Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor’s Complete Relationship Timeline

Severance director Ben Stiller and actress Christine Taylor’s relationship began in 1999, and they got married less than a year later. Over the years, they’ve worked together multiple times on-screen and raised two children. After a brief separation in 2017, the couple reconciled during the pandemic. Below, a complete timeline of their journey together.

1999

Stiller and Taylor met for the first time while working on Heat Vision and Jack, a Fox TV sitcom directed by Stiller that never aired. Reflecting on their first time meeting, Stiller told Parade in 2016, “My wife came in to audition for the role of the sexy sheriff… I was single, Christine was coming out of a relationship, too. We went on a date. It just clicked.”

Stiller, who had recently ended a long-term relationship with actress Jeanne Tripplehorn at the time, said in the same interview, “We were both on the rebound. And we just jumped.”

In June, Stiller and Taylor made one of their first public appearances as a couple at the MTV Movie Awards. Stiller was nominated that year for four awards for his role in There’s Something About Mary. He took home the award for Best Fight.

May 2000

Stiller and Taylor tied the knot on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, following a brief “seven- or eight-month” engagement period. Reflecting on his proposal to Taylor, Stiller told Parade in 2013 that the experience of asking her father for permission was nerve-wracking, particularly given her father’s background in security. “It was like Meet the Parents in real life,” Stiller joked.

September 2001

Taylor starred as Stiller’s on-screen romantic partner in Zoolander, one of their first major collaborations. Taylor played journalist Matilda Jeffries opposite Stiller’s character, Derek Zoolander.

June 2001

Stiller and Taylor made an appearance together at the MTV Movie Awards on June 2. Stiller’s role in Meet The Parents earned him the award for Best Comedic Performance.

April 2002

On April 9, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Ella, in Los Angeles. Later, in a 2004 interview with People, Taylor reflected on Ella’s personality. She shared, “It’s not even funny how much she’s like Ben.”

In 2013, Stiller described the transformative nature of becoming a parent in an interview with Parade, saying, “Suddenly, the next time you go back to the house, you have another person living with you. Who you’ve just met. Your child…”

June 2004

The couple collaborated on-screen again in the sports comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

Reflecting on the experience, Stiller told IGN, “It was fun…we got to spend time together which was good. It’s always good to throw balls at each other. It would be good therapy, good couples therapy.”

“We had a blast,” Taylor said in the same interview. “This is the first movie we did together since having our daughter, so there were endless challenges personally,” she added. “When we did Zoolander, we were newly married…It was sort of almost an extended honeymoon.”

July 2005

On July 10, Taylor gave birth to the couple’s second child, a son named Quinlin Dempsey, in Los Angeles.

August 2008

Taylor and Stiller co-starred again in the comedy film Tropic Thunder, which Stiller also directed. After filming Tropic Thunder, Taylor decided to step away from acting to take care of the couple’s two children.

“It never felt like a big decision for me,” Taylor later revealed during an interview with The Morning Call. “When I had Ella, my whole world changed. I couldn’t believe how much love I had for this little creature. I wanted to be a part of it all. I didn’t want to miss anything, and with Ben working as much as he does, I felt it was important for one of us to be the stability in the family.”

March 2010

On March 7, Stiller and Taylor attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower. Taylor stepped out in a black strapless gown with a dark-green belt, and Stiller wore a black suit.

February 2011

In an interview on the Spirit Awards red carpet, Stiller was asked, “If you could have anyone over for a movie night, who would it be?”

“I like my movie nights with my wife,” he replied. “When you have kids and you have a date night, a movie night is a very exciting thing for a married couple, so definitely my wife.”

November 2012

On November 15, Stiller was presented with the American Cinematheque Award. Taylor accompanied him at the awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton and also spoke onstage. When asked how he felt about being honored for the award, Stiller told Deadline, “I’m thrilled and dreading it at the same time.”

September 2012

In a video interview, Taylor revealed her favorite moment from filming Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story with Stiller. “My favorite line is when I say ‘I threw up in my mouth a little bit,’ because he was in that scene, and he was so not my husband and had such a crazy look. That scene in particular is my favorite because the character he was in was so silly,” she said.

December 2013

In an interview with People, Stiller revealed that Taylor is “very good at giving advice.”

“I’ve been working a lot lately, and she said to just take a breath. Breathe and take it one day at a time,” he said.

October 2014

Taylor opened up about her desire for a friendly relationship with her children. “I said to my daughter, ‘You can talk to me about anything. I’m a cool mom. You don’t have to be embarrassed. You can tell me anything,’” the star said at the 2014 Tomorrow Is Tonight Gala, held in support of Project ALS. “And she goes, ‘You just saying that made you uncool.’ We’re at the age where our daughter gets embarrassed of us no matter what we do.”

February 2016

Stiller and Taylor collaborated on-screen once again in Zoolander 2, this time as co-stars and co-directors. Fifteen years after co-starring in the original Zoolander, Taylor spoke on The Rachael Ray Show about her experience working with Stiller on the sequel.

