

Everyone in Hollywood is dating—or has dated—everyone else in Hollywood. It’s the law when you’re hot, rich, and sequestered in a city surrounded by wildfires and suburban sprawls! I mean, what else is there to do? Crisp yourself up with a spray-on tan, get a blow-out, pose for the paparazzi at Craig’s, even order your assistant to to answer the door when Postmates drops off the sushi you ordered? Anyway, Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres confirmed as much on today’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The comedian and daytime television menace revealed she dated one of Brad Pitt’s many, many, many ex-girlfriends sometime in the ’90s. Here’s how that conversation went:
Ellen: Do you remember where we met?
Brad: I remember Melissa Etheridge’s pool party [in the ‘90s], where I think you were hitting on my girlfriend.
Ellen: Was I hitting on your girlfriend, really?
Brad: I think so, I was flattered!
Ellen: I since then have dated another one of your girlfriends.
Ellen could be kidding. Her show relies on clip-worthy moments that are eventually written about on blogs like this one before getting posted to your great-aunt’s Facebook page. But that’s no fun! And with Hollywood’s often blatant misuse of the phrase “gal pals,” I’d much rather spend my Friday traipsing through some vintage gossip for gay rights!
According to the ever “trustworthy” People magazine archives, here’s an official list of women Brad Pitt dated before he married Jennifer Aniston and Ellen started dating Portia Di Rossi (sometime around 2004): Robin Givens; Christina Applegate; Jill Schoelen; E.G. Daily; Juliette Lewis; Geena Davis; Thandie Newton; Gwyneth Paltrow. For each, I’ll cross reference their relationships with Brad Pitt with what we know from tabloids and talk show appearances. The pool party with Melissa Etheridge sometime in the late ’80s will also be our anchor, as Ellen claims she dated one of Pitt’s exes “since then.”
Let’s go.
Robin Givens
Dated Brad Pitt: 1986-1987
Dating history since Brad: Michael Jordan (1990), Eddie Murphy (early ‘90s), Damon Wayans (Allegedly, Mid-90s during Blankman filming/press tour) Svetozar Marinkovic (1997 – 1998), Howard Stern (1999-2000)
While stranger things have happened, Givens was consistently linked to various men for much of the ’90s, and she and Ellen have never been photographed together—let alone mentioned in the same sentence.
Verdict: Highly Unlikely
Christina Applegate:
Dated Brad: 1989
Dating history since Brad: Sebastian Bach (1989), Nuno Bettencourt (1990-1992), Christian Slater (1996), Johnathon Schaech (1997-2007)
Ah yes, another woman asked about her dating life on Watch What Happens Live! (Andy Cohen certainly has an agenda.) Anyways, Christina Applegate famously ditched the 1989 VMAs with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach—at least, Bach claims as much. She’s also appeared on the Ellen show frequently! In one episode, she greeted the host like this:

Any relationship between the two would have had to take place between 1993-1995, unless Christina was cheating. (Ellen began dating Anne Heche in 1997, the same year Christina married Schaech.) I also wonder if any self-respecting woman like Applegate would rebound from Ellen with Christian Slater.
Verdict: Definitely possible, but let’s not panic!