Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux's public demeanor never indicated their marriage was crumbling privately.
The celeb pair shocked fans with yesterday's announcement—a "mutual" decision to separate made "lovingly" at the end of last year. An insider told E! News the split came down to lifestyle differences, adding that "initial chemistry" helped Jen and Justin "ignore their differences and incompatibility."
Unlike the earlier days of their seven-year romance, the couple's cheery photo opps on the red carpet, gushy interviews and intimate getaways began to slowly taper off as they parted ways for good. Let's look at their final few months as husband and wife, shall we?
Final Red Carpet: The eye contact! The body language! No one would've predicted trouble was brewing for the Friends star and her husband of two years as they made a romantic vacation out of a trip to Paris for the Séries Mania Festival in April 2017.
But as it's since been revealed, Jennifer and Justin's issues ran much deeper than a red carpet could've led on.
"They have always just been two very different people with very different characters who just happened to fall in love," a source shared. "He's more nomadic, more of a free spirit, he's rugged and urban and Jennifer just isn't that kind of person."
Final Public Appearance: The Leftovers star stood by Aniston's side as she helped present Jason Bateman with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The July 2017 outing would be their last official event as a married couple. One month later, paparazzi spotted the pair heading to dinner with friends in Malibu. The bicoastal celebs haven't been photographed in Los Angeles together since.
Final Anniversary: Theroux marked their second wedding anniversary with this heartwarming photo on his Instagram. As the actor joked to us about his gift plans, "Isn't number two cotton? Am I supposed to get something cotton? So probably just a bag of cotton."
Final NYC Sighting: Cracks in their relationship began to emerge by October 2017, Jen and Justin's last photographed outing in the Big Apple.
Unfortunately, neither could compromise on a place to settle down for good, with separately established inner circles in L.A. and New York City. As the insider told us, "Jennifer and Justin fell in love hard and fast and yet they were never really suited to one another. He was a New York hipster that loved the alternative lifestyle and Jennifer was living a much more reclusive life when they first started to fall in love."
The source added, "Jennifer's previous breakups had taught her to live a life that was very secular; her friendship group was small and consisted of people that she intimately trusted. Justin was used to being way more social and so that was a big concession for him as well."
Final Vacation: One last effort to make things work? Perhaps that's what the A-listers had in mind when they traveled to Cabo with Jason Bateman and his wife for New Year's Eve. Only six weeks later, Aniston and Theroux would come forward with their separation.
Final Magazine Cover: And just a week before the announcement, the now-exes let Architectural Digest inside the Bel Air property they married in. Jennifer and Justin posed for separate photo shoots at the lavish estate, and the 49-year-old actress gushed over her life at home with the 46-year-old.
"I look around at my husband and my dogs and our home, and there's nowhere else I want to be," Aniston shared.
Heartbreak aside, another source recently told us Jennifer is readying for a new chapter in her life. "Jen is doing OK," the insider said. "She has her group of friends that are her family, and they have rallied around her... She will take this and learn from it and have new perspective going forward."