By Shreya Mali

Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin’s breakup was foreshadowed by glaring signs. My interview with The List reveals the glaring precursors of a relationships demise.

Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin’s long-running, on-again, off-again romance finally came to an irreversible end in June 2025, according to a source speaking with People. By that point, the Chris Martin and the Materialists actress had been together for eight years, much of that time spent engaged.

However, another insider told People that the breakup didn’t catch Johnson off guard, as the couple repeatedly found themselves stuck in the same unresolved issues. A separate source later told Page Six that ongoing tension stemmed from Johnson’s growing belief that marriage was never truly going to happen. According to the insider, she had grown frustrated with Martin’s reluctance to commit to a wedding date.

That frustration carried extra weight given that another Page Six source revealed in March 2024 that the Coldplay singer—best known for the song Yellow—had proposed nearly six years earlier.

Journalist Shreya Mali writes, “To better understand how their years-long engagement could have been a sign that the celebrity couple’s eventual union wouldn’t last, The List reached out to Susan Winter, a relationship expert and the bestselling author of “Breakup Triage: The Cure for Heartache.” She labeled Johnson and Martin’s lengthy engagement as a “major red flag.” As Winter asserted, busy work schedules and various wedding planning issues weren’t valid reasons for such a huge delay.

The expert proclaimed simply, “Your partner is stalling. That’s not just hesitation — it’s inner conflict and outward resistance.” She also reckons that Martin ultimately wasted Johnson’s time since she was probably eager to walk down the aisle, adding, “Prolonged hesitation (independent of love) becomes [a] selfish and unkind act.” Of course, the “Fix You” hitmaker’s supposed hesitance to officially lock things down wasn’t the only glaring issue in their relationship.”

Throughout Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin’s eight-year relationship, speculation about breakups and reconciliations followed them almost constantly. According to a source who spoke with Us Weekly, when the couple briefly split in 2019, Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow—who has formed an unexpectedly close bond with Johnson—encouraged the Coldplay frontman to try to win her back.

Mali continues, “While every relationship ebbs and flows, the couple’s problems seemed too much for them to bear, and constantly pushed them to their breaking point. According to Susan Winter, being on and off again all the time isn’t “conducive to a healthy, long-term partnership.”

For more on the glaring signs of an imminent breakup, Continue Reading