Actually, Ellen—Dakota Johnson and Role Model Broke Up ‘a While Ago’

Dakota Johnson and Tucker Pillsbury, the singer better known as Role Model, are no longer dating. It’s a sad, sad day for obscure crossover celebrity relationships.

Their brief romance was first made public in December, after TMZ published photos of the two on a dinner date in LA. Since then, they managed to evade the paparazzi flash (except for one public smooch caught in April). Around that time, a source told People that Johnson and Pillsbury were “definitely more than a fling, or just a flirt.” They were “very much on the same page,” and “it just feels easy.” Her mother, Melanie Griffith, even said he was “fabulous.” But sadly, on Wednesday, sources confirmed to the outlet that, ahem, they actually broke up “a while ago.”

How long is “a while ago?” A month? A week? Johnson was recently featured in a spoken word interlude on Role Model’s new album, Chuck Timely & The Hourglass, but based on this news, it would seem they were only having a duet as friends, even though the lyrics were decidedly flirty:

Role Model: “Hey, I think you’re perfect.”
Dakota: “You say that to everyone.”
Role Model: “‘Kay, well, is it working?”
Dakota: “Yeah, but don’t tell anyone.”
Role Model: “You seem uncertain.”
Dakota: “Well, you’re just having fun.

And so on…

Dakota Johnson featured in the bridge of “Love I You” 🙂‍↕️🥂 pic.twitter.com/XJsVu1tpfg

— RM NATION & The Hourglass (@ROLEMODELNATlON) July 31, 2026

Hindsight tells me this was just another one of Johnson’s brilliant performances. Brava. While no explanation was provided to the outlet as to why they broke up, previous comments suggest that Johnson was “taking things slow after her previous long-term relationship.”

Last year, the actress ended her engagement to Chris Martin after eight years together and zero romantic spoken word duets. Even though she and Martin had previously broken up and gotten back together, a source told People that it “feels final this time.” Pillsbury also dated Emma Chamberlain for three years, but they broke up in 2023. So if we’ve learned anything from all of this, it’s that Dakota clearly has a fondness for musicians and for letting her sources confer with People Magazine.

RIP to their relationship, but I guess this means good news for anyone out there still dying to take the role of Role Model’s proverbial Sally.

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