By Wonderwall.com Editors
3:58pm PST, Feb 15, 2018
Oh no, what happened? On Feb. 15, Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston announced that they were separating after two years of marriage and seven years together. How did they get to this point? It was no whirlwind romance for Justin and Jennifer. Justin wasn't exactly a household name back in May 2011 when tabloids pegged him as the next Mr. Jennifer Aniston. He co-wrote "Tropic Thunder" and played John Hancock in the "John Adams" HBO miniseries, but let's be honest, this was his big break. It became official in June when the couple went public at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty at LA's Soho House. They hugged, they kissed, and everyone started unsuccessfully trying to mesh their names together. Justifer? Theroniston? They don't quite work. Still, they were supposed to live happily ever after, but then they didn't. Click through to relive their relationship…
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but Aniston once famously described Angelina Jolie as "uncool" for swooping in and stealing Brad Pitt away from her. Women everywhere jumped on Team Aniston, and Jen became a walking Adele song — that is, until costume designer Heidi Bivens came out and said she had been dating Theroux for 14 years and that she'd just moved out of their home the weekend before Jen and Justin went public.
Always the L.A. gal, Aniston shelled out $8 million for a New York City pad in Theroux's neighborhood, but that's nothing. What really had the cheerleaders gossiping before Home Ec was the fact that the lovely couple was spotted wearing matching gold rings. OMG, right? Eight months later at the "Wanderlust" premiere, the rings were still on.
A relationship with Jennifer Aniston isn't quite real until the dude meets her "Friends" — mainly Courteney Cox and Chelsea Handler (who is totally the new Phoebe of the group) — and Aniston was quick with the intros this time around. She threw a small party after just a few weeks of publicly displaying her affection with Justin, and just like that, he was in. Rumors flew, claiming Cox wasn't a fan flew, but we don't believe it.
The summer of love continued when Theroux joined Aniston at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., for Jen's handprint ceremony. He sat clean-shaven in the front row as Jen dirtied up her hands to leave a permanent mark on Hollywood. Some say diamonds are forever, but nothing says everlasting love like cement.
Jen and Justin headed to Hawaii in August 2011 to celebrate Theroux's 40th birthday — a trip he initially planned with the quickly forgotten ex-girlfriend. The couple giggled their way around the island and partied even with Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor. Fun Fact: Theroux was in "Zoolander" with Stiller and Taylor.
If you trust the magazines, then Jen has been pregnant for the last decade, so it was only natural for folks to wonder when Aniston would get knocked up by Theroux. After all, he's not getting any younger either.
Now that she was in love, Jen didn't need big, material possessions to prove her worth. After unloading her $38 million Beverly Hills, Calif. mansion in 2011, Jen and Justin joined forces on a modest two-bedroom, 1,761-square-foot across town in Hollywood Hills. Who knew downsizing could be so romantic?
Things got gross with Jen and Justin when they started dressing alike, stepping out in matching boots, leather jackets and all-black rocker chic attire. Stop trying to rub your happiness on our faces, Jen. We get it. "I've had this jacket for three years!" she told InStyle. But in that same interview, she said she was tired of talking about Brad Pitt, so we're not so sure we believe her.
Stars are just like us, so when Theroux was ready to take his relationship to a serious level, he sat down with the dad-iston — "Days of Our Lives" star John Aniston. "He's a charming young man," Aniston told Us Weekly. "I think they make a wonderful couple." That's all good and well, but what will happen when he meets Victor Kiriakis' evil twin brother?
The hot couple cast their families aside on Thanksgiving 2011 and opted to spend the holiday together at Chelsea Handler's house. Handler spilled the beans to Redbook as her way of reminding the world that she's so famous too, but really, all we care about is Jen. Does she like white meat or dark meat? Did she stuff her face with stuffing? Help us out, Chelsea. We need to know.
The weather outside was frightful in Telluride, Colo., but inside the 13,386-square-foot Aniston-Theroux cabin, it was quite cozy. The couple stayed side by side over the 2011 holidays, occasionally leaving the fireplace to go skiing. They also sent out a joint Christmas card, making charitable donations in their friends' honor. It was cute watching them prance around Hawaii together in the summer, but there is something more serious about a snowy vacation that gets our hopes up about this being "the one" for Jen.
By January 2012, Jen had held on to Justin for around eight months, and clearly, she felt comfortable enough to let loose in front of him. She's totally in the comfort zone now, so it's only a matter of time before she's burping the alphabet for him.
The clock continued to tick as Jen turned 43 on Feb. 11, 2012, and to celebrate, Justin threw his lady a big party at the famed Chateau Marmont Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. All Jen's A-list friends were there, but she couldn't take her eyes off Justin, who had also taken her to a more relaxed private dinner at the hotel the night before. Reports say she was spotted lighting a cigarette, meaning this baby thing may never happen.
Finally, the movie that brought them together — "Wanderlust" — premiered on Feb. 16, 2012, and the couple did their best to keep the mystery alive by not walking the red carpet together. But they did wear matching rings and even cuddled in the theater once the lights went down, so they're still going as strong as ever. He rode his newfound fame to an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and Jen was right there by his side to support him.
Sharing a home was a big step, but Aniston and Theroux kicked it up a notch and started a family… by adopting a dog. "She's the most adorable little cookie you've ever seen," Theroux told New York magazine of Sophie, a boxer-pit bull mix. "She looks like she just smoked an exploding cigar." Call it a hunch, but we think this puppy love is a sign that Theroux's a keeper.
In August 2012, Justin got the best birthday present of all: a fiancé! The actor proposed to Jen with a sparkler. At the time, his rep said, "Justin Theroux had an amazing birthday … receiving an extraordinary gift when his girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, accepted his proposal of marriage."
After a long engagement, the couple sealed the deal on Aug. 5, 2015, with an evening wedding at their Los Angeles home. A relatively small gathering (more than 70 guests) of their closest friends including Howard Stern and Ellen DeGeneres attended the nuptials.
On Feb. 15, 2018, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announced that they are separating after two and a half years of marriage — and seven years as a couple. The announcement came after multiple tabloids claimed the duo's relationship was on the rocks. "Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly," said a statement released by longtime Aniston publicist Stephen Huvane to the Associated Press. "Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone else's fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another." The split was "mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year," the statement said.
