Is Gwyneth Paltrow ‘courting’ the Sussexes to add to her royal-friend collection?

In mid-May, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were spotted at Sushi Bar in Montecito. Sushi Bar is part of the Montecito Inn, and it’s apparently something of a lowkey hotspot for celebrities with second homes in Montecito or Santa Barbara. Celebrities like… Gwyneth Paltrow, who showed off her Montecito home to Architectural Digest last year. Gwyneth loves royalty and there were rumors, back in the day, that she was really trying to marry someone with a title. She’s also hung out with King Charles and Prince Philip and various other European royals. Well, reportedly, Gwyneth and her husband Brad Falchuk were at that dinner with the Sussexes.

Gwyneth Paltrow joined Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a surprise outing last week. The 50-year-old actress and her husband Brad Falchuk, 52, stepped out for a dinner date with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as well as Cameron Diaz and her husband Benji Madden in Montecito, California, according to reports.

“Meghan, Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Falchuk, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden all enjoyed dinner at Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito on Friday, May 12,” a source told Entertainment Tonight.

Page Six reported that Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd and her husband Michael Herd also attended the A-List gathering at the Michelin-starred restaurant.

The couples are all residents of the exclusive coastal enclave in Santa Barbara County. Paltrow and Falchuk moved to Montecito in 2016, while Markle, 41, and Harry, 38, relocated to the area in 2020 after officially stepping down from their roles as working members of the royal family. Diaz and Madden purchased a $12.67 Montecito mansion in May 2022.

[From Fox News]

So, Fox News’ headline was “Harry and Meghan courted by Gwyneth Paltrow” and then Fox News exhaustively listed all of Gwyneth’s royal connections, but offered no further proof of Gwyneth’s attempts to “court” the Sussexes. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think Meghan and Gwyneth would be natural allies, and they have similar interests. I do believe Gwyneth has probably cultivated this relationship, if there is one. We’ll probably find out soon enough – both women have podcasts, and I could absolutely see a pod crossover. The Archetypes episode would be “The Gravitas of Goop” or…oh, sh-t, “The It Girl Myth with Gwyneth.” I could absolutely see something “Meghan-approved” appearing for sale on Goop. Just remember, even though we find Gwyneth to be impossibly smug and annoying, she really does have a lot of famous friends who adore her.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.