For the last decade, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have ranked near the top of our favorite celebrity couples. The pair started dating around 2006, got hitched in 2012, and welcomed their first child, Silas, in 2015.
Given that we’ve lived in a J&J era for so long now — an era rife with sweet red carpet shots, gushy interviews, and perfect Instagram pics — it may be hard to imagine a time when the two weren’t actually an official unit.
Alas, according to Timberlake’s new book, per E!, there was once a time when the duo was seeing other people... while still hanging out with one another.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
In Timberlake’s new book Hindsight & All the Things I Can't See in Front of Me, the “SexyBack” singer revealed that when he first inched towards a relationship with the former 7th Heaven star, he was also fielding dates from other women.
After meeting Biel at a surprise party for a mutual friend, and hanging out with her again after one of his San Diego’s concerts, Timberlake writes they continued to date, albeit casually.
"We were both still seeing other people, keeping ourselves safe from getting hurt, from really putting ourselves out there,” Timberlake said in his memoir. “It took a bit for both of us to admit to ourselves that were were really, really that into each other. When I came back from tour, we spent a month together. After that, I said, 'I really want to be exclusive.' And, somehow, she said, 'So do I.'"
As for whom the former boy-bander was dating at the time, he was polite enough not to say. It was rumored that Timberlake was seeing Scarlett Johansson — who appeared in his music video for “What Goes Around… Comes Around” — in 2006 as well, but neither party confirmed an official romance. (There’s certainly no bad blood between Biel and Johansson, as in 2012, Biel was spotted gushing over her honeymoon with the Avengers star on the red carpet.)
Not that the past matters, of course: Timberlake and Biel are very much in love, and living a seemingly blissful family life with Silas. Still, the two realizing their love for one another after being burned by past relationships? Well, that’s about as straight-up romantic comedy as we ever wanted from these two.