Along came Christine.
Ben Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, had no intention of seriously dating when they first met.
“We were both each other’s, I would say, like, sort of rebound relationship a little bit,” Taylor, 51, admitted on Monday’s episode of her “Hey Dude … The ’90s Called!” podcast.
Stiller, who was this week’s guest star, agreed that they started off casually.
“We weren’t taking it seriously,” said Stiller, 57.
The “Zoolander” star explained to listeners that he had met his now-wife on the set of the 1999 TV pilot “Heat Vision and Jack.”
“We had a fun time making the show and then Christine and I connected and then I went off to do a movie [‘Keeping the Faith’] in New York and I invited her to come hang out,” Stiller said.
Taylor said she accepted his invitation and ended up “staying the entire summer.” The pair entered into a whirlwind romance and tied the knot in 2000 after just one year of dating.
Their marriage hasn’t been without its difficulties, however. Stiller and Taylor announced they were separating after 17 years of marriage in May 2017. But the pair rekindled their love during the pandemic and confirmed they were back together in February 2022.
“We were separated and got back together and we’re happy about that,” Stiller told Esquire at the time. “It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic.”
Together they share two kids: daughter Ella, 20, and son Quinlin, 17. They have also starred in several movies together including “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder,” and “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”
Before falling for each other, Stiller had dated several actresses including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Calista Flockhart and Amanda Peet.
Meanwhile, the actress dated Neil Patrick Harris for a year before ending things in 1988.
In 2006, the “How I Met Your Mother” star publicly came out as gay and later credited Taylor for helping him accept his sexuality.
“She’s the coolest, nicest chick ever. She’s an absolute catch, and I thought, ‘If I’m not going to feel the super sparks with her … it probably means I’m gay,’” Harris said on “The Howard Stern Show” in 2008.
Taylor also dated her podcast co-host — and former “Hey Dude” co-star — David Lascher when they were teenagers.
The young actors were in a relationship while filming the Nickelodeon comedy, which ran from 1989 to 1991. Since then, they have become good friends and often joke about their romantic history.
