Howard Stern and Beth Stern's Relationship Timeline

Howard Stern and Beth Stern got married in 2008 after several years of dating.

The pair had a fateful first meeting in 2000 at a dinner party, where Beth happened to be on a date with someone else. However, she and Howard immediately hit it off and began dating shortly after.

At the time, Howard had recently separated from his ex-wife, Alison Berns, with whom he shares three daughters: Emily Beth, Debra Jennifer and Ashley Jade. The exes eventually finalized their divorce in 2001.

Howard and Beth went on to tie the knot in 2008 after eight years together. Now, over two decades later, their relationship is still going strong and the couple spends their days rescuing animals.

"We just really like each other at the end of the day," Beth told PEOPLE in 2017 of the secret to their long-lasting marriage. "It's like a slumber party every night. He's an incredible husband and a great friend. He's so sensitive ... so quiet and shy off the air if you can believe it."

From rescuing various pets together to renewing their vows, here's a complete timeline of Howard Stern and Beth Stern's relationship.

Early 2000: Howard and Beth first meet at a dinner party

The couple first met at a dinner party — where Beth was actually on a blind date with someone else. Beth recounted the evening on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM radio show in 2017.

Although Beth found her date "so obnoxious," she struck up a connection with Howard, who sat across from her at the restaurant.

February 22, 2003: Howard and Beth make their red carpet debut

Howard and Beth made their first major red carpet appearance at a pre-Grammys party in N.Y.C. hosted by record producer Clive Davis. Glammed up for the event, Howard wore a suit while Beth wore a plunging black dress with lace cutouts.

February 13, 2007: Howard and Beth get engaged

Seven years after meeting, the radio host revealed that he had popped the question to his longtime love.

Howard recounted the proposal on air, revealing that he presented her with the 5.2-carat diamond ring ahead of Valentine's Day and said, "I love you. You're everything to me. I'm asking you to spend the rest of your life with me."

The couple took their time in planning a wedding. That July, Howard told PEOPLE that they didn't yet have wedding plans. "We're enjoying being engaged," he said. "We like the whole idea of being engaged. We think we like it even more than the idea of being married."

October 3, 2008: Howard and Beth tie the knot

A year and a half after their engagement, the couple got married at the French restaurant Le Cirque in N.Y.C. in front of a crowd of A-listers. Notable guests included Joan Rivers, Barbara Walters, Jimmy Kimmel and Kelly Ripa. Their nuptials were officiated by Ripa's husband, Mark Consuelos, and Billy Joel performed two songs for the newlyweds.

"Beth is the most beautiful bride I've ever seen," said a friend of Howard's said. "The vows were from each others' hearts. It was gentle and soft and beautiful. People were crying."

March 31, 2011: Howard calls Beth his "equal"

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Howard reflected on his brief period of single life prior to meeting Beth.

"After my divorce, I realized, 'Oh, wow, I can go have sex.' And I was running around, picking up women," he said. "Then all of a sudden, it dawned on me that I really didn't need that much sex. I just wanted somebody with me every minute. I was using women as a surrogate mother. When I tapped into that, it suddenly became very childish behavior. And really, was it so great f------ every night? They're using me for my fame, I'm using them for their beauty, and the whole f------ thing seemed empty."

Howard also shared the mistakes from his first marriage that he wanted to avoid this time around. "In many ways, my marriage now is so easy, but I'm also aware that I could f--- things up very easily," he said. "Part of the reason I got married was that I wanted Beth to understand how important she is and also how equal I feel she is to me."

June 2011: Howard and Beth adopt two rescue cats

Howard and Beth expanded their family in 2011 when they adopted two rescue cats, Walter and Apple — whom Howard quickly fell in love with, as Beth revealed to PEOPLE.

"My husband was like, 'Sure, we can adopt cats, but you know, I love my dog,' " Beth said. "But I have to say he's just as in love with these cats as he is with Bianca the bulldog, and they've really enriched our lives to the point of just complete bliss."

She added that she overheard Howard talking to Apple one day: "He said, 'Apple, wouldn't you like to show the people that dumped you off at the shelter where you live now? Don't you want tell them to go eff themselves?' It was adorable."

April 29, 2013: Beth says she and Howard are not "wild and crazy"

In an interview with Access Hollywood, Beth revealed that, contrary to Howard's raunchy public persona, they live a very laid-back lifestyle.

"Everybody thinks, 'Oh, you're married to Howard Stern… You must be laughing all the time,' " she said. "Yes, we are laughing all the time, but our lives together, it is not crazy. We go to bed at 8 o'clock at night, even on the weekend ... We are definitely not wild and crazy."

The actress also shared that the couple didn't plan on having children. ​​"I'm turning 41 in July. I feel like that door is closing," she said. "We really talked about it and considered it last year and the year before, but I think we're really fine without children."

January 31, 2014: Beth celebrates Howard's 60th birthday

Beth cozied up to her husband at his star-studded 60th birthday celebration at Hammerstein Ballroom in N.Y.C. The epic event was broadcast on SiriusXM and brought together a slew of A-listers, including Robert Downey Jr., Katie Couric, Lena Dunham and Dave Grohl, among others, according to Entertainment Weekly.

February 13, 2017: Beth discusses Howard's romantic side

Ahead of Valentine's Day 2017, Beth discussed her husband's soft side during an appearance on PEOPLE Now.

"You know what he's into now? He's into water painting, so he's been painting for me and there's been some kind of project going on in his art room," she shared of Howard. "I think he's painting me a wonderful Valentine's gift."

She added, "Howard is such a romantic and he's got the biggest heart. He supports my mission to save animals and he's right there with me."

