So when a mutual friend offered to bring the Emmy nominee, 44, to the opening night of his FutureSex/LoveSounds tour in San Diego on Jan. 8, 2007, “I said, ‘I could be into that,'” the 45-year-old reflected. “Patience may not be my strong suit but, apparently, playing coy is.”
His long game in full effect, he offered Biel and her pals a ride back to L.A. on his tour bus and after they spent the whole ride deep in conversation, he asked for her number.
Still, he shared, “We didn’t date at first. For about two weeks, we talked on the phone, because I was on tour.”
Even once they had that talk, each continued playing the field as “it took a bit for both of us to admit to ourselves that were were really, really that into each other,” Timberlake revealed. But he couldn’t stop the feeling that they had something worth committing to.
When his 121-show run ended that December, “We spent a month together,” he detailed. “After that, I said, ‘I really want to be exclusive.’ And, somehow, she said, ‘So do I.'”