Gigi Paris says she had "two options" when her ex-boyfriend, actor Glen Powell, and actress Sydney Sweeney were flirty for marketing purposes: play along or split up.
Paris, who dated Powell from 2020 to 2023, spoke up about their breakup in a new episode of podcast Too Much. In the same year as Powell and Paris' breakup, the actor starred in romantic comedy Anyone But You, and throughout the promotional rollout, the costars played into the dating rumors. At the time, Sweeney was engaged to her then-partner, Jonathan Davino.
Around the nine-minute mark of the video below, Paris recalled the PR drama without naming Powell or Sweeney. "I could either pretend like I was going along with everything and have everyone wonder, like, 'Are they hooking up? Are they not hooking up? Is she okay with this? What the fuck?'" Paris said. "Or stand up for myself and say, 'No, I'm actually not okay with this, and I'm walking away.'"
After Paris "decided" to break it off with Powell, the model was "shattered" but "wanted respect."
"Like, don't make an ass out of me. Like, just don't make a fool out of someone you've been with for over three years talking about forever with," she continued. "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."
Paris added that the handling of the situation "sucked" and that she felt like she was "fed to the dogs." The model also stressed that she wanted Powell to "stand up" and denying cheating on her.
"It was serving them for their PR," she said. "Later on, it turned out that it was all, I don't know if there was a relationship there or not, but then they came out to say it was all a PR scheme at the expense of our relationship. Like, it was just crazy."
Paris expressed disappointment that their relationship was sacrificed "to sell a movie." "And I honestly hoped that they'd end up together, because I was like, at least it would make it worth it for me, you know? I hope they are in love or whatnot," she said.
In a 2023 interview with Business Insider, Powell called Sweeney "smart" in strategizing the dating rumor and added that they share "authentic chemistry." The actor also admitted that it was "harder" for him to embrace the scheme in the aftermath of his breakup with Paris.