Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner met 20 years ago. Here's a timeline of their relationship. (2023)

Summer 2000: Affleck and Garner met on the set of the movie "Pearl Harbor."

In the summer of 2000, Affleck and Garner met while filming the movie "Pearl Harbor."

At this time, Garner was married to actor Scott Foley.

Summer 2002: Affleck and Garner were reunited on the set of "Daredevil."

Two summers later, Affleck and Garner found themselves working together again.

Although both were with other people at the time (Affleck was dating musician Jennifer Lopez), Affleck later said this set was where he and Garner fell in love.

In an interview with Playboy, he said, "We met on 'Pearl Harbor,' which people hate, but we fell in love on 'Daredevil.' By the way, she won most of the fights in the movie, which was a pretty good predictor of what would happen down the road — my wife, holding swords and beating the living s--- out of me."

Affleck got engaged to Lopez a few months later in the fall.

January 2003: Some said the pair looked flirtatious on "Dinner for Five," although they were both still with other people at the time.

In January of 2003, Affleck and Garner made an appearance on "Dinner for Five."

Although Garner was still married to Foley and Affleck was engaged to Lopez, some viewers noticed a hint of a spark between the two actors.

One writer for Vulture said that, at one moment during the episode, Garner gives Affleck "such a genuine look of gratitude and affection, it still makes me a bit uncomfortable to see it on television."

March 2003: Garner and Foley announced that they were separating.

A few months after the "Dinner for Five" episode aired, Garner and Foley split.

Foley told TV Guide that "nobody else was involved."

He said, "Jennifer became a huge celebrity. She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got. There was no other relationship, there was no infidelity, nothing. People get divorced, you know?"

May 2003: The pair officially filed for divorce.

Shortly after the separation announcement, Garner filed for divorce and made the split official.

Garner later talked about the divorce to Allure in a 2013 interview and said, "We didn't have a shot. He's a really good guy, and we just imploded."

January 2004: Lopez and Affleck called off their engagement.

Nearly a year later, MTV reported that Affleck and Lopez broke up.

Years later, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Lopez said, "I was eviscerated. I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything."

October 23, 2004: Garner and Affleck made their first public appearance as a couple.

The first time Affleck and Garner were seen together as a couple wasn't until the fall of 2004.

They were photographed at the World Series, where the Boston Red Sox were playing.

November 6, 2004: Garner visited Affleck on the set of the movie "Man About Town."

Shortly after the World Series games that cemented their relationship, UsWeekly reported that Garner visited Affleck in Vancouver while he was filming the film "Man About Town."

They were photographed walking together in the rain.

April 17, 2005: The pair got engaged.

After months of mostly keeping their relationship private, Affleck proposed to Garner on her 33rd birthday, according to People.

June 29, 2005: The couple got married in a private ceremony.

Affleck and Garner had afour-person ceremony for their marriage, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Victor Garber, Garner's "Alias" co-star, officiated the wedding, and he and his husband were the only guests there.

"It was an incredible honor and one of the most special events of my life,"Victor later told Entertainment Weekly, speaking of the nuptials. "I will never forget it. It's embedded in my heart."

December 1, 2005: Garner gave birth to the pair's daughter, Violet.

Affleck and Garner became parents for the first time in December when Garner gave birth to their daughter, Violet.

January 6, 2009: The couple’s second daughter was born.

In early January of 2009, Garner gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Seraphina Rose.

February 27, 2012: Garner gave birth to their third child.

In February 2012, Garner gave birth to the pair's third child and first son, Samuel Garner Affleck.

January 2013: Affleck thanked Garner after winning a Golden Globe for best director.

In 2013, Affleck nabbed the best director award for his work on "Argo" at the Golden Globes. In his speech, he thanked Garner, saying, "I adore you, I love you. You're my everything."

December 2013: Affleck said Garner is the "most important person" to him.

In an interview with Playboy, Affleck talked about Garnerand said, "She is by leaps and bounds the most important person to me."

June 27, 2015: Affleck reportedly took the family's nanny, Christine Ouzounian, to Las Vegas, but his rep denied the two were romantically involved.

