Jen & Vince's Real-Life Break-Up

Tue., Dec. 5, 2006 8:58 PM PST by Natalie Finn

Just when you thought it was safe to refer to Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn as a committed couple, they go and call the whole thing off.

"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," publicists Stephen Huvane and John Pisani said in a joint statement Tuesday.

With stories of their demise gracing magazine covers, the former Friends star traveled to London in October to visit Vaughn on the set of his latest film, the Christmas comedy Fred Claus. Earlier that month Aniston had appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show to dispel the breakup talk, telling the talk-show maven "no, no" when asked if Vaughniston was no more.

Vaughn, meanwhile, threatened to sue a handful of tabloids that ran an item alleging he had been spotted kissing a "mystery blonde."

Oprah actually seems to have been the unofficial sounding board for what was and what wasn't throughout their year-long relationship. In August, Aniston called in to call rumors of an elaborate wedding (Winfrey footing the $8 million bill, etc.) "so unbelievable."

"People are getting fed a lot of bull," the 36-year-old actress told People afterward, pointing out that she had received neither a ring nor a proposal from Vaughn and calling the hubbub "insane."

"Normally we don't even acknowledge these things, because they're endless," Aniston said, "but at this point, the thing that got me was that I was getting phone calls from Greece! My Aunt Mary in Greece is getting accused of lying! I mean, they're getting angry. My dad calls and he says, 'Honey, it's on the CNN crawl,' and I'm going, 'Wait a second!' "

Though various tabloids claimed to have all the romantic details of this so-called proposal, a source told E! Online Senior Editor Marc Malkin that Vaughn never popped the question.

Aniston and Vaughn started dating in 2005 while they were working on The Break-Up in Chicago, a coupling that millions of people suspected long before it was ever confirmed. Although they avoided walking the red carpet together, the duo were photographed looking awfully friendly at a sporting event, an aquarium and while taking a cozy boat ride in Paris.

"She's awesome," Vaughn told People at the time, supposedly talking about his "friend," Jennifer Aniston. "She has just a wonderful warmth and likeability about her."

Aniston, who was rebounding from her divorce from Brad Pitt, likewise told Vanity Fair, "I adore Vince Vaughn, but I'm not going out with Vince Vaughn."

Only now, however, does that statement appear to be true.