Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston's Relationship Timeline: From Friends to Lovers and Back Again

As the tabloids have fixated relentlessly on Jennifer Aniston's relationship with ex-husband Brad Pitt for years, it might be easy to forget that she had another marriage after him — her marriage to Justin Theroux, that is.

Though they didn't work out in the end, Jennifer and Justin seemed to have a really solid relationship that remained a loving friendship after their divorce.

Below, we take a look at Jen and Justin's relationship timeline.

According to reports, Jen was visiting her friend Ben Stiller on the set of his film Tropic Thunder. It was there where she met Justin, who had co-written the film. "I thought he was very sweet and he was always very nice, but I remember thinking he was very dark," she later reflected. "At first you think he could be like a serial killer, but he is actually the nicest person in the world."

In 2010, Jennifer and Justin began filming a movie together called Wanderlust. After production on the movie wrapped up, the two reportedly began dating. Though the exact timeline is unclear, the romance rumors first kicked up in May 2011, when the two were seen out to dinner. According to Us, they made their first official public appearance together a month later at an MTV Movie Awards afterparty.

On Justin's birthday (Aug. 10), he popped the question to Jennifer, as his rep confirmed to People. Sources also told the mag that they both excitedly called their families right after Jennifer said yes. As for Jen's massive engagement ring, she told New York Times a few years later, "It’s a rock, I know. He rocked it up. It took me a while to get used to it. I’m not a diamond girl."

The couple kept things so private when it came to their Aug. 15 nuptials that even their own guests thought they were attending a birthday party for Justin when they arrived at the couple's Bel Air house that day. "It was always called a birthday party," Howard Stern later explained on his show. "Whenever you got an email, it was a birthday party. They're so secretive that they even had the wedding on a Wednesday because nobody gets married on a Wednesday."

The couple reportedly broke things off in late 2017, and then released a statement in February 2018 that read: "We have decided to announce our separation. This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year. We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship."

The couple have seemingly remained friends in the years since their divorce. They spent Thanksgiving together in 2019, and Justin always gives her a birthday shout-out every February. He's also insisted more than once in interviews that there wasn't any animosity in their breakup, and that they still call and text each other quite a bit.