After six super-private years of rumored romance, Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes have apparently called it quits.
The two went their separate ways, according to multiple reports, back in May -- the same month the stars appeared side by side at the lavish Met Gala. However, their relationship has long been shrouded in mystery, with split rumors and, conversely, secret marriage rumors abounding.
So, to understand and nuances of their incredibly private love story, it's important to go back and see how it unfolded over the last six years.
So, when did this romance begin? And where? How? Why?
Let's start with some backstory in the form of a fun fact: Foxx starred with Holmes' ex-husband, Tom Cruise, in 2004's Collateral. (The one where Foxx plays a taxi driver and Cruise plays a homicidal maniac. It was pretty good.) It was the year before Cruise and Holmes would begin dating.
Sept. 2006: A few months after Holmes gave birth to the couple's daughter, Suri, and ahead of their big, Italian wedding, Holmes and Foxx actually crossed paths at a Monday Night Football game -- Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins, in case you were wondering -- and posed for photos alongside Cruise.
June 2012: Five and a half years after tying the knot and over seven years after Tom Cruise ("TOOOOOM CRUIIIIISE") infamously jumped on the couch of once popular daytime talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, Holmes filed for divorce.
(Foxx, meanwhile, has always been tightlipped about his relationships. He has previously been linked to the likes of Meagan Good and Fantasia Barrino, but his last 100 percent, confirmed-confirmed romance was sometime in 2008-09, because his daughter, Annalise, was born in Aug. 2009. You do the math. He has never revealed the names of his daughter's mothers.)
Aug. 2013: Foxx and Holmes were first linked romantically after they danced together onstage at the 4th Annual Apollo in the Hamptons Benefit. Reports then claimed that he was spending "a lot of time" at her NYC apartment.
Oct. 2013: In an exclusive sit-down interview, Foxx told ET that reports of a relationship were "one hundred percent not true," but said he found them plenty amusing. "It's quite hilarious because we simply danced at a charity event along with a lot of other people," he exclusively told ET's Nancy O'Dell.
Still, the rumors persisted and the next month the Oscar winner doubled down, joking to ABC News, "I had Colin Powell on stage dancing, so they could have said me and Colin Powell were dating!"
March 2015: Nearly a year and a half later, a grainy pic surfaced in the tabloids that appeared to show Holmes and Foxx holding hands in his home recording studio. Us Weekly reported their relationship "started as a fling," but "has since become a long-term attraction."
May 2015: Foxx, once again, adamantly denied the two were anything more than just friends. "What I've learned about society today is that they're so thirsty. Especially in tabloid world and social media world, they're so thirsty to find any story," he said. "Sometimes when you read the stuff you're like, 'Wow! That's so not true!'
It's worth noting that, at the time, Foxx claimed he and Holmes were actually recording voice-overs for an animated series called Amber Alert. A cursory glance at each actor's IMDb profile indicates that this project does not exist, as Holmes' voice over work consists solely of "Older Laura" in 2013's Underdogs, while Foxx's starts and ends with Rio and Rio 2, respectively.
Jan. 2016: Four years after her very public divorce from Cruise, Holmes was asked about her dating life in a MORE magazine cover story and effectively shut talk down by saying, "That's not something I want to answer."
"[I don't] have a five or 10-year plan," the 37-year-old actress did reveal. "I feel like I'm still a teenager in a lot of ways. I do a lot of things I did then. I paint, I color. I cook sometimes. I still feel like a girl. I don't quite feel like a woman, maybe because I'm the baby of my family. I'll probably be 90 and feel like, 'Not a woman yet!'"
June 2016: Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan was asked about Foxx, 48, and Holmes' relationship on the "Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss" podcast and replied, "He is very happy with her, so I like that he seems very happy."
As her comments became headlines, the reality star quickly walked back on them, exclusively telling ET's Kevin Frazier that she didn't have "this bombshell story." "I have no knowledge of Jamie with Katie at all," she claimed. "I've never seen them together. He's never told me he's dating her."
Dec. 2016: During an interview with The New York Times, the actress was asked if she's "still single" and if she's secretly married - which was a rumor that had recently started to circulate due to tabloid headlines.
