Here’s How Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s Close Relationship Took Them To Oscars Glory

A Star is Born co-stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were the surprise couple of the 91st Annual Academy Awards, despite the fact that they are not involved in a serious romantic relationship. Gaga and Cooper stole the show with their performance of the Oscar-nominated tune “Shallow” from the movie’s hit soundtrack and gave fans a dizzying array of emotions as their clear affection for one another was put on display during Hollywood’s biggest night.

In September of 2018 during press for A Star is Born, Cooper couldn’t contain his praise for Gaga.

He stated on Good Morning America, per a story published by People Magazine, “I’m just so glad God gave her the talent that she has and he chose her because that’s quite a vessel to go through. Because it’s really what you do with it, and she’s such a beautiful human being.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that upon meeting Gaga for the first time and seeing her fully made up, Cooper asked if she could take off all her makeup. He said to the publication that he wanted the full essence of who the singer and songwriter, who was known for her outlandish costumes and makeup, was as Stefani Germanotta not as Gaga.

In fact, throughout filming and in press junkets for the film, Cooper always called Gaga by her given name, furthering the close bond between them by breaking down the walls the Grammy-winner had crafted over the past 15 years in the public eye.

It was during a screen test in her home in 2016, reported The Los Angeles Times, that Gaga had to let her guard down for Cooper, something that she was unwilling to do save for those closest to her for many years. A fact The Times article noted was the shorthand the duo created to get the best performance possible out of Gaga. One code word was “Tony,” trying to get Gaga as an actress to the level of affection the singer feels for her sometimes collaborative singing partner, the legendary Tony Bennett.

Gaga also said to Good Morning America that the rapport between herself and Cooper was instant, revealing, “We had instant chemistry when I met him. As soon as I opened the door to my house and saw him, it was like, ‘You hungry?’ We’re both Italian and from the East Coast and before I knew it, I was heating up some leftovers for him and we were eating together.”

After the twosome’s dynamic and dare we say, romantic, performance of A Star is Born‘s Oscar-nominated song “Shallow,” fans maintain that there is something more between the couple, using the fact that Gaga broke up with fiance Christian Carino just prior to the Academy Awards as a reason to push forward their relationship.

Cooper has been involved in a long term relationship with model Irina Shayk, the mother of his daughter, for quite some time and has never alluded to a romantic relationship with his former co-star. So, for now, fans might just have to be content with their clear chemistry and affection for one another on film and, of course, they can always rewatch their smoldering Oscars duet and dream.