 2017. Since his split from Shayk in 2019, the Maestro star has been romantically linked to Huma Abedin after being introduced by Anna Wintour. As for Esposito, she wed model Louis Dowler in 2014. The two divorced, but Esposito found love again when she married Danish fitness expert Jesper Vesterstrøm in September 2020.

Here's a look back at Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito's relationship.

January 16, 2006: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito attend InStyle Golden Globes party together

Since neither actor has shed much light on their time together, we don't have a clear idea of how they met. The couple kept details of their relationship relatively private, not even confirming their relationship until years later. However, a shared kiss at the InStyle and Warner Bros.' Golden Globes party in January 2006 prompted the question of whether or not the two were dating, in which Esposito reportedly told People, "I'm not answering that."

December 21, 2006: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito marry one month after getting engaged

In October 2006, the actors' reps confirmed their engagement to People without providing any additional details. Cooper and Esposito quietly tied the knot that December, reportedly in the South of France.

April 5, 2007: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito separate

Just four months after they wed, People confirmed Cooper and Esposito split, citing irreconcilable differences. Esposito filed for divorce in May 2007, as first reported by TMZ.

"Jennifer Esposito has filed for divorce," the actress's rep told the outlet. "She asks that you respect her privacy at this time." 

Cooper's rep called the breakup "mutual," noting that the actors had "been separated for quite a while." According to divorce papers, Cooper and Esposito had been separated since April 5, 2007. 

"It is what it should be," Esposito told People that August. "You have to move on. That's what life is about — taking a situation, making the best of it, and moving on." 

Cooper (sort of) opened up about the divorce in 2011, telling Howard Stern that "it was just something that happened," according to CBS News. 

"The good thing is, we both realized it … Sometimes you just realize it," he said, adding that the relationship "just wasn't right." 

Somehow managing to say even less, he once described the marriage to the now-defunct Details magazine as "an experience."

In 2008, he broached the topic when asked about the most romantic thing he'd ever done. 

"Well, I got married," he told Elle, declining to speak about the marriage in detail. "I have no problem talking about [that], but I have to respect the counterpart ... I don't regret it," before confirming that he and Cooper were not friends.  

He added, "Maybe someday."

November 2007: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito finalize divorce

Following the dissolution of their short-lived marriage, Esposito expressed a different view than Cooper in the 2014 memoir Jennifer's Way, where she wrote about her harrowing experience with undiagnosed celiac disease. 

In the book, she included a passage about a relationship gone wrong. "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 continued, "He was funny, smart, cocky, arrogant, and a master manipulator. I didn't necessarily find him that attractive, but I figured that I could enjoy his sense of humor and nonsense for a while."

"Within days, my relationship hit an all-time low, and within a week, it was over," she wrote of the relationship's end. "Abruptly, rudely, and with the exact callousness that I'd come to expect from him, but this time, I did nothing but agree to end it."

Esposito never names this "master manipulator," but it's widely speculated to be Cooper. When media coverage of the chapter amped up, Esposito doubled down. "This book is about my journey with celiac disease and only that," she said in a statement. "To refer to anything other than the subject at hand or to make this book about anything else is an insult to me and this disease that plagues so many."

February 25, 2019: Bradley Cooper's Oscars duet with Lady Gaga sparks reaction from ex Jennifer Esposito

In 2019, Esposito ensnared herself in the Cooper-centric media crossfire once more. After Cooper and A Star Is Born co-star Lady Gaga performed at the 2019 Oscars, comedian David Spade joked about their chemistry in an Instagram post, sharing a screengrab from the duet with the caption, "Is there any chance these 2 aren't fucking?" 

Esposito commented on the post, writing, "Ha." 

Of course, much was made of the comment, prompting the Crash star to sound off in an Instagram video stating that she simply found Spade's bold comment about her ex funny, nothing more.