For a long time, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have been one of Hollywood's golden couples.
He's the former boy-bander turned Grammy-winning solo artist turned movie star. She's the noughties ingenue who went from drama series 7th Heaven to Hollywood actor, director and producer. Together they became an It Couple —but it hasn't always been an easy road for the All-American pair, who have navigated multiple cheating scandals and now a run-in with the law during their 17 years together.
Here's a look back at their relationship ups and downs.
A meet-cute at a speakeasy.
Timberlake and Biel's paths first crossed in rather romantic circumstances in 2007.
In his memoir, Hindsight & All the Things I Can't See in Front of Me, the singer detailed his first meeting with the 7th Heaven star, saying he felt as though he had found his "other half".
"When I met Jess, it was undeniable how beautiful she is. We were at a surprise party in Hollywood at a speakeasy kind of a bar, a private club, and we were standing around in a group of people. I made some sort of sarcastic comment, really dry. Nobody got it except her. She laughed, and I noticed, all of a sudden, and in the way where you wonder if a person's like you, if they have a very dry, dark sense of humour, too.
"We talked that night. The DJ played 'Lucky Star' and we danced. And then she was gone."
Although he didn't initially ask her out on a date, the actor left a mark on now-43-year-old Timberlake's mind. When he realised this could be the beginning of something special he went down the whole 'ask a friend of a friend' route to see if she'd be keen to take things further.
"Afterward, I asked my friend if I could call her and ask her out. My friend called Jessica and Jessica said yes, and so I called her," he said during a 2012 press conference. "I did it the old-fashioned way — by telephone."
He went on to say that he used old-school moves to try to charm his future wife — who apparently needed some convincing to go on a date with him.
"That's something I learned from both my stepdad and my grandfather — that there is a thing called chivalry and it doesn't have to die with the birth of the internet," he said.
"The way I see it, if you're asking a girl out on a date, it's only right to do it in a way that she can hear your voice. I had to be pretty persistent in order to get her to say yes. But I have a fair amount of tenacity and if I want something I stick to it. And in the end she agreed."
The first cheating scandal.
After dating for around four years, the couple were rocked by the first cheating scandal they would experience during their relationship. In March, 2011 they announced they were splitting, which came as a shock to many — but the pair maintained their split was amicable and free from any drama.
"Addressing the media speculation regarding Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s relationship, we are confirming that they mutually have decided to part ways," their rep told PEOPLE at the time.
"The two remain friends and continue to hold the highest level of love and respect for each other."
However, as soon as the news broke, rumours that cheating was the reason for their break-up began to circulate. There were whispers Timberlake had gotten a little too close to his Friends with Benefits co-star Mila Kunis, as well as allegations that he'd had a three-day fling with Olivia Munn in 2010, according to Us Weekly.
A rep for Timberlake denied the allegations at the time.
Reconciliation and an Italian wedding.
Just a few months after breaking up, Timberlake and Biel reconciled. In fact, by December, 2011 they were back on good terms and the singer proposed to his girlfriend while the pair were on a winter getaway.
"Justin knows how much she loves snowboarding and the mountains, so it was the perfect place," a source told Us Weekly at the time.
Years later, while appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Biel went into further detail about how her husband proposed.
Watch Jessica Biel shares her proposal story. Article continues below.
"We were in Montana on a piece of property that we owned at the time," she said.
"We had snowboarded all day. It was in the middle of the winter. Waist-high snow. We were [in] head-to-toe snowboarding outfits — hats, gloves, everything. And we go up to the property to just check out how the foundation is looking. And all of a sudden, he gets down onto his knees and just sinks into the snow.
"And then he looks up at me and holds up this ring and it was the most lovely, surprising, hilarious..."
Less than a year after proposing, the couple walked down the aisle in October, 2012 in a lavish Italian ceremony that came with all the trimmings. Biel bucked tradition and wore a pink petal tier Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown while her husband-to-be sang as she walked down the aisle at the Borgo Egnazia resort in southern Italy. It was all truly bellisimo and a far cry from the rocky patch they had hit just a year earlier.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's kids.
In April 2015, Timberlake and Biel welcomed their first child, a son named Silas Randall Timberlake. Then in July 2020, Biel gave birth to their second son, Phineas.
Although both the stars have always remained incredibly private when it comes to their children, Timberlake couldn't help but speak proudly about his growing family during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021.
"He's awesome and so cute. Nobody's sleeping," Timberlake said of Phineas. "But we're thrilled. We're thrilled and couldn't be happier. Very grateful."
Biel shared her own joy with a touching Father's Day tribute to her husband in 2020.
"To the dad who not only protects and provides but most importantly, PLAYS, and puts up with all our shenanigans," she wrote.
"And teaches and guides and comforts and accepts and respects. Being a dad can sometimes be a thankless job, but today we hope you know how important you are in our lives. We love you forever and ever and a day."
A second cheating scandal.
In between the arrival of their two children, the couple found themselves facing another cheating scandal in 2019, after a video of Timberlake and his Palmer co-star Alisha Wainright went viral.
The clip showed the pair in what appeared to be a fairly compromising situation while out partying in New Orleans.
"They were smiling and laughing," an eyewitness told The Sun of the footage, which came to light in November 2019.
"At one stage, he grabbed her hand and rested it on his knee. She then gently started stroking his leg. Then he clutched her hand with both of his and was playing with her hands."
Despite the rather compelling evidence, Timberlake maintained his innocence in a since-deleted Instagram post.
"Let me be clear — nothing happened between me and my co-star," he wrote. "I drank way too much that night and I regret my behaviour. I should have known better. This is not the example I want to set for my son."
Even though the footage looked suspect, a source told PEOPLE that Biel was willing to stand by her man and chalked it up to just a boozy night. "Obviously Justin drank too much this time, but Jessica believes he didn’t cheat on her," said the source.
"What's most important to her in life is her family and being the best mom to Silas. She'll never break up her family over something like this."
In the years following the very public scandal, Timberlake and Biel looked stronger than ever, and in 2022, they decided to return to their wedding venue in Italy and renew their vows.
Britney's memoir revelations.
In October 2023, Britney Spears released her tell-all memoir The Woman in Me and released some shocking information where she alleged that during her time dating Timberlake she had an abortion.
According to Spears it was Timberlake who encouraged her to book the procedure.
"Justin definitely wasn't happy about the pregnancy," she wrote. "He said we weren't ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young."
Understandably, staunch Spears fans came to her defence and there was no denying that Timberlake's public image took a hit.
"This book is a nightmare for him because of how it throws the whole family into chaos," a source told The Sun.
"The timing stings just as much as the revelation itself. Justin had a big [autumn] planned with new music on deck, more work with his old friends in NSYNC, and of course, the next instalment of the Trolls franchise, which has been a huge moneymaker for Justin over the last several years."
Justin's 2024 arrest.
It's safe to say the couple have weathered their fair share of ups and downs over the years, and in June 2024, a new (very public) incident rocked the pair.
According to reports from PEOPLE, Timberlake was arrested on June 18 for allegedly driving while intoxicated. Police reports state that Timberlake "performed poorly on all standardised field sobriety tests" after being pulled over while returning from a dinner in Sag Harbor, New York.
Apparently the arresting officer observed the singer's "eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divid attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot", however Timberlake insisted he only had one cocktail.
After refusing a breath test he was taken into custody and kept overnight before being released the following morning.
On the day of Timberlake's arrest, his wife was seen filming her new TV series The Better Sister in New York's Central Park. Neither Timberlake or Biel have yet spoken publically about the incident.
Feature Image: Getty, Instagram/@jessicabiel.
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