The Moment
Dakota Johnson may have a new leading man, and the internet is already clutching its pearls over the age-gap math.
According to a Dec. 30, 2025 report from Page Six, which cites photos obtained by TMZ, Johnson, 36, was spotted getting cozy at a candlelit dinner with musician Role Model, born Tucker Pillsbury, 28. The two were reportedly out with friends, but insiders told TMZ that Johnson was lying on him, cuddled up, and very much in her flirty era.
The sighting comes more than six months after reports in June that Johnson and longtime partner Chris Martin, 48, had ended their nearly eight-year, on-and-off relationship. A source told the U.S. Sun (as relayed by Page Six) that the pair couldn’t get on the same page about their 12-year age gap and whether to have children.
Meanwhile, Martin is now reportedly dating actress Sophie Turner, 29, while Role Model’s most recent public relationship was with influencer and podcaster Emma Chamberlain, 24, whom he split from in 2023 after three years together.
Dakota Johnson Sparks Romance Buzz After Cozy Dinner With Singer Role Model
👇👇👇https://t.co/fB7BalsRFH pic.twitter.com/NUNcJbhe1O— The Entertainment Desk (@Entertainm20001) December 30, 2025
The Take
I have one strong reaction to Dakota Johnson possibly dating a man eight years younger than she is: and?
We’ve spent decades watching middle-aged male stars date women who still have to show ID at airport security. A 20-year age gap? No one blinks. A 25-year gap? “He just really connects with her.” But the minute a woman in her mid-30s leans on a 28-year-old’s shoulder over martinis, it’s suddenly a romance scandal.
The numbers here aren’t even wild. Johnson is 36. Role Model is 28. That’s not a cougar storyline; that’s “we both remember DVDs” energy. She just left a 12-year age-gap relationship where she was the younger one. Now the gap is smaller, and she’s older, and somehow this is what raises eyebrows?
It’s a bit like watching the same movie, but when the roles are reversed, everyone decides it’s suddenly controversial. When older men date younger women, it gets sold as mentorship plus romance. When older women date younger men, we slap on words like “toyboy” and act like she pulled him out of freshman orientation.
If the reporting is accurate, here’s what we actually have: a woman in her mid-30s who ended a long, emotionally complicated relationship, is out at dinner with friends, and is clearly enjoying a flirty connection with an attractive musician who is well into adulthood. That’s not a scandal; that’s Tuesday in Los Angeles.
What makes it interesting isn’t the pairing itself, but the way the coverage keeps circling back to ages and timelines instead of the more obvious point: after years of being “Coldplay-adjacent,” Dakota Johnson might finally be allowed to just…date. No engagement speculation, no bonus-mom think pieces, no “cool stepmom to Apple and Moses” storyline. Just a woman, a drink, a candle, and a guy who clearly thinks she’s fun to talk to.
Her ex is reportedly seeing Sophie Turner, who is nearly two decades younger than he is, and somehow Johnson is the one getting the side-eye? That’s the double standard in one sentence. If this were flipped, Dakota would be cast as the “wise, nurturing” older partner shepherding a younger actress through fame. Instead, people are half a headline away from calling her a midlife crisis in Gucci loafers.
Here’s a wild thought: maybe, after eight years of negotiating someone else’s schedule, kids, and lifestyle, Johnson just wants something light, fun, and uncomplicated. And at 28, a lot of men are very available for that job description.
Receipts
- Confirmed: Page Six reported on Dec. 30, 2025, that Dakota Johnson and Role Model were seen at a candlelit dinner with friends, citing photos obtained by TMZ that show them appearing cozy and affectionate.
- Confirmed: The same Page Six piece notes that Johnson and Chris Martin reportedly broke up in June 2025 after nearly eight years together, referencing a U.S. Sun source who claimed age difference and children were ongoing issues.
- Confirmed: Page Six cites Us Weekly reporting that Chris Martin and Sophie Turner have been on several dates in London and that there is “a definite spark” between them.
- Confirmed: Page Six states that Role Model previously dated influencer and podcaster Emma Chamberlain; their split in 2023 after roughly three years together has been widely reported in entertainment press.
- Unverified: Whether Dakota Johnson and Role Model are officially a couple, casually dating, or simply leaning into a close friendship has not been confirmed by either of their representatives. Page Six noted outreach to their reps with no immediate response.
- Unverified: Any assumptions about long-term intentions (moving in, marriage, kids) are purely fan and tabloid speculation at this point.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
Dakota Johnson, best known for the “Fifty Shades of Grey” films and more recently “Madame Web,” has spent most of the last decade in a low-key but very serious relationship with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. The two were first linked around 2017 and managed an impressively private romance despite his history as Gwyneth Paltrow’s ex-husband and father to their children, Apple and Moses.
Multiple outlets have described Johnson and Martin’s relationship as on-and-off over the years, with sources saying they went back and forth on core life topics like whether to have more children. By June 2025, reports surfaced that they had split for good. Since then, Martin has been linked to actress Sophie Turner, whose own high-profile divorce from Joe Jonas kept her in the headlines.
Role Model, meanwhile, is a 28-year-old singer-songwriter who originally started as a rapper before pivoting to moody pop. He built a dedicated younger fan base online and in the indie-pop scene, helped along by his former relationship with internet star and coffee-mogul-in-the-making Emma Chamberlain. The two dated for several years before breaking up in 2023.
So when Johnson and Role Model pop up in the same candlelit frame, it’s not just a random pairing: it’s a collision of Hollywood, indie pop, and influencer culture-and a reminder that, yes, famous adults sometimes meet through the same friend-of-a-friend circuits as the rest of us.
What’s Next
Realistically, the next move is not a red carpet debut or a surprise engagement. It’s much less glamorous: silence, or maybe a blurry follow-up photo from another dinner.
Things to watch for in the coming weeks:
- Official word (or a soft launch): If either Johnson or Role Model posts something suggestive on social media-a shared photo, a birthday shout-out-that will say more than any anonymous source. So far, neither has commented publicly.
- More sightings: One cozy dinner can be a crush. A pattern of showings-concerts, casual walks, mutual friend hangouts-starts to look like a relationship.
- How the age-gap conversation shifts: If this pairing sticks, it could help normalize what men in Hollywood have enjoyed for decades: the freedom to date across a reasonable age range without being turned into a morality tale.
- Chris Martin and Sophie Turner going more public: As that reported relationship builds, expect even more side-by-side comparisons of how we talk about older men dating younger women versus older women dating younger men.
For now, the healthiest approach might be the simplest: they’re two adults navigating their personal lives under a spotlight they never fully asked for. We can notice the double standards without turning yet another woman’s dating choices into a referendum on her worth.
What do you think: if the roles were completely reversed here-older rock star woman, younger male actor-would the coverage sound any different, or are we finally ready to retire the double standards for good?
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