It wasn’t just cropped, it was a simple photoshop job of replacing an indistinct background where the woman was standing.
I don’t have an issue with “fixing” photos this way for aesthetic reasons but its bad form for any kind of news magazine to do so.
There was some deception involved, not just changing the aesthetics of the photo. In the real photo he was tilting his head down to better hear the shorter woman. The magazine cover gives the impression he is alone and sadly gazing at the water while deep in thought. That is a pretty dramatic emotional shift.