Julia Roberts and Danny Moder first met on the set of The Mexican in 2000 and have been married for over 20 years

Julia Roberts and Danny Moder. PHOTO: ROB LATOUR/VARIETY/PENSKE MEDIA 

After more than 20 years together, Julia Roberts and Danny Moder have solidified their status as one of Hollywood’s most inspiring couples.

The pair met on the set of the 2001 film The Mexican and later tied the knot in a super-private ceremony held on Independence Day in 2002. They share three children — son Henry and twins Hazel and Phinnaeus.

Roberts and Moder have tried to keep their family life as private as possible, with the exception of an occasional date night, red carpet appearance or sweet birthday tribute.

“We try to protect our kids,” the Pretty Woman star told USA Today in 2013. “We just want to have our family life and not have that intruded upon.”

From collaborating onscreen to raising their family together, here’s a complete breakdown of Julia Roberts and Danny Moder’s sweet relationship timeline.

Spring 2000: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder meet on the set of The Mexican

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Roberts and Moder first met in 2000 when they filmed the movie The Mexican. Moder was working as a cameraman on the film, while Roberts starred as Brad Pitt’s love interest, Samantha. At the time, the cinematographer was married to celebrity makeup artist Vera Steimberg, while the Pretty Woman star was dating Benjamin Bratt.

In June 2001, Roberts split from Bratt after nearly four years together. Moder’s divorce from Steimberg was finalized in early 2002.

“He sorted his whole thing out, separate and apart from me,” Roberts later told Oprah. “And I sorted my life out, separate and apart from him. I think that’s the only reason we were able to ultimately fall in love with each other and be together.”

July 4, 2002: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder get married

On July 4, 2002, the couple tied the knot at Roberts’ 82-acre ranch in Taos, New Mexico.

The ceremony was kept secret, with guests invited to simply “celebrate Independence Day.” But at midnight, flickering candles and Chinese lanterns appeared, and Roberts and Moder surprised the crowd by stepping into a circle of scattered rose petals to exchange simple handwritten vows.

“She’s gloriously happy,” costume designer Michael Dennison — who created Roberts’s pale pink cotton wedding dress, which was decorated with pearls and hand-painted flowers — told PEOPLE at the time. “These two people are deeply in love.”

May 31, 2004: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder confirm they’re expecting twins

Almost two years into their marriage, Roberts’ spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that the actress was expecting twins with Moder and was due to give birth in early 2005.

A week later, Roberts jetted off to Italy to stay at costar George Clooney’s Lake Como house while shooting Ocean’s 12. “I was pregnant for the first time, and you would have thought I was made of glass,” the actress revealed during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “They just wanted to dress me in cotton balls and usher me. It was really, really charming.”

November 28, 2004: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder welcome twins

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On Nov. 28, 2004, Roberts and Moder welcomed their twins, Phinnaeus and Hazel.

“Hazel is an old-fashioned name, and she’s a strong, perfect Hazel,” Roberts said during a 2009 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.

As for Phinnaeus, “My husband wanted to name him Finn, which I quite liked, but it seemed like a nickname,” the actress explained on Live with Regis and Kelly. “So I said we had to have a proper name, and then we can call him Finn.”

December 29, 2006: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder confirm they’re expecting again

In December 2006, a spokesperson for Roberts confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple would be welcoming their third child together that summer.

The following April, a chic, black-clad Roberts showed off her growing baby bump while greeting fans on the set of her film Fireflies in the Garden in Austin, Texas.

June 18, 2007: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder welcome their third child

In June 2007, Roberts and Moder officially welcomed their third child to the family, a baby boy named Henry Daniel.

“[Henry woke up the other morning and said], ‘It’s a beautiful day, Mama.’ Which makes 5:30 [a.m.] a whole lot prettier,” Roberts told Oprah in 2010. “That’s the thing about being new to the world, you’re just so … impressed with everything. The older you get, the grumpier you get.”

August 11, 2014: Danny Moder praises Julia Roberts’ acting chops

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After scoring an Emmy nomination for outstanding cinematography for a miniseries or movie for his work on The Normal Heart — an HBO movie about the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in the early 1980s — Moder selflessly gave his wife props for her performance in the film as Dr. Emma Brookner.

“It was a challenging role,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It wasn’t a sexy role, but, wow, what she brought to it, I was really impressed.”

That same month, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network announced that Roberts and Moder would be honored with the organization’s Humanitarian Award for their commitment to raising awareness about HIV.

