Not everyone would congratulate their ex-boyfriend’s ex-wife after a significant accomplishment, but not everyone is Gwyneth Paltrow. The 47-year-old actress and Goop founder got magnanimous in the comments section after Jennifer Aniston, 50, celebrated her Screen Actors’ Guild win. “[My] peers gave me a gift I will cherish and a night I will never forget,” Jen captioned a pair of Instagram photos, including one that featured her SAG award for Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series. Gwyneth – who was involved with Brad Pitt, 56, before he and Jen tied the knot — congratulated the Morning Show star in the comments. “So deserved [sparkly heart emoji].”
It seems that Gwyneth wasn’t kidding when she told Harper’s Bazaar that there were no hard feelings between her and Brad Pitt (and, presumably, the woman Brad married in 1998, one year after he and Gwyneth called off their engagement.) She said that she was still on good terms with many of her exes. “One of them is still one of my best friends—one from high school, Tony Woods,” she said. “And I’m friendly with Brad Pitt. I don’t have any really bad blood.” Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between Brad and Jen, what with their now-iconic reunion at the SAG Awards.
This isn’t to say that Gwyneth simply shrugged off her uncoupling with Brad in 1997. While reacting to her throwback Harper’s Bazaar covers for a YouTube video, Gwyneth took a moment to reflect when she saw the Dec. 1997 issue of the magazine. “This one, gosh, I was only about maybe 24? or [25]?” she exclaimed at the sight of her younger self, a noticeably thin version. “Brad Pitt and I had just broken up, and I … like, could not eat. I was really skinny. It was sort of upsetting.” Despite that admission, Gwyneth said that the cover image was “a nice picture.”
It turns out, Gwyneth’s age factored into their eventual breakup. “I was such a kid. I was 22 when we met,” she said in a 2015 interview with Howard Stern. “It’s taken me until 40 to get my head out of my ass. You can’t make that decision when you’re 22 years old…I wasn’t ready, and he was too good for me.” They would both go on to other relationships. He would marry and divorce Angelina Jolie. She would marry and uncouple from Chris Martin before marrying Brad Falchuk in 2018.
Gwyneth was far from the only celeb celebrating Jennifer’s win. “So proud of you! And you’re gorgeous,” wrote Jen’s BFF Courteney Cox. “You are the definition of glamour, grace, beauty, and adorableness Congratulations!” wrote Jessica Capshaw. “How can you be so pretty sitting like this?” wondered Mindy Kaling after seeing the acrobatics Jen pulled off to avoid wrinkling her dress. The image left Michelle Pfeiffer in stitches, and she left three “laughing until I’m crying” emojis. “Congratulations,” wrote Allison Janney. “So deserving, and you looked gorgeous.” Other stars like Desean K. Terry, Arielle Vandenberg, Samantha Ronson, and Isla Fisher chimed in to congratulate Jen.