In case your weekly screen-time report isn’t as alarming as mine, you may have missed the big effing news about Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk. After four years of dating, the A Star Is Born actor and the model called it quits, probably because Irina wanted a much “quieter” life than she had recently found herself in.
Body language expert Blanca Cobb spoke with Cosmopolitan to break down the then-couple’s body language during their last red carpet together on Oscars night, aka the night Bradley and Lady Gaga gave that steamy “Shallow” duet. (FYI: There’s no proof that Gaga and Bradley had a ~thing~, so let’s not even go there.) Bradley and Irina have been lying low the past few months, but Cobb explained there was some major tension in their relationship even back during the Oscars. Once you see what she’s talking about, this breakup will make so much more sense.
Before Bradley and Irina went inside the Academy Awards ceremony to sit next to Gaga, they posed on the red carpet alongside his mom, Gloria Campano. In one of the photos, Bradley stood between Irina and his mom, showing he was the uniting factor between them. That’s not all that surprising, but what is interesting is how he was holding each of their hands.
Cobb pointed out that if you zoom in, you can see Bradley holding his mom’s hand super close to him and up toward the front of his body, almost showing it off. If you look to his other side, though, he was basically “hiding” Irina’s hand by pushing it behind his body, and that’s a major red flag. Also, Irina’s fingers weren’t totally wrapped around his hand, so that could mean she wasn’t that into posing with him either.
If you’re thinking his mom’s presence affected his body language with Irina, Cobb said that even if someone’s parents are present, if they’re truly connected to their S.O., they can still be affectionate within reason.
Aside from their hands, Irina’s stance in this photo shows that either she was trying to pose like the boss model she is or she was totally uncomfortable with the whole situation. First of all, you can see that Bradley’s right foot was a little in front of his left, and Irina wasn’t in sync with that at all. Instead, her left leg was crossed over her right one, which is a really unstable way to stand. Cobb said, “What this means is that there’s a mismatch in her body language versus that beautiful smile on her face. And when something like that happens, your brain automatically defaults to the negative, not the positive.”
Cobb noted that usually when people lean in or face each other, that’s a good sign and shows they are connected. That’s not the case here. Cobb said Irina might have turned toward B. Coop to show off the gorgeous design on her dress.
Honestly, who can blame her? The dress was gorgeous, and what was she supposed to do? Not turn toward him to serve a look?
There was one glimmer of hope for Bradley and Irina that night, despite everything. Cobb noted that in one of the photos, Irina was turned toward Bradley and they were both looking in the same direction with “genuine” smiles.
Sadly, Cobb suggested not getting your hopes up, because they could’ve been looking at something off to the side that made them laugh.
So basically, if you were one of the many people who sensed a little tension between the couple on Oscars night, your instincts were spot-on.