Us Weeklyreported that Ben Affleck left a vacation with Garner and took the family's nanny Christine Ouzounian to a charity poker tournament in Las Vegas on June 26.

Then, in July, the magazine reported that multiple sources confirmed that Affleck had been dating 28-year-old Ouzounian.

Affleck's rep, however, adamantly denied the reports.

"The story is complete garbage and full of lies," a rep for Affleck said ofUs Weekly's report that Affleck and Ouzounian struck up a relationship after Affleck and Garner were separated but before they announced their divorce. "It's shameful. We are considering legal options."

Later that month, Garner and Affleck announced they were getting a divorce.

Days after the reportabout the nannysurfaced, Affleck and Garner released a statement about their divorce to People magazine.

It read, "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding."

March 2016: Garner opened up about their split in a candid interview.

In a candid interview with Vanity Fair, Garner spoke about her split with Affleck.

She said, "We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes."

She added that he's the '"love of her life," saying, "'What am I going to do about that?' He's the most brilliant person in any room, the most charismatic, the most generous. He's just a complicated guy."

March 2017: Sources claimed Affleck and Garner had called off their divorce.

Almost a year later, unnamed sources told People magazine that Affleck and Garner had called off the divorce, although they weren't back together.

An unnamed source said they really wanted to work on things and were giving it another try.

Later that month, Affleck announced he completed treatment for alcohol addiction.

In March, Affleck made a Facebook post where he discussed his alcohol addiction and treatment.

The actor wrote, "I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront, I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be. I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step. I'm lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I've done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery."

April 13, 2017: The pair officially filed for divorce.

Garner and Affleck filed for divorce almost two years after their separation. TMZ reported they were seeking joint legal and physical custody of their three kids.

July 2017: Reports surfaced that Affleck was dating producer Lindsay Shookus.

Months after moving out, Affleck reportedly began dating "Saturday Night Live" producer Lindsay Shookus.

August 2018: Affleck and Shookus split up.

Reports that Shookus and Affleck had broken up were confirmed by People magazine. The two continued to be photographed together several more times.

October 4, 2018: Affleck posted on Instagram about his stay at an alcohol-addiction treatment center.

On October 4, 2018, Affleck took to Instagram to open up about struggling with addiction and to express gratitude toward those who have been there for him throughout his journey.

"The support I have received from my family, colleagues, and fans means more to me than I can say," he wrote.

He concluded the post by writing, "I hope down the road I can offer an example to others who are struggling."

October 5, 2018: The pair finalized their divorce.

On October 5, 2018, the two stars finalized their divorce, three years after their separation.

February 2020: Affleck said his divorce from Garner was his "biggest regret."

In an interview with the New York Times, the actor spoke about how his addiction impacted his relationship, sharing when cracks in his marriage to Garner began to appear, he increased his alcohol consumption.

"The biggest regret of my life is this divorce,"Affleck told the publication."Shame is really toxic. There is no positive byproduct of shame. It's just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing."

"I have certainly done things that I regret," he added. "But you've got to pick yourself up, learn from it, learn some more, try to move forward."

May 2021: They met up to support their children.

Amid rumors that Affleck is dating Jennifer Lopez following his split with Ana De Armas, the two parents showed up to support their son, Samuel, at a swim meet.

July 24, 2021: Lopez made her and Affleck's rekindled relationship Instagram-official.

After months of being photographed together in public, Lopez and Affleck's relationship was made Instagram-official.

Lopez posted a series of photos of herself in a swimsuit for her 52nd birthday onInstagram, and the final photo showed her and Affleck kissing.

December 2021: In an interview, Affleck said he'd "probably still" be drinking if his marriage with Garner didn't end.

"We probably would've ended up at each other's throats. I probably still would've been drinking," Affleck said on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show," according to PageSix.

"Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped," he added. The actor also said that the marriage ended "amicably."

"We had a marriage that didn't work. This happens. She's somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn't be married any longer," he said on the show, per PageSix.