“We are proud to recognize Danny Moder & Julia Roberts, whose inspiring work on HBO’s The Normal Heart has brought renewed attention to an important movement – and an on-going crisis – in LGBT and American history,” GLSEN said in a statement.

August 26, 2014: Danny Moder shares first photo with Julia Roberts on Instagram

Following The Normal Heart‘s win for outstanding television movie at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Moder shared his first photo with Roberts on Instagram.

He posted a photo of the couple standing on the Emmy red carpet, though only their shadows are visible. In the succinct caption, Moder wrote: ” ‘Normal Heart’ wins best movie.”

Moder previously shared an image of a solo Roberts enjoying some scenery on his Instagram in May 2014.

November 8, 2015: Julia Roberts calls Danny Moder her “favorite person on earth”

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In an interview with PEOPLE in November 2015, Roberts opened up about working with her cinematographer husband on the set of Secret in Her Eyes.

“It was amazing. It was so great. He’s my favorite person on the planet, so I love spending time with him and I love his work ethic,” she said. “His point of view is really valuable to me.”

May 12, 2016: Danny Moder shares a BTS photo of Julia Roberts getting glam for Cannes

In May 2016, Roberts’ face appeared on Moder’s Instagram feed for the first time — at least in profile.

The cinematographer gave his followers an artistic glimpse of his wife’s glam squad getting her ready for her first-ever appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, where she attended the screening of her movie The Money Monster with costar Clooney.

April 19, 2017: Julia Roberts discusses her marriage to Danny Moder in PEOPLE’s World’s Most Beautiful issue

Roberts was named PEOPLE’s World’s Most Beautiful Woman in April 2017 for a record fifth time. In the issue’s cover story, the actress revealed that a perfect day for her is one filled with lots of family time.

She also disclosed that she was still in awe of Moder, even as their marriage approached its 14th year.

“I mean, every day my husband walks in the door it’s like a recurring dream,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Ah, he’s back!’ “

July 4, 2017: Danny Moder posts a 15th anniversary tribute to Julia Roberts

In honor of the couple’s crystal anniversary, Moder posted a sweet tribute to Roberts on Instagram.

“This pretty lady and I have been following each other around for awhile,” he captioned an image of his wife walking through a field of tall grass blades. “Married 15 years today. And look how green our garden still is!!! Love you.”

September 4, 2018: Julia Roberts shares a sweet Instagram photo with Danny Moder

Roberts shared a rare photo of herself and Moder on Instagram on Sept. 4, 2018. In the beach image, the couple embraced in the sand while Roberts’ light pink tulle dress swirled around her.

“Oh, Summer, thank you! You made us happy and brave,” the actress wrote in the caption. “We embraced every moment of sun drenched JOY ☀️ #familytime.”

October 2018: Julia Roberts discusses how rumors about her and Danny Moder’s marriage takes a toll

In an October 2018 interview with Oprah for Harper’s Bazaar, Roberts got candid about how much it hurt to see negative tabloid coverage of her marriage.

“Sometimes we are in the grocery store and I won’t even know something is out, but we’ll see a tabloid and we’ll all be standing there like, ‘Oh, that’s uncomfortable.

This is really uncomfortable,'” she explained. “It can still hurt my feelings, because I’m so proud of my marriage. We just celebrated being married for 16 years this Fourth of July, and there’s so much happiness wrapped up in what we’ve found together.”

November 2018: Julia Roberts describes meeting Danny Moder as a “seismic shift”

While appearing on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop podcast in November 2018, Roberts said that meeting Moder was the first real seismic shift in her life.

“Getting married to Danny. That was the first, like, my life will never be the same in the most incredible, indescribable way,” she said. “The best decision I ever made in my entire life was to hitch my wagon to Danny Moder.”

January 6, 2019: Julia Roberts shares a PDA selfie with Danny Moder

After attending the Golden Globes in January 2019, Roberts — who was up for best actress in a television drama for her leading role in the Amazon original Homecoming — shared a fun post-show selfie on Instagram.

In the image, Roberts and Moder smooched in the backseat of a car while the actress happily clutched an In-N-Out burger.

“Fun Night W My Fella,” she captioned the photo. “Congratulations to All! And to all a good ( burger) night.”

July 4, 2019: Julia Roberts celebrates their 17th wedding anniversary by wearing a T-shirt with Danny Moder on it

To kick off the couple’s wedding anniversary in July 2019, Roberts posted a celebratory selfie on Instagram that featured her wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a young Moder popping a wheelie on his bike.

