Even before Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga brought romantic heat to their performance of “Shallow” at the Oscars on Sunday night, Cooper’s girlfriend, Irina Shayk, had unfollowed his “A Star is Born” co-star on social media, reportedly because she had become weary of hearing about the pop diva all the time.
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“The stories about Irina being sick of Gaga have some truth to them,” a source told The Sun, which reported that Shayk, a model and the mother of Cooper’s young daughter, had unfollowed the pop singer.
“It’s not that she dislikes Gaga or is jealous of her, but she’s sick of the constant stories about her ‘close’ relationship to Bradley,” the source added.
Shayk’s not the only woman who has been close to Cooper to deal with the fallout from the media frenzy over his steamy duet with the “Bad Romance” singer Sunday night.
Cooper’s ex-wife, Jennifer Esposito, had to defend herself Tuesday from social media backlash after she posted a very brief comment about the performance on actor David Spade’s Instagram account. Esposito, who was married to Cooper from 2006 to 2007, wrote “Ha,” after Spade jokingly remarked, “any chance these 2 aren’t (having sex)?”
Cooper took to Instagram to say she didn’t mean anything negative. She just found Spade’s “bold” joke amusing.
“I thought it was funny and I’m allowed to think something is funny,” Esposito said on Instagram.
Esposito noted that the backlash against her comment may have stemmed in part from the fact that her 2014 memoir about living with Celiac disease mentioned an unnamed ex whom she called a “master manipulator,” according to People. It is assumed that the ex is Cooper. Esposito said it was “stupid” for people to focus on what she wrote about an old relationship, when her memoir was about the more serious issue of living with a chronic illness.
The reports and rumors about Cooper and Lady Gaga becoming creative soul mates — and maybe more — have been going on for months, persisting during the long Oscars season campaign for “A Star Is Born,” in which they play doomed rock-star lovers.
Page Six reported in October that Cooper was “miserable” with Shayk, presumably because he missed the creative collaboration he enjoyed with Lady Gaga. The rumors heated up earlier this month after Lady Gaga confirmed that she had ended her engagement to talent agent Christian Carino.
For Shayk, “it’s been a long publicity campaign, and she’s ready for it to end,” the Sun reported.
Shayk, 33, certainly appeared to be a supportive girlfriend to Cooper, 44, at the Oscars. Shayk and Cooper showed some PDA and loving glances on the red carpet, and she presented a big smile during Lady Gaga and Cooper’s performance. She also applauded for Lady Gaga and gave the singer a hug after she won a trophy for best original song for co-writing “Shallow.”
“She’s actually thrilled at how successful the movie has been and really wanted to go to the Oscars,” the source told The Sun. A source added to Us Weekly that Shayk recognizes that Cooper and Lady Gaga “are artists” and were “in character putting on an Oscar performance.”
But like everyone else, Shayk witnessed the undeniable chemistry that Lady Gaga and Cooper brought to their film roles, and to their performance of “Shallow.” During their duet, the pair cuddled while sitting together at the piano and engaged in intense, lingering eye contact.
“It’s undeniable that Gaga and Bradley have chemistry — they have a lot more in common than Irina and Bradley – but that’s why the movie worked,” the Sun source added.
The Daily Mail reported that Shayk and Cooper were photographed looking “glum” as they rode in a car Monday, a day after the ceremony.
On Monday, Lady Gaga sought to dispel reports that she and Cooper are anything but friends. She took to Twitter to post a photo of their Oscars performance, referring to him as “a true friend.”
Nothing could be more special than sharing this moment at the Oscars with a true friend and artistic genius. pic.twitter.com/Khy9ooCJDZ
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 26, 2019
