A Guide To Lady Gaga's Relationships, Including With Her Fiancé Michael Polansky

This article includes references to sexual abuse.

Lady Gaga is more than one of the world's most formidable triple-threat entertainers. Beyond the music, film, and art she's produced for almost two decades, she is also a woman who strives for love and companionship, just like the rest of the world. But it's her status as a top-tier musician that elevates her personal relationships to multiple levels. "I think women love very hard," she once said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning (via Billboard). "We just love with everything we have. And sometimes I don't know that that love is met with the type of dignity that we wish it would be met with ... We just want you to love us as deeply and as wholesomely and as fully as we love you."

From broken engagements to on-again-off-again affairs, the Oscar-winning entertainer has had her fair share of ups and downs in her love life. But, like any great artist, she uses those stories that she builds to craft her artistry for the world to absorb.

A 19-year-old Stefani Germanotta first met record producer Rob Fusari in the mid-2000s, and the pair's producer-artist relationship eventually blossomed into something more personal. Fusari dubbed Germanotta with the name "Gaga," and the rest is history. The two collaborated on her early work on "The Fame" album, which included songs like "Paparazzi" and "Beautiful Dirty Rich." Fusari also reportedly encouraged her to embrace electronic dance beats to set herself apart but was turned off by her staging choices. "I felt like I had worked at finding a sound for this artist and I was proud of it, and she was undermining it with the outfits, with the comedy," Fusari shared with NJ.com.

From there, the two drifted apart — though Gaga never officially confirmed that they dated. Fusari later sued the star, claiming he was responsible for kick-starting her career. Gaga eventually countersued before the two settled the matter out of court for a reported $10 million. To add more fuel to the fire, producer Wendy Starland also sued Fusari and alleged that she was the one to truly catapult Gaga's career — which Gaga testified before the court on Starland's behalf.

As Lady Gaga's career was beginning to skyrocket in 2008, she was in the midst of a tumultuous relationship with musician and bar manager Luc Carl. The pair had an on-again, off-again romance that inspired some of Gaga's most notable songs like "You and I," in which he is reportedly the inspiration behind the "cool Nebraska guy" that the songstress sings about. The two met at Carl's bar while Gaga was still underage, and their relationship lasted about six years. As Gaga's star continued to rise, their relationship began to feel pressure. "Her life, needless to say, completely changed, and I'm not the type of guy who can sit on someone else's yacht sipping champagne," Carl told PopCrush.

Over the course of their relationship, things were rocky at best. There were even reports of Carl having another woman in the mix while they were together. However, tormented love tended to stay with Gaga, particularly early in her career. "I've really never loved anyone like I loved him," she once told Rolling Stone. "Or like I love him." But even after all of their history, Carl still has nice things to say about his former love. "She's an amazing woman and I wish her all the best in the world," Carl shared with PopCrush. "Although I think we all know she already has it."

In between stints with Luc Carl, Lady Gaga began a relationship with Matthew "Dada" Williams, a creative member of her fashion and beauty-based Haus of Gaga. Williams was the one who designed the now iconic "disco stick," as so mentioned in Gaga's hit "Love Game," and wielded it on stage in front of thousands. "​​I hired him, he designed album covers and clothes for me, and he's the inspiration for the beginning of my fashion," the starlet told The Standard in 2012.

The designer, who Gaga herself dubbed with the nickname "Dada," eventually became a creative director for Gaga's brand, having a hand in much of the Haus' output, from tour design to music video production. But the pair's time together personally was short-lived. "Dada is quite brilliant and we were crazy lovers, but I stopped it when we discovered what a strong creative connection we had," she shared with The Standard. "I didn't want it just to be about careless love." Williams eventually departed the Haus of Gaga to pursue his own design labels and work with major brands, including Givenchy.

Even as she was singing about an ex-lover while filming the music video for her single "You and I," Lady Gaga ended up finding a new love in her co-star, actor Taylor Kinney. From the get-go, the pair had an intense relationship. "I remember I went up, and we're rolling, and I kissed her and she didn't expect it," Kinney shared of their first encounter on camera during an episode of "Watch What Happens Live" (via E! Online). "They cut, and she slapped me. And then it was just awkward. And then the next take, I just did it again and then she didn't slap me. She didn't slap me then."

The two entered a relationship soon after and Gaga was more than happy to share her newfound love with the world. "When you meet someone that's not intimidated by the amazing people that are around you [or] by the love that you receive — that's love," she revealed to FASHION Magazine. "Men weren't always happy for me. It was very challenging to watch a woman be so successful."

Gaga and Kinney eventually got engaged in a romantic proposal on Valentine's Day 2015, after dating for four years. Gaga even showed off her sparkling ring on social media and revealed a special secret hidden in the band: the pair's initials that included her birth name rather than her stage name. "He always called me by my birth name," she shared on Instagram. "Since our very first date. I'm such a happy bride-to-be! I can't stop smiling!!"

