Longtime partners Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons definitely have a knack for playing onscreen love interests, and TG for that because they tend to keep their offscreen relationship pretty under wraps. But big news in case ya didn’t know: they transformed their showmance into the real thing when they got engaged in 2017!
In case you haven’t seen the IRL couple share screen time as newlyweds in The Power of the Dog on Netflix (run, don’t walk), it’s about that time we take a stroll through their ’ship history. They might not be Kravis level with their PDA, but they’re definitely cute. Proof?
They share two kids (and Oscar noms, nbd) together and tied the knot in 2022. As for their early days and everything in between, check out their full relationship timeline below.
2015
Kirsten and Jesse met while filming the second season of Fargo. Look at them at the after-party for the season premiere, aww:
April 2016
Kirsten and her then-boyfriend, actor Garrett Hedlund (who later dated Emma Roberts), called it quits after more than four years together. Their last public outing was at the 2016 Golden Globes in January 2016 (keep this in mind!), so many fans were shocked by the split.
June 2016
Not at all soon after the split from Garrett, Jesse and Kirsten were first spotted together in public, and rumors of them dating spread expeditiously. I mean, they even packed on a bit of PDA with a lil smooch behind a fence, so it’s not like the speculation was too far off.
January 2017
Page Six reported news of Jesse and Kirsten getting engaged, allegedly over Golden Globes weekend. Seems like the event was big for Kirsten! We love that for her.
December 2017
Rumors swirled about Kirsten being pregnant with her and Jesse’s first child in December 2017, but the news wasn’t confirmed by the actor herself until January 2018. The way she announced? Just in a super-chic shoot for Rodarte’s autumn/winter 2018 portrait series titled “Women That Inspire Us,” casual.
The epic announcement came after Kirsten told Marie Claire UK she was ready to have a few kiddos “I’m at a stage in my life where I’m like, I’ve been working since I was 3. It’s time to have babies and chill,” she said in the July 2017 issue. “I wasn’t one of those ‘I need a baby!’ people until my goddaughter was born. I love her so much. That love is just like…you can’t experience that unless you have a kid. I put her to bed last night and she woke up this morning and said to her mom, ‘Where’s Kiki?’ I just love that love. That’s what I want.”
May 2018
It’s a boy! Jesse and Kirsten’s first child is born and the couple names him Ennis. Aww.
August 2019
Kirsten receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (yay!), and she and her adorable family are actually seen out together in the public eye. Look at sweet little Ennis supporting his mama:
Jesse called Kirsten his “wife” in a speech during the honors ceremony, so naturally speculation grew that the duo secretly tied the knot.
September 2019
About those secret wedding rumors…Kirsten succinctly cleared it all up on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September 2019. “Fiancé, we’re not married yet,” she said.
March 2021
Kirsten announced her second pregnancy in an equally fire way as the first: while on the cover of W magazine for its annual Directors Issue.
June 2021
The couple welcomed their second child, another boy, in a hush-hush way. The Daily Mail released photos of the actor holding her new baby in a carriage just two weeks after she gave birth.
September 2021
Kirsten officially announced the birth of her and Jesse’s second son—4-month-old James Robert—in a profile with the New York Times. “This is the newest guy, the big kahuna,” she said. “He’s an angel, but he’s a hungry angel. And a heavy angel.”
February 2022
The couple stepped out for the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards and looked amazing:
That same month, Kirsten told the Los Angeles Times, “We call each other husband and wife. But we have to get married at this point. It’s ridiculous. We just haven’t planned a wedding. There was COVID, then we had another child. I didn’t want to be pregnant, get married, have a party, and not be able to have fun with everybody.”
March 2022
With red carpet season in full effect, Jesse and Kirsten made several appearances (and we can expect another coming up tonight thanks to the Oscars!):
July 8, 2022
Jesse and Kirsten are married! Details are still fully under wraps, but Kirsten’s team confirmed the happy news to The Hollywood Reporter. Congrats!
August 31, 2022
The couple helped celebrate Aaron Paul’s 43rd b-day at The Fleur Room in West Hollywood, California, and they looked ever so chic and casual as they headed into the party. Check out all the pics right this way.
January 23, 2023
These two were all smiles as they sat front row to watch the Christian Dior Haute Couture spring/summer 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week. Clearly, the couple who PFWs together stays together. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself because it sounds so iconic, lol.
April 26, 2023
Kirsten joins Jesse on the red carpet for the premiere of his HBO Max true crime series, Love & Death.
The actor also told Entertainment Weekly how they rely on each other for support when it comes to taking on new roles and projects.
“As soon as there’s a script or a potential project that we’re deciding whether or not to do, we’re usually just pestering the other one to read the script so they can give their input,” Jesse told the publication. “I respect her opinion so much, and so I’m always curious to know what she thinks. She’s very, very smart and just has such great instincts and taste. I would say almost everything, we’re talking it out with each other.”
May 20, 2023
The couple hits the Cannes Film Festival for the official premiere of Jesse’s film, Killers of the Flower Moon (which, btw, has garnered some serious awards buzz).
May 21, 2023
The next day, the couple went on a casual stroll through Cannes.
September 19, 2023
The couple attended a dinner at LA’s Chateau Marmont to celebrate Kirsten’s friend and collaborator, Sofia Coppola.
November 4, 2023
Things were pretty quiet during the SAG-AFTRA strike, but the couple pulled up to the 2023 LACMA Art+Film Gala in coordinating Gucci looks.
November 11, 2023
Jesse and Kirsten attend the star-studded Baby2Baby Gala in Los Angeles.
January 4, 2024
New year, same stunning red carpet ~lewks.~ Kirsten and Jesse hit up the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards in coordinating all-black looks. The red carpet pretty much turned into their own personal date night: