We're only a few days into 2018, but Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are already having quite the year.
Not that the tide magically turned on New Year's Eve, because their 2017 (and '16 before that, etc.) was pretty grand, too. In fact, that's just how these two have been rolling—on the up and up—ever since they officially joined forces on Oct. 19, 2012.
Timberlake and Biel have actually been together for the better part of a decade, however, and in that time they've been through it all, from career highs and lows to a vicious rumor mill to the joys and trials of parenthood—and throughout, they've only made each other stronger.
And while the multitalented pair have tended to trade spotlights, with one focusing on this while the other does that, right now they're both celebrating major career moments and have become a more powerful Hollywood presence as a duo than ever before.
After its release last night, people are still losing it today over the new music video for Timberlake's "Filthy," featuring the artist as a Steve Jobs figure unleashing some game-changing sexy robot action on the world. Aside from the expected excitement over the video, his first since 2016's "Can't Stop the Feeling!," the internet felt it had another reason to pay super-close attention. She wasn't spotted in the video, but super-fans suspect a snippet of Biel's voice is in the track at the end, as heard on streaming sites.
If Biel does make an audio cameo, it wouldn't be their first collaboration: Timberlake composed the music for The Book of Love, which Biel starred in and produced with business partner Michelle Purple.
Asked at the time if she foresaw mixing business with pleasure again in the future, Biel told InStyle in 2016, "Nothing specific, but I think we had such a good time working together, and it was in just the right kind of capacity where we weren't on top of each other, in terms of both of us trying to compete with a particular lane."
She continued, "I think we would really work very well together, and it was an enjoyable experience. It's nice to be able to spend a lot of time with your partner in a different way, not just hanging out at home, and not just doing whatever...working together was really inspiring."
The inspiration runs both ways. Timberlake said that Man of the Woods, his first solo album in almost five years, was "really inspired by my son, my wife, my family— but more so than any other album I've ever written, where I'm from, and it's personal."
So we'll keep our eyes peeled when Timberlake releases his next three videos this month leading up to Man of the Woods dropping on Feb. 2—just in time for the man's headlining performance at the Super Bowl LII Halftime Show on Feb. 4.
January alone, what a whirlwind.
And Biel has hardly had a moment to stop and breathe, either. She's nominated for her first Golden Globe this year, Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for The Sinner, so Timberlake will be providing the supportive arm on the red carpet on Sunday.
Reached on the morning she found out about the nomination (a few hours later, because son Silas was staying with his grandma and Mom luxuriously slept in), Biel admitted she was "a little in shock."
"It's one of those things where you always hope you would be lucky enough to be a part of a nominated committee of women or of great projects," she told EW.com. But you just never know and the competition is fierce. I never really thought this would happen. This, for me, is a huge high moment. In this business, the moments can come and go really quickly, so you've got to seize these good ones. I'm just grateful."
Biel also just found out that she's nominated for a 2018 Critics' Choice Award for the USA series, in which she places a wife and mom, seemingly content but haunted by a past trauma, who violently kills a man (in the first episode) and is willing to just plead guilty and go to prison—but a grizzled detective played by Bill Pullman wants to know why.
The Sinner, which Biel executive-produced as well, has proved to be one of her most challenging projects, ever, and you can bet who's been in her corner since day one.
"OK, I know I'm not exactly fair and maybe biased here, but my wife's new show – @thesinnerusa – is amazing," Timberlake Instagrammed last summer. "It's like nothing I've seen her in before, and she's incredible in the role."
"He's been, honestly, my biggest supporter throughout the whole experience," Biel told Extra at the show's premiere in New York. "This has been such an intense work experience for my family. I haven't ever worked full-time while having a child. When you do that, your partner has to take up all the slack. He's just been an angel and been so supportive of this for me and my career and this moment—it's been really nice."
Since starting out more than 10 years ago as a super-young, tabloid-magnet couple whom the paparazzi couldn't get enough, they've certainly settled into more of an easy-going, grown-up groove (whom, of course, the paparazzi still can't get enough of).
Timberlake, the hottest thing since toasted bread on his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour, and Biel, fresh from her run as Mary Camden on 7th Heaven, started dating in 2007. They were an instant golden couple, the boy band idol turned solo star and the hot actress, and they were constant companions for years.
"We had been dating for a little bit..." she recalled sensing Timberlake was The One in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. "There was just a moment when I called a girlfriend and I said, 'I'm going to marry this guy. I don't necessarily know why, but I think a lot of people feel that way. It's not a tangible moment where you're like, 'This is it,' it just is, somehow."
A brief breakup in 2011, over almost before it began, mainly served to cement Timberlake's devotion.
"She is the single-handedly most significant person in my life," he told Vanity Fair about his ex while the wound from the split was still fresh. "In my 30 years, she is the most special person, O.K.? I don't want to say much more, because I have to protect things that are dear to me—for instance, her."
They confirmed that they had broken up that March, but by the time Justin's interview was published June 1, they were on the road to reconciliation.
And the breakup had made him think. Asked if he thought about starting a family one day, he said, "as little as six months ago I wouldn't have even thought about that, but now it feels like a closer planet orbiting around."
Talking about celebrities' tendency to flock together, Timberlake added, "Why do you think we wind up dating each other, and feeling more comfortable around each other? We understand what it's like. 'Oh, thank God—finally, somebody who knows how I feel.' It's refuge."
Timberlake proposed that December and they got married in Italy in October 2012. Silas was born in 2015.
And in the five years since, knowing how the other person feels also comes in handy when their careers are skyrocketing and they're balancing insane schedules, not just when the paparazzi are pouncing and the tabloids are reporting on a new rumor every week.
"We have similar values; we believe in loyalty, honesty. We like to have fun. We like a lot of the same things," Biel told Marie Claire last year. "Also, in the business, we're all very career-oriented, and you have to be a little selfish. I understand that about my peers—about being focused and driven—and if you can find that and someone who shares the same values as you, it's like: Score!"
So while she's scoring accolades for the juiciest role of her career and Timberlake is getting ready to play the Super Bowl, they continue to find refuge in each other. They've also propped each other up along the way.
Stop us if you've heard this one before, but Biel told ET in October about her husband's big gig: "It's going to be good. I guess I could be a little bit biased, but I think he puts on the best show of anybody."
And Timberlake told E! News at the Golden Globes last year, when Biel was there supporting his nomination: "My wife is the greatest of all time."