Carson Daly Got Jennifer Love Hewitt's Name Tattooed on His Leg
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Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Carson Daly, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Who: TV host and former MTV VJ Carson Daly, 48, and Golden Globe-nominated actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, 42.
How They Met: According to a Rolling Stone interview Love Hewitt gave in 1999, she and Daly met "for literally two seconds" at the storied MTV beach house. Their paths crossed a few more times in the tanned teen bubble that is the MTV VJ-verse and they began dating in 1998.
"I think we deserve a huge round of applause," the I Know What You Did Last Summer alum told the magazine. "I think we've done a really good job — it's been almost a year now."
When They Peaked: What is more evocative of the year 1998 than this image? Daly and Love Hewitt are a late '90s time capsule from head to toe — from his tiny earring to the hem of her ruffled chiffon (!) mididress.
Steve Granitz Archive 1/WireImage
Why We Loved Them: We're more impressed by how Daly and Love Hewitt conducted themselves in the aftermath of their relationship than during it.
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In 2003, Love Hewitt roasted her ex during MTV Bash: Carson Daly. After lampooning the former TRL host for everything from his taste in women (some not-so-subtle jabs were made at Daly's ex Tara Reid, in particular) to the, uh, volume of women he's spent time with, the Ghost Whisperer star ended her monologue on a sincere note: "Having you in my life was very important to me and being your girlfriend was truly one of the best things I've ever had the honor to do."
Similarly, Daly bragged about dating Love Hewitt while riffing with Ryan Seacrest in 2006.
"I forgot you dated her," Seacrest told his New Year's Eve special rival. "She has the clearest skin."
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
"I know, dude," Daly replied. "She's prettier than a Disney princess and smoother than a baby's ass."
Sweet … we think?
The Breakup: While it's unclear exactly what happened between the pair, Daly had some qualms about the how of it all.
Daly reportedly told People that he learned about his breakup not from Love Hewitt, but Howard Stern.
"I woke up to Howard Stern telling me my relationship with [Jennifer] was over," he said. "Then I heard Steve Kmetko on E! say, 'Just off the Associated Press: Jennifer Love Hewitt and Carson Daly have officially broken up."
Daly maintained that he told his ex how he felt about the only-in-Hollywood scenario.
"If we were going to break up officially like this, maybe we could have just talked about it," he remembered telling her. "I don't see why you had to tell your publicist. And now I have been publicly humiliated."
Public humiliation notwithstanding, the exes hashed things out during an adorably awkward episode of Daly's talk show Last Call with Carson Daly in 2005.
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Daly opened up about getting a tattoo of the actress's name on his leg, and then having it covered up (allegedly at Reid's behest) with a crab claw pocket knife (yes, it's what it sounds like).
Later, the host told his guest, "I blame the breakup on you, you blame it on me."
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"For the time being, no matter what happened, I was a really good girlfriend to you and you were a great boyfriend," Love Hewitt told Daly. "We had a lot of fun and it was a good time in our lives and we should end it like that."
"It really was," Daly conceded, adding, "It ended a little weird, I gotta be honest."
"It did," Love Hewitt admitted, "but that doesn't matter."
Agree to disagree?
Still, it's clearly water under the bridge.
Daly congratulated his ex after learning that she was expecting her first child with then-fiancé Brian Hallisay in 2013. "I wish her healthy motherhood," he told Us Weekly.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
In 2018, Love Hewitt celebrated the MTV Video Music Awards with a fitting throwback of her and Daly on the red carpet 20 years prior.
Where They Are Now:
Daly is now a father of four: Jackson, 12, Etta, 9, London, 7, and Goldie, 19 months. He wed longtime girlfriend Siri Pinter in late 2015.
The TV personality has been hosting NBC's The Voice since 2011.
Love Hewitt wed Hallisay in late 2013 — five days before she gave birth to their first child: Autumn, 7. The Client List alum and her former co-star have since welcomed two more children together: Atticus, 6, and 1-month-old Aidan.
The actress currently stars on fan-favorite Fox drama 9-1-1.