“He knows what he wants, and he’s very serious about it, but when he’s directing you in a wig and ridiculous hot pink shirt, it’s very hard to take him seriously. So you just have to take it with a grain of salt, ” Taylor said.

May 2016

Stiller and Taylor attended the Met Gala together and posed together on the red carpet, both wearing Valentino ensembles for the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” theme.

April 2017

On April 18, the pair attended the opening night of Groundhog Day: The Musical on Broadway with their daughter, Ella.

May 2017

After 17 years of marriage, Stiller and Taylor announced the news of their separation on May 26. The couple revealed to Entertainment Tonight in a joint statement, “With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.”

July 2018

On July 31, Stiller and Taylor were spotted together in New York City, for the first time publicly since they initially announced their split the year prior.

April 2019

On April 8, Stiller and Taylor attended Pretty Woman: The Musical on Broadway with their two children. “It was a sweet family night out. The kids were glowing because they all love the theater, and Ben and Christine looked happy together, smiling and laughing and holding hands, especially during intermission,” a source told People.

September 2019

Stiller and Taylor made an appearance together at the Emmy Awards. Stiller was nominated for two awards for his performance in Escape at Dannemora. They also posed together for a photo on the red carpet.

February 2022

In an interview with Esquire, Stiller disclosed that he and Taylor had rekindled their relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that the pair had made a decision together at the beginning of the pandemic for him to move back into their family home so he could spend time with their children during lockdown. “Then, over the course of time, it evolved,” Stiller said. “We were separated and got back together, and we’re happy about that. It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic.”

March 2022

Stiller and Taylor were seen together at the BNP Paribus Open in Indian Wells, California. It marked their first public date since Stiller spoke about their reconciliation.

November 2022

Stiller and Taylor stepped out together again to attend the opening night of The Old Man & the Pool on Broadway in New York City. The pair appeared happy, with Taylor smiling at Stiller as they posed for a photo together.

March 2023

Taylor opened up about the evolution of her and Stiller’s relationship on an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.

Barrymore asked about the couple’s reconciliation, saying, “Is that not every person’s fantasy, that you will find your way back? How did you do it?”

Taylor responded by detailing their history. “We got married very quickly after meeting each other,” she said. “We knew each other for six months, got engaged, were married within a year, and then we had Ella the next year.

“Family was always a priority, but Ben and I both started to grow in different directions. And when we made the decision to separate, it was not something we wanted to talk publicly about. We were both at an impasse of figuring out what’s best for us in this chapter of life.

“We have these growth spurts even as adults, and we just needed some time to figure that out. We always stayed a family unit, always continued to see shows together, birthday parties, all of it. So when the pandemic hit, and we all had to figure out where we were going to hunker down, we all ended up in our house together with two teenagers, and we found this way back. We had time to talk; there were no other distractions. It was a really special time for us, for the family. It just happened organically and naturally.”

When asked about the current “dynamic” between her and Stiller, Taylor responded, “It’s so good. I feel like, when you’ve lived a lifetime with someone—and we have—and there’s history, we learned as we were going along together. And there’s just a freedom in that. There’s a freedom in the comfort of this relationship and the commitment.”

June 2023

Taylor and Stiller attended Taylor’s Let Liv movie premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. They were joined by their daughter Ella, as the family stepped out in black outfits.

October 2023

Taylor and Stiller co-hosted the 25th Project ALS Anniversary Gala in New York City. The couple also brought their son, Quinlin Dempsey, to the event and posed on the red carpet as a family.

“Christine’s on the board, so she does the real work [for Project ALS] for a lot of years,” Stiller told Page Six. “I’m a trophy husband. I’m riding her coattails, for sure. She has done so much, and she’s been committed for so long.”

May 2024

The couple attended the Gordon Parks Foundation Awards as co-chairs in New York City with their daughter, Ella.

September 2024

Stiller and Taylor attended the Nutcrackers premiere together at the Toronto International Film Festival. Taylor stepped out in a burgundy dress with a cape detail, while Stiller wore a navy suit.

January 2025

On January 13, Stiller opened up about his relationship with Taylor in an interview with The New York Times.

He said, “When we separated, it was just having space to see what our relationship was, what my life felt like when we weren’t in that relationship, how much I loved our family unit. It was like three or four years that we weren’t together, but we always were connected. In my mind, I never didn’t want us to be together.

“It was almost a year of living in the same house before we were actually together. But I’m so grateful for it, and I think not that many people do come back together when they separate. There’s nothing like that, when you come back. You have so much more appreciation for what you have because we know we could not have it.”

In a January 16 appearance on The View, Stiller revealed more about his reconnection with Taylor following their split: “I don’t know how it happened, other than that we both wanted it. You have to work at it.

“I’m so grateful that we’re back together, and I think sometimes people shouldn’t get back together. Sometimes it’s not the right thing, for us it was the right thing,” he said. “Now, every day that we’re together, we don’t take for granted. I know I don’t because you know it could go away. That to me, is the gift of our relationship: It’s that we have that every day, and I really am so happy.”