It has been just over five years since Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt broke the internet with their viral backstage reunion.
It was January 19, 2020, at the SAG Awards, shortly after the Friends alum had been awarded the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for The Morning Show.
She and her ex-husband — at that point of 15 years — ran into each other backstage and were caught in a smiling embrace, quickly sending fans into a frenzy.
The last time the two had made such major headlines together was likely when they divorced in 2005 after five years of marriage, shortly after which Brad moved on with his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie, who he started dating that year. They share six children, many of whom are reportedly estranged from the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor, and split in 2016.
Since the viral moment, Jennifer and Brad have reunited publicly again, albeit virtually, and the former has maintained that the two today are in fact friends.
After reuniting for a virtual, live table reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High to raise money for Sean Penn's nonprofit CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) and REFORM Alliance, in September 2020, Jennifer gave an update on their relationship during a subsequent appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
"It was absolutely fun. Brad and I are buddies, we're friends," she maintained at the time.
"We speak, and there's no oddness at all, except for everyone that probably watched it and was wanting there to be, or assumed there to be," she went on, emphasizing: "We had fun, and it was for a great cause."
Jennifer has always been candid about where she stands with Brad, and the dissolution of their marriage.
Back in 2006, a year after their divorce, she told Vanity Fair: "I really do hope that someday we can be friends again," noting: "I still feel so lucky to have experienced [our marriage]. I wouldn't know what I know now if I hadn't been married to Brad."
"I love Brad; I really love him. I will love him for the rest of my life. He's a fantastic man. I don't regret any of it, and I'm not going to beat myself up about it."
"We spent seven very intense years together; we taught each other a lot — about healing, and about fun. We helped each other through a lot, and I really value that. It was a beautiful, complicated relationship. The sad thing, for me, is the way it's been reduced to a Hollywood cliché — or maybe it's just a human cliché. I have a lot of compassion for everyone going through this."
