In 2012, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were the celebrity 'it couple'. Then photos emerged.

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's relationship was a story that felt made for tabloid heaven, from the beginning to the very end.

The two young and up-and-coming stars met during a casting read for what would become one of the biggest teen film franchises of all time. They started dating in real life, with their every move capturing media and public interest.

They starred as Bella Swan and Edward Cullen in Twilight. The series followed teenage human Bella, who fell in love with 108-year-old vampire Edward after moving to Forks, Washington, to live with her father.

Watch: The Twilight trailer, because nostalgia. Post continues below video.

While author Stephenie Meyer's book series was popular, the film saga's success was on a whole other level.

As a result, its mostly young cast were catapulted to super stardom - and no more so than Stewart, then 18, and Pattinson, then 22.

For four years (and the production of four more movies), they dated on and off, remaining coy about their relationship the entire time - despite the world's constant interest in 'Robsten', as they'd become known. Paparazzi followed them around religiously, plastering their dates on tabloid pages across the world.

"I would never cheapen my relationships by talking about them," Stewart told Elle in 2010. "People say, 'Just say who you're dating. Then people will stop being so ravenous about it.' It's like, No they won't! They'll ask for specifics."

Two years later, in July 2012, Stewart found out just how right she was about that.

At the time, she was riding a career high. Her film Snow White and the Huntsman had been in theatres for six weeks, earning almost $400 million at the box office. It was proof in the eyes of many that Stewart had real box office potential and could sustain a film that didn't have the Twilight name to fall back on.

Then US Weekly published paparazzi photos that well and truly toppled her pedestal.

The infamous images, and the absolute storm they caused, are burned in the minds of millennials everywhere: in them, 22-year-old Stewart is kissing and getting cozy with her Snow White director, 41-year-old Rupert Sanders in the Hollywood Hills.

Listen: Cancelled delivers their verdict on Kristen Stewart. Post continues below audio.

Most of the subsequent coverage focused on her cheating on Pattinson, but Sanders was also married to and shared two children with English model Liberty Ross. They divorced in 2014.

The photos were splashed across every news outlet and prompted the fiercely private Stewart to make an unusual move, issuing a public apology to Pattinson. 

"I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected," she wrote. "This momentary indiscretion has jeopardised the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."

That apology, especially the "I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry" was the first outright public acknowledgement of their relationship, but it was too little too late for many.

Pattinson reportedly asked Stewart to move out of their LA home, and another infamous tabloid photo captured a U-Haul rental moving truck in the driveway.

The story dominated pop culture for not just days or weeks - but months. And it really swept everyone up.

A-listers like Lady Gaga were tweeting about the story, while comedians like Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell for making jokes on TV. Jodie Foster, who was Stewart's co-star in Panic Room, wrote an essay for The Daily Beast in her defence. RuPaul shared support for a conspiracy that the whole thing was a PR stunt and Madame Tussauds Hollywood adorned its Pattinson wax figure with a black glitter broken-heart backdrop.

After weeks of hiding, and planted stories supposedly spotting him around the world, Pattinson reappeared to promote his film Cosmopolis. In his first appearance, on The Daily Show, host Jon Stewart advised him to "kick her to the curb" and offered him some ice-cream.

Soon after, Stewart was famously cited for the first time by paparazzi, walking around LA in Pattinson's hat.

By October, they were believed to have reconciled after being seen kissing at Stewart's house (the paparazzi situation around these two was so much that Pattinson's neighbour, musician Michelle Branch, actually complained about their street being inaccessible).

But perhaps the most surreal part of this, in hindsight, was the deep, deep investment of future US President Donald Trump.

Trump tweeted about the pair's reunion at least eight times, and was very much Team Rob.

Image: Twitter.8

Image: Twitter.

Stewart and Pattinson reunited publicly for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 red carpets in both Los Angeles and London.

They split for good in May 2013.

A year later, Pattinson told GQ that "sh*t happens".

"It's just young people… it's normal! And honestly, who gives a sh*t?"

While Sanders' career faltered, there's no denying Stewart endured most of the criticism about the debacle.

In 2019, she told Howard Stern the very public scandal also lost her the role in the Snow White sequel.

These days, both Stewart and Pattinson are doing well career-wise: he is, of course, the latest Batman, and she was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award for playing Princess Diana in Spencer.

They're both in long-term relationships too, which they mostly keep very private.

Stewart confirmed her engagement to screenwriter Dylan Meyer on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show in 2021.

Pattinson has been dating actress and musician Suki Waterhouse since 2018. They only made their first public appearance together in December 2022, at a Dior fashion event.

Image: Getty.

It's been a decade since all the mess, but Stewart and Pattinson seem to be on okay terms.

In 2021, after Pattinson was announced as the new Batman, Stewart told Variety on a red carpet that it was "crazy" and she was so happy for him.

She also referenced him in a 2021 interview with People, when talking about working together on Twilight.

She said he had an "intellectual approach that was combined with 'I don't give a f*** about this, but I'm going to make this sing.'" 

If anyone has ever heard how Pattinson talks about those movies, that tracks.

"I was, like, 'Ugh, same,'" she explained. "And, whatever, we were young and stupid and, not to say that we made it so much better, but that's what it needed, and that's what anybody playing those parts needed to feel."

So, no f***s given from the exes formally known as Robsten. Team Rob captain Donald Trump, on the other hand...

Feature image: Getty.