Glen Powell responded to his ex-girlfriend Gigi Paris’s public retelling of their 2023 breakup, saying in a new GQ cover interview that Paris is "welcome" to her own "narrative" about the events surrounding the promotion of his film Anyone But You.
"I will always have nothing but love for her and respect for her," Powell told GQ over breakfast in Glasgow. He added, "Everybody’s always going to have their own narrative on things and all that. And she’s welcome to it," later gesturing that when relationships end "they each go to their own brunch and they will each tell their own narrative."
Powell’s comments follow a June 2025 interview in which Paris, a model, told the Too Much podcast she was "blindsided" and "shattered" by the romance rumors that swirled around Powell and his Anyone But You co-star Sydney Sweeney during the film’s promotion. Paris said Powell had dismissed her concerns by saying, "This is what I have to do for my job," and that she ultimately chose to end the relationship after deciding she could not accept the publicity strategy.
The split was first reported in April 2023 as speculation mounted over on-set chemistry between Powell and Sweeney during filming in Australia. Powell and Sweeney later acknowledged that they had leaned into the rumor mill as part of the film’s publicity, a tactic Powell said "worked wonderfully" as the romantic comedy became a box-office hit. He has publicly praised Sweeney’s promotional efforts, calling her "very smart."
Paris told the podcast she felt the situation could have been handled with more respect, and said she had expected Powell to publicly deny any infidelity. "The bare minimum of any relationship is to have your partner’s back, period," she said. Paris said she flew to Australia to confront Powell and ended the relationship while on that trip, describing herself as "bawling" on the flight. She said she was not trying to monetize the breakup but wanted dignity and honesty in how the situation was addressed.
Powell, 36, told GQ he has been managing growing public attention since Anyone But You’s release and described advice he received from Tom Cruise about handling fame. "He basically said, 'Hey, it’s going to get really, really loud. It’s your job to just turn the volume down. Just remember you have your hand on that switch,'" Powell said, adding that learning to "turn down the noise" and trust his instincts has helped him.
Sweeney, who was an executive producer on the film, was engaged at the time to Jonathan Davino. She has said she was heavily involved in marketing the film and helped drive promotional ideas. Davino and Sweeney publicly confirmed their split in May after months of media reports.
Powell has acknowledged that promoting Anyone But You was complicated by his personal life at the time. He told Business Insider that leaning into the rumors was harder for him because he was "going through a very real breakup amidst a promotional tour" and that he had been in a committed relationship he was "trying to kind of make sense of." He has continued to voice appreciation for Sweeney’s role in the film’s success.
Paris’s public account and Powell’s recent remarks illustrate contrasting perspectives that have emerged since the couple’s split. Both the actor and his former partner have discussed the emotional fallout in separate interviews, while Powell has focused on managing his rising profile and the practicalities of publicity in Hollywood.
As Powell’s career continues to gather attention, his comments underscore the tensions that can arise when personal relationships intersect with film promotion. He has framed the exchanges as differing personal narratives, and Paris has framed her choices around personal boundaries and respect as she described them on the podcast.