Diane Keaton and Al Pacino's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Even though Diane Keaton admitted she "never" gets asked out on dates — telling InStyle in 2019, "I haven't been on a date in, I would say, 35 years. No dates." — the Instagram extraordinaire and fashionista does, in fact, have exes — and some very famous ones at that. Among them? Fellow Oscar winning-actor Al Pacino. The pair met in the early '70s, and romance later ensued — on and off again — for around 15 years. 

Since their relationship was super low-key, little is known about it other than the fact that she made him an offer (read: marriage) that he could — and most certainly did — refuse. Despite Keaton and Pacino never getting married or having children together, they have continued to maintain a special friendship.

Here's a look back at Diane Keaton and Al Pacino's relationship.

1972: Diane Keaton and Al Pacino first meet

It was a true Hollywood tale: The two actors met on the set of The Godfather — the film that catapulted them into stardom after it was released in 1972 and became a staple of cinema.

At the time, Keaton, who was in her late 20s, and Pacino, who was in his early 30s, were both relatively unknown. They were cast opposite each other in the first of Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy. Their on-screen chemistry clearly translated away from the cameras — in a 2013 interview with The Telegraph, Keaton recalled, "I was really very taken with Al from the very beginning."

In 2017, Keaton told People she "had a crush" on Pacino when they began shooting the movie. 

Once they got together, she said, "I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker. There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!"

1974: Diane Keaton and Al Pacino start dating

Talk about a power couple with a side of slow-burn longing. Keaton may have been immediately taken with Pacino, but it wasn't until after The Godfather Part II that their working relationship blossomed into a romance.

"For me, the Godfathers, all three of them, were about one thing — Al. It was as simple as that," Keaton wrote in her memoir, Then Again, per The New York Times.

1990: Diane Keaton and Al Pacino break up

Pacino and Keaton ended their on-again, off-again romantic relationship sometime after The Godfather Part III. When he wouldn't commit to marriage, the Annie Hall star recalled giving him an ultimatum, and their relationship was over. 

"I worked hard on that one. I went about it in not a perfect way," she revealed to People in 2017.

However, looking back, Keaton doesn't feel any animosity. 

"I don't think it would have been a good idea for me to have married, and I'm really glad I didn't, and I'm sure [my exes are] happy about it, too."

Rather than focus her attention on becoming a wife, she turned to motherhood, adopting her daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and her son, Duke, in 2001.

Pacino went on to become a father. He shares his first child, Julie, with acting coach Jan Tarrant, and twins, son Anton James and daughter Olivia Rose, with actress Beverly D'Angelo, with whom he had a relationship from 1997 until 2003.

He also had a 10-year relationship with actress Lucila Polak from 2008 to 2018. Though the couple never married, Polak's daughter Camila Morrone refers to Pacino as her stepfather. Most recently, the octagenarian welcomed a baby boy, Roman, with his girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, in June 2023.

June 28, 2017: Al Pacino makes a sweet tribute to AFI Lifetime Achievement Award winner Diane Keaton

This may not have happened during their relationship, but Pacino's tribute to Keaton when she won an AFI Lifetime Achievement award in 2017 showed their friendship withstood the test of time. Not only did he call her "Di" and compliment her on her hat, Pacino also recalled the first time they met at a Godfather cast dinner in Harlem — and revealed the one piece of advice she gave him later in their relationship.

"I remember leaving the house once, and I had an interview. And I'm very uncomfortable here, but at interviews, I'm even more uncomfortable, believe it or not," he said during the speech. "And she was very encouraging, helping me along, and as I was leaving, she called out to me, and said, 'Al, you're going to be OK. Just remember, whatever you do, don't say you're an artist."

And if that wasn't enough to make you weep, he then closed the tribute by telling her, "I love you forever."