Tate Donovan found himself in the headlines last year after both Sandra Bullock and Jennifer
Aniston recalled dating the actor in the 90s.
Well, how can we miss that?
Today, we’re taking a look at Sandra and Tate’s romance that wouldn’t have happened
without George Clooney, their breakup, and the longstanding friendship between Bullock
and Aniston that was born out of dating the same guy.
Tate Donovan and Sandra Bullock’s relationship bloomed on the set of 1992’s Love Potion
No.9.
While most of us would rather forget that this movie exists, Sandy remembers filming
it fondly.
In an interview she gave to Vanity Fair in 1995, the actor revealed that she “chased
Donovan like a dog.”
And, there’s maybe more…
Though no names were mentioned, back in 2015, Bullock revealed that her good pal and on-screen
brother George Clooney helped her get with a man she would have liked to be her boyfriend
at the time.
“When I came out after I spent time with George, George went to him and said, ‘If
you don’t marry her, I will,’” Bullock said.
Apparently, that was enough to get Tate to want to hang out with The Unforgivable star.
“So, we were together for four years after that, thanks to George,” Bullock added.
And yes, she may have another 4-year romance under her belt that she’s kept out of the
spotlight, but the only public relationship around that length was between her and Tate
Donovan.
Today, after all the struggles and heartbreak, Bullock stands as one of the most private
celebrities, but back in the 90s, Sandy was something of an open book.
Even after her split from Tate, the actor couldn’t help but gush over her ex-boyfriend,
saying how much she adored him.
“It’s like they say, there’s one person in your life, and Tate and I are closer than
any two people I’ve ever experienced in my life.
There’s nobody that means more to me, and I know for a fact that I mean the most to
him, in that certain way.”
She opened up to Rolling Stone post-split in a similarly candid way, lamenting, “You
have one great love in life, and I’ve had it.”
Oh, wow.
More than a year after the split, Bullock told Barbara Walters that he brought out everything
in her that was good, that was bad, that was suppressed.
“Everybody has one that is apart from all the rest,” she said, revealing that Donovan
was the first person she didn’t hold at arm’s length.
“I don’t think you ever get over something that is honest,” she admitted.
“It takes a lot for me to fall in love.
A lot.
And knowing him was the greatest gift to myself and to my personality — and to my work,
in sort of opening the door.”
Also, we can’t help but note that their style was unparalleled.
No words.
Just look at that.
Despite Sandra’s candidness and all the love she sent Tate’s way at the time of
their breakup, the actor never revealed the exact reason the two decided to go their separate
ways.
The actor said she can’t explain why things worked out the way they did.
Clearly, the spotlight wasn’t helping.
According to Sandra, it drove Tate crazy.
And whenever she did an interview, the last person she wanted to talk about was her, so
she would just talk about him for hours.
That said, Bullock refuted Barbara Walters’s claim that perhaps her burgeoning career contributed
to the breakup.
The journalist brought up the rumors that circulated, blaming the couple’s separation
on Bullock’s rising fame while Donovan was still a struggling actor.
“Never in a million years do I think that success is what pushed a love away,” she
replied.
“Because two good, honest people, just because it doesn’t work doesn’t mean they can’t
stay friends … it doesn’t make anybody the bad guy.
We both made mistakes, and you’ve got to go on.”
Reasons aside, Bullock said at the time that it’s going to be a long time before she
can trust anyone again.
And dating another actor was not exactly a priority for her.
“It’s like casting agents are the perfect dating store.
They put you together with someone who is beautiful, exceptionally charismatic…
I’m insecure enough, and secure enough, to say that really scares me.
I don’t want somebody to leave me for another great actress.”
However, she did date more actors.
Occupational hazard, might we suggest?
The actor reportedly shared quiet romances with co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Ryan
Gosling before marrying West Coast Choppers founder Jesse James in 2005.
They divorced five years later.
