Perhaps the most memorable moment of the 2019 Oscars was when Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga performed the song "Shallow" from their movie, "A Star Is Born". The performance was so passionate that fans speculated that there were real sparks between the two. At the time, Gaga talked about romance rumors saying:

"Yes, people saw love and find what ?! That was what we wanted you to see."

While now, Cooper has returned to the topic in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Apparently, Cooper's exciting presence on stage was partly a strategy to help him "manage his fear of singing live." While singing with Gagan, the actor imagined himself in the scene from the movie during which Jackson Maine, the Cooper character, brings Ally (Gagan) on stage for a duet for the first time, which would push Ally to become a star and a romance arose between the two. This helped the actor get away from the fear of the stage and lose himself in the show.

"Only from a personal point of view, it reduces the level of anxiety," he said.

It was also a way to bring dynamism to live performance.

"They fall in love in that scene in the movie. It 's that explosive moment that happens to them in a scene in front of thousands of people," Cooper added. "It would have been so weird if we were both on the bench in front of the audience."

Further claiming that the performance was simply a powerful acting, Gaga told ELLE in November 2019 that he thought the press was too "stupid":

"I mean, we created a love story. As performers and actresses, we wanted people to believe that we were in love. And we wanted people to feel that love at the Oscars. "We wanted her to go straight to the target of that camera and every TV show she was watching."

Cooper, during the interview, praised Gaga for the talent and energy she brought to the project.

"She is extremely charismatic and beautiful," he said. "When we started working together, I realized that heaven was the limit in terms of what she is able to do and the level of her commitment."

In short, there was never a romance, although the chemistry between them made the public dream of a possible connection.