Once the pair were engaged, Gaga began to share more of their love with the world in interviews. She even revealed her hesitancy to open up to love again after being abused in a past relationship. "I never thought anyone would ever love me because I felt like my body was ruined by my abuser," she wrote on Instagram. "But he loves the survivor in me. He's stood by me all night proud and unashamedly. THAT'S a real man."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

As much as their relationship was publicized, their breakup in the summer of 2016 was just as notable — though it was officially referred to as a break. "We are both ambitious artists, hoping to work through long-distance and complicated schedules to continue the simple love we have always shared," Gaga revealed on her Instagram. "Please root us on."

Despite her public plea, it seemed all was not well for the couple behind the scenes. In her 2017 documentary "Gaga: Five Foot Two," the pop star spoke candidly about how she and Kinney were fighting more and more as she continued to grow in her career and within herself. In one scene, on the morning of her 2017 Super Bowl performance, Gaga entered her foyer to see it covered with flowers from Kinney — and her muted expression said it all. "Well, nothin' like getting flowers from your ex-fiancé on the day of the Super Bowl," she said to the camera (per Vulture).

But it's not all bad blood between the two. Each has spoken favorably of the other in the press, including during promotion season for Gaga's role in 2018's "A Star Is Born." "I could only wish her the best," he shared with E! News. "I am really proud."

When Lady Gaga finally came forward about her relationship with talent agent Christian Carino, the pair were already engaged. Despite sources confirming their relationship around the time of her 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, she didn't publicly acknowledge their relationship until her acceptance speech during the 2018 ELLE Women in Hollywood ceremony.

Carino became a public fixture alongside Gaga during the 2019 awards season, which saw the songstress become an Oscar winner for the song "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born." But just as their public image was rising, it dulled by March of that year. The pair reportedly called off their engagement just before the Oscars that year, with sources citing Carino's controlling nature as the impetus for their split. "Chris didn't treat Gaga very well toward the end of their [two-year] relationship," an alleged insider told Us Weekly. "He was jealous. He was trying to find her all the time and texted her a lot. Her friends didn't like him either." Adding insult to injury, Gaga was rumored to rebound with actor Jeremy Renner after her split with Carino — despite sources claiming the two were just friends.

Ever since their chemistry sizzled on screen in "A Star Is Born," Lady Gaga and co-star Bradley Cooper have faced rumors of a love affair off-screen. Despite being in relationships and eventually enduring simultaneous respective break-ups around that same time, the two fueled rumors of an affair with affectionate appearances on the red carpet and a widely viewed duet on the Oscars stage.

The press has hounded the stars about the truth of their relationship, but they've tended to play coy. When asked about Cooper on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" following her Oscar win for best original song, Gaga led the audience on with a cheeky comment about their on-screen chemistry. "People saw love, and guess what? That's what we wanted you to see," she told the talk show host and audience. "I'm an artist, and I guess we did a good job. Fooled ya!"

After a rumored fling with audio engineer Dan Horton, Lady Gaga spent part of her time at home during the global pandemic with a new love: Parker Group CEO Michael Polansky. The two spent time together at the end of 2019 after the star's mother, Cynthia Germanotta, suggested they meet, before Gaga went public with their relationship in a February 2020 Instagram post.

But before they cemented their relationship during quarantine, friends of the singer weren't sure that Polansky was the one for Gaga. "She's having fun and likes the attention, but he is not the only guy she's interested in," sources shared with Us Weekly at the time. "Despite sharing a pic of them on Instagram together, she hasn't been making a big deal about Michael to her friends."

By 2021, all doubts about their love were erased as the entertainer began speaking openly about her new beau. She even shared a shot of some enormous flowers she received from her love while filming the 2022 film "House of Gucci." "I love you honey," she posted on Instagram. "I can't wait to be home with you and our dogs, that's all I need."

In 2024, Gaga and Polansky confirmed their engagement after months of public speculation. After spending time on the road together during her Chromatica World Tour, Gaga was spotted with a massive diamond ring on her finger. However, she didn't confirm the happy news until early 2024. In an in-depth interview with Vogue, Gaga started referring to Polansky as her fiancé publicly, and the two both shared their sentiments about each other. "I didn't know much about her and honestly wasn't sure what to expect," Polansky shared with the outlet. "I was struck immediately by her warmth and openness — she was so genuinely curious about what my life was like growing up in Minnesota."

For her part, Gaga credits her lover with bringing her back to her roots artistically. "Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record," she revealed in the interview. "He was like, 'Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music.'" She also shared that having the "gift of time" at the beginning of their relationship had helped develop one of the healthiest relationships in her life. "I'd been so focused on my career since I was a teenager," she revealed. "... I met this totally supportive, loving human being who wanted to get to know me — outside of Lady Gaga."