TBT: Naomi Watts Chased Down Liev Schreiber to Give Him Her Phone Number

Who: Two-time Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts, 54, and Emmy Award-winning actor, director, and screenwriter Liev Schreiber, 55.

How They Met: Naomi and Liev first met in a hotel lobby in Toronto in the early 2000s after mutual friends tried to set them up. Nothing seemingly came of their first meeting, but their paths crossed again at the 2005 Met Gala, where the actor said Naomi was "a ray of light" and invited him out to dance afterward.

"So I went down to this club that she told me to meet her at, and of course, she was there with Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro, and I'm kind of standing around like a bump on a log, waiting for my turn," he told Esquire in 2016. "I think I was nervous, and I felt very embarrassed being there, and self-conscious, because all these movie stars were hovering, and I felt … awkward and out of my element. And I wasn't going to make a good impression. So I said, 'I'm sorry, but I gotta go home.'"

Naomi then chased him down to give him her phone number. "She chased me outside and said, 'Don't you want my digits?'" recalled Schreiber.

Her persistence paid off, and the next day, they had their first date at Magnolia Bakery in the West Village. "It was very silly—very romantic. And we had a kiss—not a big kiss, but it was a kiss that was like, ooh. Then she went back to LA, and I wrote her all the time," Liev revealed, adding: "Lots of emails. I think that was it—seduced by email."

After several weeks of emailing and talking on the phone, Watts said she "made up some excuse to come back to New York." The rest, she says, is history.

Why We Loved Them: Though Naomi and Liev were together for more than a decade, the couple never got married or even engaged. They were happy and confident in their relationship just the way it was. “We’re very much together,” Watts told Easy Living Magazine of her and Schreiber's non-traditional situation in 2012. “We just don’t have that certificate, and that’s okay with both of us. Maybe one day, we’ll just wake up and go, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ And maybe not.”

Despite not being officially husband and wife, Naomi and Liev did welcome two children together — Alexander "Sasha" and Kai in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

When They Peaked: The time Liev picked out Naomi's Oscar gown in 2016. The actor's film Spotlight was nominated for Best Picture, and Watts reportedly wanted him to decide what she was going to wear on the red carpet since it was his special night.

And, as it turned out, Schreiber had impeccable taste. For Naomi, he chose a navy blue strapless sequined-embellished Armani Privé gown, while, for himself, he opted for a classic black tux from Burberry.

The Breakup: On September 26, 2016, Watts and Schreiber decided to call it quits on their 11-year relationship.

In a joint statement to People, the pair announced their decision to split. “Over the past few months, we’ve come to the conclusion that the best way forward for us as a family is to separate as a couple,” they said, adding, “It is with great love, respect, and friendship in our hearts that we look forward to raising our children together and exploring this new phase of our relationship While we appreciate your curiosity and support, we ask the press to be mindful of our children and respect their right to privacy."

Two years later, Liev opened up about their breakup, revealing that he and Naomi remain close friends for their kids. “It’s always hard, you know? You build a life with someone, and things change,” he said during an appearance on Sunday Today with Willie Geist in 2018. “And I think the way that we’ve looked at it is that we’ll always be partners with these kids.”

He continued, "It’s important to support each other,” he said. “I was making some jokes at breakfast about Mommy with the boys, and their eyes light up when I talk about her. You can see how important it is to them that their parents care about each other.”

Naomi, meanwhile, echoed a similar sentiment while chatting with Vogue Australia, telling the outlet: "There are good days and bad days. Liev and I are on great terms, and we’re trying to do our absolute best for the sake of the children, and we hope to keep moving forward in that way."

Where Are They Now: Shortly after her breakup with Schreiber, Watts began dating her now-husband Billy Crudup when they began filming the Netflix series Gypsy in 2017. Over the years, the two kept the details of their relationship extremely private — however, just last weekend, Naomi announced she and Billy got married with a cute wedding photo on Instagram.

On the career front, Watts has kept busy acting with starring roles in movies like The Wolf Hour, Luce, and the American version of the horror flick Goodnight Mommy, as well as a few TV series, including her most recent project, The Watcher.

A year following his split from Naomi, Liev moved on with former beauty queen Taylor Neisen (she was crowned Miss South Dakota in 2012), and they've been dating ever since. The pair recently announced that they're expecting their first baby together.

Schreiber continued to play Ray Donovan in the popular Showtime series until the show went off the air in 2020. Two years later, the cast (including Liev) reunited for Ray Donovan: The Movie, and after that, he starred in the TV miniseries A Small Light, while his new movie Asteroid City is set to be released later this month.

#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.