Dakota Johnson has fans guessing about her and Chris Martin’s status once again after showing up to an event sans ring – but pals have already moved on from their will-they won’t-they game and told the pair they need to clear things up, a source exclusively tells In Touch.
“Their friends have been tolerating all this back and forth and dealing with all these cryptic excuses for what feels like years,” the source says.
The pair have been hush-hush about their relationship, especially given the media circus that surrounded Chris’ “conscious uncoupling” from ex wife Gwyneth Paltrow. They’ve kept most of the details of their engagement a secret, only spilling developments long after the fact.
“Chris and Dakota are both very paranoid,” the source continues, “so they don’t want to tell people what’s going on and will act really defensive if anyone asks, but then when there’s a crisis that all goes out the window and they’ll call everyone up to ask for advice.”
The couple were first linked after being spotted on a sushi date in L.A. in October 2017, appearing “cozy, laughing and affectionate,” according to a source as reported by People, with a source confirming to US Weekly they were “definitely a couple” two months later in December.
They went strong for years, appearing at concerts, parties and events arm in arm. Dakota, 35, sparked engagement rumors when she was seen wearing an emerald ring on her left hand in March 2021.
A source finally confirmed to People the couple “got engaged years ago but were in no rush to get married,” in March 2024, despite Dakota not being photographed wearing the brilliant ring – which was also confirmed to be an engagement ring – since November 2023 at the time.
Amid the actress being snapped with and without the ring, break up rumors began flying just two months later in June, with a fan claiming Chris, 47, introduced himself as single, though a source claimed they were still “going strong.”
By August, a source told Daily Mail, “Chris and Dakota have tried desperately hard over the past few months to make their relationship work … but they’ve both come to the conclusion the relationship cannot be sustained long-term,” seeming to confirm their split, despite both their reps denying the claim.
Now, friends and fans alike have become exasperated with the couple’s antics, with those close to the pair wincing at the prospect of being dragged along their rocky relationship road any further.
“It’s just very draining and feels so immature,” the source continues.
“Dakota in particular is being very on and off about the whole thing, one day she has her mind made up that she’s done and the next she’s talking about wedding plans.”
“Their friends were sympathetic at first, but now it just feels like a waste of time since they’ll spend hours listening and giving advice only to see them turn around and ignore it.”
“People are at the point where they don’t even want to get into it, they’re begging them both to just figure this out, and make a decision and stick with it.”