She captioned the pic, “💖17 Years💖 #TheWheelieKingsWife💫.”

July 4, 2021: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder celebrate their 19th anniversary

The couple shared sweet social media posts in July 2021 to celebrate 19 years of marriage.

Roberts’ picture featured the couple hugging on the beach while wrapped up in a towel. “19 years. Just getting started!” the Oscar winner wrote in the caption.

Alongside his own photo of the pair, Moder wrote, “Today we start our 20th year of marriage. This photo was on a dusty road before that big idea … just holding onto this beautiful girl one day at a time. One epic day at a time.”

February 14, 2022: Julia Roberts shares a Valentine’s tribute to Danny Moder

In February 2022, Roberts shared not one but two Valentine’s Day posts for Moder on Instagram.

The first, a video clip, showed Roberts happily jumping into the air while wearing a black sweatshirt with a white heart that read “DANNY.” For her second post, Roberts drew a heart over a shot of her and Moder kissing, then captioned it with a smiling face emoji.

April 14, 2022: Julia Roberts shares how she and Danny Moder are raising their kids to speak up for themselves

While promoting her Starz series Gaslit in April 2022, Roberts spoke to E!’s Daily Pop about leading by example while raising her three children with Moder.

“I think it’s our personal responsibility to advocate for ourselves,” the actress explained. “I think that my husband and I both are people of strong convictions and opinions and compassions and I think that we try to instill that in our kids as much by example as by preaching.”

April 2022: Julia Roberts reveals how she plans to celebrate 20 years of marriage to Danny Moder

Ahead of Roberts and Moder’s 20th wedding anniversary, the actress shared how the pair planned on celebrating the milestone.

“Twenty years kissin’ Danny Moder,” she joked during an April 2022 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, telling the host that the couple plans to mark the occasion with “more kissing!”

“That’s the secret — never stop kissing.” she said. “Two bathroom sinks and lots of kissing.”

July 4, 2022: Julia Roberts celebrates 20 years of marriage with Danny Moder

On July 4, 2022, Roberts posted a throwback photo of her and Moder on Instagram to celebrate a milestone moment — their 20th wedding anniversary.

“⭐️TWENTY⭐️ #can’tstopsmiling😊 #can’tstopkissing😘” she captioned the post.

September 21, 2022: Julia Roberts wears a gown embroidered with Danny Moder’s initials

Roberts wore a sentimental, one-of-a-kind gown to the world premiere of Ticket to Paradise in London. The custom Alexander McQueen garment was stamped with her and Moder’s initials along with the year they wed. The floor-length black lace gown also had the initials and birth dates of their three children: Henry, Hazel and Phinnaeus.

The words “Hope,” “Darling” and “Love” were seen on the dress as well.

October 9, 2022: Julia Roberts saved the first letter Danny Moder ever wrote her

During an interview for CBS Sunday Morning, Roberts told Jane Pauley that she and Moder have always written letters to one another.

“I have the first letter he ever wrote me. And one day, I’ll show it to Hazel and say, ‘That’s, that’s what you’re looking for,’ ” the actress said.

She went on to say that her family is her “dream come true.”

“The life that I’ve built with my husband. The life that we’ve built with our children. That’s the best stuff,” Roberts said.

December 4, 2022: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder attend the Kennedy Center Honors

Roberts and Moder stepped out in Washington, D.C. to honor their long-time friend, George Clooney, when he was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors. The couple were photographed standing together and smiling at the event.

Moder looked dapper in a black suit while Roberts was seen in a custom Moschino that featured a collage of framed photos of Clooney.

July 4, 2023: Julia Roberts celebrates her and Danny Moder’s 21st anniversary

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Roberts marked her and Moder’s anniversary by sharing a romantic photo on Instagram of the pair kissing.

“💥 21 💥 #truelove #heckyeah #fromhereonout,” she wrote in the caption.

December 4, 2023: Julia Roberts calls Danny Moder the “anchor” of their family

While appearing on the Today show, Roberts gushed about her husband, calling him the “anchor” of their family.

“It all starts with Danny Moder,” she said. “He is our person and, in the most beautiful way, the captain of our ship.”

February 14, 2024: Julia Roberts shares a tribute to Danny Moder in honor of Valentine’s Day

Roberts shared a photo of her and Moder kissing on Instagram in honor of Valentine’s Day, though it wasn’t clear when the photo was taken.

“My Forever Valentine ♥️ ⚡️ysb ⚡️,”  she captioned the picture.