August 14, 2017: Beth recalls her first night with Howard

During an appearance on Radio Andy, Beth opened up about her first encounter with Howard — and how it evolved into a 4 a.m. rendezvous.

Initially set up on a blind date with a guy who was "so obnoxious," she was delighted when Howard walked in. She noticed he was "in the grumpiest mood" and there was another woman trying to flirt with him. "She was like, 'Oh, Howard, you're so beautiful, you've got the most beautiful eyes,' " Beth recalled. Jokingly imitating the woman later that evening, Beth repeated the compliment.

"I walked over to Howard and flipped my hair back. I'm like, 'You've got the most beautiful eyes.' And he looked at me and he goes, 'I do?' ... And he did! And that was our moment," she said. "He looked at me — he looked through my soul."

Around 2 a.m., the couple exchanged numbers. At 4 a.m., Beth's phone rang. "He said, 'What are you doing? ... Do you want to come over and watch a movie?' " she recalled. "So I threw my overalls on, put my baseball cap on and we have been together ever since. That was 17 years ago."

March 10, 2018: Howard and Beth foster a cat

The couple, who are major animal lovers and rescue advocates, fostered a 3-month-old kitten named Olive after Howard read about the abuse she had undergone. The kitten had been placed inside a freezer and thrown from a second-story balcony, and Howard decided they needed to track down the little one.

"He looked at me and said, 'We have to get this kitten,' " Beth told PEOPLE. "I called my friends at North Shore Animal League America and they reached out to Fontana's Animal Services."

January 25, 2019: Beth addresses rumors that she and Howard Split

Rumors began swirling in January 2019 that Howard and Beth had split after the radio mogul discussed a disagreement the couple had during his show. A week later, Beth curbed the rumors during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

"Twenty years of marital bliss. I'm setting the record straight right here. I love my Howard," she said on the talk show. "He's a great guy."

October 9, 2019: Howard re-proposes to Beth

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Howard revealed that he had been trying to re-propose to Beth — and she was having none of it. "She always says no, because she thinks it's jinxed if you get married again. But I love the proposal!" he told Kimmel.

"It's so great when I propose to my wife she gets embarrassed," Howard added, before calling Beth to the stage. "Honey come up here, I want to propose."

Howard got down on one knee and popped the question, 11 years after the pair first exchanged vows. "Darling, you know you have given me the best years of my life," he began. "I love you so much. You do so much for animal rescue. You know how I feel about you."

Howard continued: "I'm gonna say to you now in front of all of my best friends, my sweet love, will you marry me again?"

Beth said "yes" and the two shared a kiss.

October 14, 2019: Howard and Beth say "I do" for the second time

Following Howard's on-air proposal, Howard and Beth were surprised with an impromptu wedding ceremony on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. There to officiate was former Bachelor star Colton Underwood, whom Howard was thrilled to see.

"I vow if I marry you, I promise for the rest of my life to watch The Bachelor with you in bed every single night," Howard said. "And Bachelor in Paradise."

October 21, 2019: Beth shares the best part of being married to Howard

Shortly after the couple renewed their vows on live television, Beth appeared on PEOPLE Now to discuss the ceremony. Addressing her initial hesitancy, she joked, "I married him once and I meant it!"

Beth then revealed what she loves most about Howard. "He's my best friend," she said. "He's just the best, I'm really lucky ... he's my partner in rescuing and our love for animals is what I think bonds us the most."

November 15, 2019: Howard and Beth attend an animal rescue gala

Howard and Beth posed with a puppy at the North Shore Animal League's N.Y.C. gala in November 2019. The couple have worked with the nonprofit since the early 2000s, and Beth is the organization's spokesperson.

January 22, 2020: Howard and Beth attend New York Knicks game

The pair enjoyed a date night at Madison Square Garden in January 2020, sitting courtside as the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers squared off against each other. Howard and Beth were all smiles as they watched the game together next to comedian Jim Gaffigan.

April 6, 2020: Howard writes a song for Beth and sings it on air

During an episode of his radio show, Howard sang Beth a silly song he wrote for her as a way to thank her for everything she had done for him during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Beth is the perfect wife, she loves Clorox and Lysol wipes," he sang in part. "Life with Beth is like a dream, she protects me from COVID-19."

July 4, 2023: Howard photographs Beth for Social Life Magazine

Beth graced the cover of Social Life Magazine — and Howard served as her photographer. In her interview with the outlet, she opened up about her and her husband's passion for animals.

"People think my life is very glamorous with Howard and that I have other people doing the messy part of pet foster work. Not true! I am currently fostering 19 kittens and adult/senior cats. That's a lot of poop to scoop!" Beth said. "What I have chosen to do with my life is a passion and a 24/7 commitment. I put the animals first since I have no human children. Howard and I also have seven resident cats with mostly special needs, and one new resident bunny we fell in love with."

September 6, 2023: Howard says his "fear" of COVID-19 has caused fights with Beth

 On his SiriusXM radio show, Howard shared that he's very "scared" to contract COVID-19 and that his "fear" has caused a rift between him and his wife.

“I’m going crazy with this. My wife yelled at me last night. We got into a fight. She goes, ‘Every time I say I’m going to do something, you bring up COVID,' ” he said. "You know, my wife’s considerably younger than me, as you might have heard. And you know, she’s not as concerned about getting COVID as I am."

Howard went on to add that Beth has managed to get him out of the house a few times.

“We go out to restaurants. We went to the Ed Sheeran concert. We’ve really been out there. I haven’t gotten COVID. And I’m like, you know what? If I get it, I get it,” he said. "Then, all of a sudden, they announce there’s a new strain of COVID and it’s on the rise. It makes me nervous."