With a laugh, Holmes politely replied, "Nooo, I’m not married. But thank you for asking." She does not, however, address the portion of the question regarding whether or not she was still single.
April 2017: A source told ET that Foxx surprised his girlfriend with a congratulatory bouquet of flowers while she was on a press tour for her historical biographical drama for Reelz, The Kennedys: After Camelot.
The source also claimed that the pair avoid being photographed together because Foxx and Holmes prefer to "cater in" their date nights. "Jamie is also very private when it comes to his personal life," the source added. However, days later, they were spotted on a dinner date in the East Village in New York City.
June 2017: The Baby Driver star appeared on an episode of the U.K.'s The Graham Norton Show and made some comments that heavily implied he was a single man when he admitted that dating was harder for him as he approached his 50th birthday.
"It’s tough out there. I am getting older but people think I am younger," he said. "I was at a club the other night and a group of girls shouted my name. I was like, ‘Hey, what’s up?' and they said, ‘We go to school with your daughter!’ You have to be so careful… When I was asked the other day by a 20-something girl how old I was, she looked at me as though 49 was a terminal disease!"
Sept. 2017: In an extremely rare instance of PDA, the super secretive pair were spotted holding hands and smiling like love birds while dipping their toes in the warm waters of Malibu, California.
An eyewitness told ET, "The pair were on a public beach in Malibu. They were visiting a friend's house and came out onto the beach for a walk around 7 p.m." The happy twosome chatted and smiled for 20 minutes as they watched the sun start to set, according to the eyewitness, who says that they "also sat down very close to each other, chatting for a while outside, and spoke rather intimately."
The eyewitness added, "Katie and Jamie seemed to be pretty cautious about being spotted together, but were having fun. They seemed to really appreciate every moment together because Jamie did not leave her side. They held hands as they walked on the beach and seemed really relaxed and playful."
Dec. 2017: After years of rumored dating the pair finally attended the same public event together -- albeit separately. Foxx lent his star power to the Prive Reveaux eyewear flagship store launch, hosted by Casa Noble in New York City's Times Square and Holmes also dropped by to show her support. An eyewitness at the event told ET that Holmes spent about half an hour at the flagship store in a quiet area in the back, and Foxx joined her for a bit before returning to his hosting duties -- so, not exactly a romantic date night, but still it was something that proved the pair still had a connection.
Weeks later, Holmes and Foxx partied together at the Oscar winner's 50th b-day bash, and the beaming pair apparently stayed close during the star-studded celebration. An eyewitness told ET that, inside the soiree, Foxx and Holmes "seemed besotted" with each other.
"Jamie kept beckoning for Katie to come up to the stage but she didn’t want to," the eyewitness said. "They were so cute!"
Jan. 2018: The elusive pair attended the Clive Davis and the Recording Academy’s Pre-GRAMMY Gala in New York City. And while they seemed shy about attending the same event at first, they warmed up as the evening went on. At first the couple chose not to sit together, an eyewitness told ET, prompting host Davis to give them a hard time from the stage. They were later spotted sitting next to one another, laughing and goofing off.
June 2018: As often happens when two people keep their relationship super private, rumors and speculation are bound to go wild. When tabloids began reporting that the pair had called it quits, a source told ET that this was not true.
"They’ve always lived very independent lives, but try to make time to see each other. It’s not uncommon for them to go long stretches without seeing each other,” a source told ET. “And they’re still very, very private. You’re not going to hear or see every time they’re together because they don’t flaunt their relationship in public.”
Aug. 2018: Holmes and Foxx hit Malibu Beach yet again, definitively squashing the rumors of a split with some rare PDA and an adorable afternoon date. The notoriously private couple kissed and hugged on the sand and also got playful, with Holmes attempting to do a cartwheel at one point as Foxx held her.
Sep. 2018: Holmes and Foxx were spotted breaking a sweat at a gym in Atlanta, Georgia, marking yet another public sighting for the pair.
An eyewitness told ET that the two were at the gym for about an hour and 20 minutes. Foxx was spotted doing the rope shake exercises while inside the fitness center, while Holmes was in an area with elliptical machines.
