The ‘Twilight’ stars famous met on the set of the vampire movie and dated for four years before splitting in 2013
For Twilight fans, the only thing better than seeing Bella Swan and Edward Cullen’s romance play out on-screen was watching Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s off-screen relationship develop in real life.
The former couple met and fell in love while filming the first movie in the hit vampire franchise, which was released in 2008. Although Stewart and Pattinson initially played it coy when it came to share their relationship status with the public, Twilight fans were thrilled to see their favorite fiction couple get together.
During a 2019 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Stewart confessed that “there was nothing [she] could do” about falling in love with Pattinson on the set of the franchise.
“We were together for years,” the Spencer star said, later calling Pattinson her first love. “I was super in love with my high school boyfriend… But me and Rob were like a little older and it was just like, gu-gung.”
Despite their chemistry on- and off-set, Stewart and Pattinson’s romance hit a rough patch in 2012 when it was revealed that Stewart had a brief fling with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, Although the Twilight actors reconnected ultimately after news of Stewart’s infidelity broke, their reconciliation was short-lived, and they went their separate ways for good in 2013.
Years later, both Twilight stars moved on: Stewart has been engaged to fiancée Dylan Meyer since 2021, and Pattinson has been dating actress and singer Suki Waterhouse since 2018. In November 2023, Waterhouse revealed that she and the Water for Elephants actor are expecting their first child together.
From their early connection on the Twilight set to their eventual breakup and what they’ve said about each other since, here’s a look back at Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s relationship.
2007: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart meet
Stewart and Pattinson had plenty of chemistry during their first meeting at an audition for Twilight.
The film’s director Catherine Hardwicke opened up to PEOPLE in 2018 about when the actors first met, saying that it was important to her that Bella Swan and Edward Cullen had “great chemistry.”
Recalling Stewart’s first read with Pattinson, Hardwicke said, “It was funny because they were both pretty shy and kind of a little nervous and awkward.”
“I said, ‘Okay, let’s go do the biology scene where you guys first meet.’ So we went to my kitchen table for that scene and you can see pretty quickly that they were vibing off of each other,” the director continued. “It was pretty positive. After the end of their audition, I could tell that there was a lot of electricity and chemistry.”
November 5, 2008: Robert Pattinson says Kristen Stewart is “very cool”
Vanity Fair asked Pattinson about his screen test for Twilight in a 2008 Q&A, during which the actor reflected on his first time meeting Stewart.
“Casting was really easygoing, and Kristen is also very cool, but at the same time there is something very, very serious about her,” he noted. “I really wasn’t expecting the girl who plays Bella to be like her at all. Her professionalism made me keep my mouth shut whenever I wasn’t acting. It further gave the illusion of being serious.”
November 17, 2008: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson pose for photos at the Twilight premiere
Stewart and Pattinson hit the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Twilight, where they posed for photos while looking into each other’s eyes.
The movie debuted in theaters a few days later on November 21. The film version of Stephenie Meyers’ fan-favorite book series became a bonafide box office hit, turning Stewart, Pattinson and the rest of the cast into household names.
May 31, 2009: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson tease a kiss at the MTV Movie Awards
Stewart and Pattinson won the award for best kiss at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. The pair showed off their chemistry onstage, teasing viewers with an almost kiss before the actress turned her head away and said, “Thank you so much.”
August 2009: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are rumored to be more than costars
Before heading to Vancouver to film Eclipse, Stewart and Pattinson enjoyed back-to-back nights of concerts. The pair participated in Bobby Long’s concert at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood and returned the following night to catch Pattinson’s friend Marcus Foster.
“Kristen and Rob, just the two of them, came in and walked towards the curtained-off area on stage where they watched Marcus,” a source told PEOPLE. “They [seemed] to go unnoticed.”
February 2009: Kristen Stewart denies rumors of romance between her and Robert Pattinson
In an interview with NYLON, Stewart stated that rumors of a romance between her and her on-screen love interest were “totally false.”
