The early aughts were full of great celebrity couples — Brad and Jen, Britney and Justin, Ben and Jen (Part 1) — but sometimes we’re just as fascinated by those who flew a little more under the radar.
Years before she married Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel was in a serious, long-term relationship with another famous heartthrob: Chris Evans.
Let’s look back at their relationship and figure out if she loved him even more than she loved wearing jeans and a nice top to red carpet events.
How it Started
Both parties were trying to break into movies when they got together after meeting on the young Hollywood scene in 2001. Biel, then just 19, was a famous TV face thanks to six seasons on 7th Heaven, while Evans, then 20, had just made Not Another Teen Movie. While the 2001 comedy didn’t get the best reviews, it was a hit with Biel. “He was pretty good before … but damn, he really got buff,” she told Extra.
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How Long it Lasted
A pretty long time for two kids barely out of their teens: they were together for five years! While the pair didn’t attract the same level of attention as other couples of the era, they had a good time together, often PDA-ing at awards ceremonies and flip-phone launches (there were a lot of flip-phone launches back then, OK?).
During the relationship, Evans also showed early signs of being a future Marvel hero: the couple once went skydiving to celebrate Valentine’s day.
They made some movies together, too. In 2004 thriller Cellular, they played love interests Ryan and Chloe. Evans told Boston Magazine at the time, “Any time you get to work with someone that you know, it’s gonna lend itself to the on-set relationship. You have to find a certain level of relaxation while you’re trying to perform, and any time you can lean on an existing relationship with someone, it’s only going to help.”
Why it Ended
Despite speculation that marriage was in the cards, it didn’t happen: in 2006, still only in their mid-twenties, they split.
And they had only just released their second movie together, 2006 indie drama London, in which Evans played Biel’s drug addict ex. “Sadly, I related to that narcissistic drug addict!” he told W. “I’ve had those arguments with women; I’ve said those things.”
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A couple of months after stepping out together at the February premiere, they were over. No reasons behind the break up were publicly given, but it doesn’t sound like it was a nasty one. “I’ve had no bad breakups in my life,” Evans told Elle in 2017. “Typically, if I see an ex, I give a big hug, and it’s wonderful to catch up. If you’re ever fortunate enough to love someone and have them love you back, it’s worth protecting that. It’s rare that someone can truly know you. And if you’ve broken through that kind of wall, I think it’s important to value that.”
What They Said About Each Other
Mostly, these two were pretty private — apart from one seriously sugary interview Biel gave to Cosmopolitan in 2005.
“We always talk about it,” Biel said when asked about wedding plans. “We both want to be married, and we both want to have children. But we’re not engaged, so the rumors are false…so far.”
She also revealed some of the romantic things the couple enjoyed — and confessed to being something of a trad wife. “I love to take photographs of him and his dog, East,” she said, “We call him ’our’ dog now. He’s this 75-pound, half-English, half-American bulldog. And I cook for Chris when he’s working hard. When he comes home, I’ll have dinner ready. It’s old-fashioned and fun, and I feel kind of homemakery and great doing it.”
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She also said that her perfect day involved “staying in bed with my boyfriend and just not having anything to do all day. Letting the dog sleep with his head on the pillow right between us, making the bed all gross and sweaty and full of dog hair. It sounds disgusting, but it’s just great.”
She even spilled the beans on what Evans had done for her big birthday. “When I turned 21, I actually awoke to find my bed covered in rose petals,” she said. “In the middle of the night, he had pulled apart at least 24 roses in all different colors and sprinkled the petals everywhere. He’s definitely a keeper.”
However, Biel did admit that her man had one annoying habit. “Boys don’t know what they want,” she said. “I’ll say, ’I want to go on a picnic. I want there to be wine and a blanket, and I want there to be a sunset.’ And Chris is usually more like, ’I don’t really know [what I want to do].’”
She added: “I love somebody who can make me laugh and be a goofball. I think it’s incredibly sexy if a guy can look uncool and completely not care. Also, somebody who likes to show affection. I show a lot of affection. I’m a very big fan of PDA. I’ll do it anywhere. If I see a couple making out in public, I’m always like. ’Awww. Can I join?’”
Wow — we can’t imagine the older and more guarded 2025 Biel being quite so up for this, can you?
What They Say Now
Neither Biel or Evans has ever publicly addressed the relationship, but in 2017 he told Esquire that dating another actor can be tough. “Letting someone go to work with someone for three months … they won’t see them,” he said. “It really, it certainly puts the relationship to the test.”
Key Relationship Takeaways
They might have been very young but, for a long time, Biel was still Evans’ most serious and long-term relationship. In the years following the split, he was romantically linked to a string of other actresses and models, but only got serious with Minka Kelly and Jenny Slate. In fact, he didn’t really settle down until quite recently, marrying Portuguese actress Alba Baptista in 2023, at the age of 42.
But Biel, now 43, wasn’t single for long: she met Timberlake within a few months of splitting from Evans. The pair have been married since 2012, sharing two sons, Silas and Phineas.
So, their personal lives might have gone in different directions, but their careers only went one way: rapidly upwards! While their movie success was limited while they were together, they have both become huge names in the 20 years since their split. Yup, those days of PDA-ing at flip-phone launches are long behind them.