The eyewitness said the couple's chemistry was hard to miss, as they were seen happily joking and laughing with one another when they came out of the gym. While Foxx and Holmes did not hold hands when they exited the establishment, their hands touched from time to time while working out, according to the eyewitness, who said the pair looked over-the-moon for one another.
About a week later, the stars were spotted in Marietta, Georgia, where they picked up new bikes at Dick's Sporting Goods. After loading up the bicycles, Holmes sat on Foxx's lap in the front seat of their car before they were driven to a park to test out their purchases. It was a super adorable and rare moment of playful intimacy for the couple that didn't go unnoticed.
Oct. 2018: Holmes stirred up engagement rumors once again thanks to her choice of jewelry. Holmes joined Jerry O'Connell -- her co-star in the upcoming film The Secret -- for coffee in New Orleans, where they were filming, and she was wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger in pictures published by Popsugar.
However, a rep for the actress told ET the ring was actually just a movie prop for the film she was shooting.
Dec. 2018: This time around, it was Foxx's turn to celebrate Holmes' b-day, and they celebrated the actress' 40th with a small, family-only intimate dinner.
A source told ET that Foxx and Holmes dined with her mother, Kathleen. "Jamie took the ladies out to Serendipity [in the upper east side of NY] for Katie’s birthday. It was so sweet, it seemed he like he really wanted to make the night special,” the source said. "Everyone got along great. Jamie is a gentleman and he knows how important Katie’s family is to her. Suri already adores Jamie."
Later in the month, possibly to ring in the New Year, the cute pair spent some quality time together on board a luxury yacht in Miami, Florida, and were photographed sharing a sweet smooch.
May 2019: After being photographed together holding hands in March and again during a family outing in April -- along with Foxx's 25-year-old daughter, Corinne Foxx -- the lovebirds made their first official public appearance together on the red carpet inside the Met Gala.
They appeared to be in high spirits as they smiled for photos inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Holmes stunned in a shimmering, royal purple gown with a fuchsia feathered collar while Foxx seemingly matched the actress' color scheme, rocking a traditional black suit which he paired with bright purple shoes, the same exact shade as Holmes' ensemble.
Later that month, Foxx's daughter talked to People, where she opened up about her father's relatively private relationship.
"They are so great and Katie is always so chic. They were wonderful," she said when asked about Foxx and Holmes' 2019 Met Gala looks. Meanwhile, Corinne had nothing but amazing things to say about her dad and the Logan Lucky actress, sharing, "They're really good, really great."
August 2018: Foxx hit the town with singer Sela Vave, whom he's reportedly been mentoring. The Oscar winner and the beautiful brunette were spotted leaving Bootsy Bellows nightclub in West Hollywood, following Lil Pump's 19th birthday party at the L.A. hot spot, and were photographed holding hands as they walked past paparazzi and over to Foxx's white Lamborghini SUV.
An eyewitness told ET that Foxx arrived to Bootsy Bellows late Friday night/early Saturday morning at 1:45 a.m. and left the nightclub minutes later, at 2 a.m., holding the hand of Vave. They walked to his car with Foxx driving away and Vave seated in the front passenger seat. While the photos sparked rumors that the pair could be romantically involved, and questions about the status of his relationship with Holmes, a source told ET that Vave is just a singer-songwriter Foxx is helping as she develops her career.
Holmes, meanwhile, spent the same weekend solo in New York City.
Just days after Foxx and Vave were spotted leaving the club together, news broke that Foxx and Holmes had actually called it quits back in May, according to multiple reports.
A source tells ET that Foxx and Holmes "appear to have broken up," but the source isn't ruling out a chance of a reconciliation.
"They never had a typical relationship," the source notes. "They have always been incredibly independent and their lives didn't revolve around each other. They lived separately and in different cities and saw each other occasionally."
The source also says that while the two have a great time together and have great chemistry, neither was looking to uproot their lives or totally merge lives.
"They are just both caught up with their own families, careers and obligations that their relationship had to take a back seat," the source says.
ET has reached out to Foxx and Holmes' reps. Check out the video below for more on the pair's past romance.
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