Jennifer Aniston claimed relationship with co-star brought her back to life after Brad Pitt break up

Back before a lot of our time in the noughties (yes, all that time ago), people were absolutely gripped on to the rollercoaster that was Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

The pair began dating in the late 90s before a beachside wedding in July 2000. But in what is probably one of the most high-profile Hollywood splits to this day, Pitt and Aniston separated and divorced in 2005.

The Mr & Mrs Smith actor of course went on to marry his co-star, Angelina Jolie, while his ex-wife tied the knot with Justin Theroux.

With the separation from Pitt racking up so much publicity, Aniston claimed a relationship with one of her co-stars ‘brought her back to life’.

The actors were married for five years (Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

The 56-year-old has an impressive list of credits to her name and with a fair few rom-coms under her belt, plenty of A-list male co-stars she’s shared the screen with.

But it was Vince Vaughn who she says really helped her through that difficult period of her life.

The pair were said to have been dating following Aniston’s break-up, ironically while they were filming the 2006 film, The Break-Up. And the actors stayed pretty good friends afterwards, with the star praising him for being there for her in what was quite a rough time.

“I call Vince my defibrillator. He literally brought me back to life,” Aniston told Vogue back in 2018.

“My first gasp of air was a big laugh! It was great. I love him. He's a bull in a china shop. He was lovely and fun and perfect for the time we had together. And I needed that. And it sort of ran its course.”

Jennifer Aniston remains grateful to her The Break-Up co-star Vince Vaughn to this day (Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

And while Vaughn at the time had described her as ‘great’, there was something in particular he struggled with about their relationship – the paparazzi hounding them.

“For me personally—and I think most well-known actors who are together feel this way—I never enjoyed the paparazzi side of it,” he told Playboy Magazine. “You like someone and you’re spending time with them; that’s separate and that was all fine. But I really spent most of that time finding ways not to be drawn into the attention.”

Reps said of the pair back in 2006: "After Jennifer’s trip to London several weeks ago, Jennifer and Vince mutually agreed to end their relationship but continue to be good friends today."

That seems to have lasted the long-run with Aniston's 'life-saving' comments coming many years after their break-up.