The same year that Bullock and James separated, the Unforgivable star adopted son, Louis . Five
years after welcoming the baby boy, daughter Laila joined the family.
Though Sandra generally keeps her private life, well, private, the actor has been dating
photographer Bryan Randall since around 2015.
Tate Donovan got married the very same year Sandra did to actor Corinne Kingsbury . They
split three years later.
Sadly, his current relationship status is unknown.
Dating Donovan, though, was something of a 90s rite of passage for A-listers.
By that, we mean Jennifer Aniston also did it.
Apparently, Jen and Sandra have more than just stellar acting careers in common.
In fact, it was this mutual flame that sparked Bullock and Aniston’s long-standing friendship.
Last year, Bullock interviewed Aniston for Interview Magazine, and what resulted read
like a thread of messages that you would share with your best friend.
Then, you’d read it back again when you missed them, even if you did date the same
guy.
During the conversation, the actors reminisced about being introduced by their ex.
Apparently, they were introduced by their former boyfriend.
“I say ‘our’ because you and I both partook of this one human being,” Sandy
continued, with Jen noting the setting of their introduction was at a CAA party following
the Golden Globes back in the day.
When Tate and Jen were set up by friends in 1995, Aniston was pretty smitten with the
actor, saying how real, honest, kind and considerate he was.
“He’s all these things meshed into one perfect guy,” she said.
Bullock described Donovan as a very patient human being, quote “given that he dated
us both.”
Aniston added that he seems to have a type.
“Talented.
Funny.
Kind.
Introspective.
Generous,” Bullock volunteered.
“Lovers of architecture, lovers of interior design,” Aniston elaborated.
Surely, in due time, the interview caught the attention of Tate Donovan himself.
Yes, he’s very aware they spoke about him.
“It was sent to me like 70 times!”
Tate said of the viral interview.
Thankfully, the two actors only had nice things to say about their shared ex.
“Trust me, I definitely read it,” Donovan said when asked if he saw the article.
“It was very nice.
That was very nice of them, they’re both very sweet,” he added.
When asked if he was surprised by the number of headlines it generated — with news items
popping up on PEOPLE, Fox News, Page Six, Today, Us, E! and more — he said he was
more shocked by how many people connected to him about it.
“I was like, wow, that’s crazy,” he added.
The former O.C.
actor admitted he wasn’t aware of Jennifer’s budding celebrity at the time, saying he didn’t
know who she was as he’s never seen Friends.
But having that experience of dating someone uber-famous in his relationship with Bullock,
Donovan reportedly broke it off with Aniston after just three weeks.
“Literally, our second date, there were video cameras everywhere, and I was like,
‘I’m out of here,’” he revealed, yet the couple soon got back together.
Tate eventually landed a six-episode role on Friends as Jennifer’s love interest during
the show’s fourth season.
Still, the timing was less than perfect, since he and Aniston were in the process of going
on a permanent break.
The actor was really happy to be on the team, but the breaking up thing was a real bummer,
according to Donovan.
We can only assume how tricky it was to act like they were just meeting each other, and
falling in love, when they were breaking up.
That must’ve been tough.
Following the Golden Globes run-in with both Aniston and Bullock, Donovan said that all
was well between him and his famous exes.
“I mean, it’s been 150 years, so if you can’t bury the hatchet in that amount of
time, something’s wrong with you.”
Amen, Tate Donovan.
During that fateful interview Bullock and Aniston shared, they also took turns complimenting
each other in a way that feels new to society but not to them.
“The conversation about women supporting each other and coming together is new,”
noted Bullock.
Aniston agreed, adding that they have been doing it for a long time.
Jennifer said she’d tried her whole life to focus on the journey and not worry about
the outcome.
“We get to keep going.
We don’t have a shelf life anymore.
Our shelf life is whatever we want,” Bullock pointed out.
“And we’ll all be at the same nursing home,” she added.
“I’ll help you with your teeth, you’ll help me with my diapers.”
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