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When it comes to iconic '90s couples, one that surely comes to mind is Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan. The two stars dated while they were at the beginning of their careers, and even though things didn't work out between them — each went on to become a well-known name in the industry.
Today, we're taking a closer look at the couple's relationship and the reason for their breakup. Did Donovan and Aniston really break up because the actor was jealous of the Friends star? After all, Aniston quickly became much more famous than the actor. Keep on scrolling to find out!
How Long Were Tate Donovan And Jennifer Aniston Together?
Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan met in 1995 when they were introduced to each other by mutual friends. At the time, Donovan was best known for starring opposite Sandra Bullock in the 1992 movie Love Potion No. 9., while Aniston had just risen to fame as Rachel Green on the sitcom Friends which premiered in 1994.
According to InStyle, at the time Donovan hadn't seen Friends, so he didn't know who Aniston was. Prior to Aniston. Donovan had dated actress Sandra Bullock, and because he knew how difficult dating someone from the industry can be, he was unsure about starting a relationship with Aniston.
"Literally, our second date, there were video cameras everywhere, and I was like, ‘I’m out of here,'" Donovan told People at the time.
One month after they began dating, the two broke up only to reconcile three weeks later. For their first anniversary, Donovan and Aniston exchanged Irish commitment rings. Their relationship quickly got serious, and for Valentine's Day in 1996, Donovan bought Aniston a puppy whom she named Enzo. Unfortunately, in February 1998 the two stars broke up.
The Reason Behind Tate Donovan And Jennifer Aniston's Breakup
After news of their breakup became public, plenty of outlets reported that the two split because Tate Donovan was jealous of Jennifer Aniston's career. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Aniston discussed the rumors.
"That wasn't actually why we broke up. But because we didn't give the press anything, they made it up," Aniston said. "Tate's and my breakup had nothing to do with ego battles, wanting babies, not wanting marriage — all that stuff. None of it was accurate."
However, neither of the two ever revealed why they ended their engagement. In 1998, Tate Donovan guest-starred in six episodes of the sitcom Friends, and to make things worse — he portrayed Jennifer Aniston's love interest, millionaire businessman Joshua Burgin. This, of course, was after the couple had split.
In an interview with US Weekly, Donavan revealed how he felt about working with his ex. "I was just happy to be on the team. The only bummer was Jennifer and I were breaking up at the time," the actor admitted.
"And so that was tricky to sort of act, and act like we are just meeting each other, and falling in love, or whatever, interested in each other, when we’re sort of breaking up. That was just tough. It was just six episodes. I mean, only because we were breaking up. We were like, ‘Hey, can we not keep doing this? ‘Cause this is really painful and tough,'" Donovan recalled.
"The people that know that we dated think that we met on Friends. But in fact we had dated for two years before then, and it was over by the time we were on Friends together," the actor said.
“Those six people were amazing to me. They were fantastic. It wasn’t cliquey for me at all. I was lucky. The good thing that came out of it was that everyone was really cool about it, and really as helpful as they could be. In other words, they were just compassionate, very compassionate about the whole breakup. It was sort of like I proved that, hey, I guess I’m a pro. If you can go through a tough breakup, and still do your job, then you’re a pro. It was good. It was really ultimately a great experience of how people can treat you really well, and you still do your job even though you’re sort of dying inside."
Judging from the fact that Donovan and Aniston agreed to work together after their split, it's unlikely that jealousy was the reason for their breakup. After their separation, Tate Donavan went on to date journalist Plum Sykes, while Jennifer Aniston began her relationship with Hollywood star Brad Pitt whom she ended up being married to between 2000 and 2005.