Was Jennifer Aniston’s first on-set love affair with Charlie Schlatter in 1990?

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This story has been around for a few days, but I haven’t seen that many sites covering it, so here you go. GQ published an article written by their editor-in-chief, Jim Nelson, called “The Horrible Bosses of Hollywood.” Before Nelson rose up the ranks at GQ, he worked as a production assistant on various TV shows in the 1980s. One of those shows was Ferris Bueller, a rip-off of the wildly successful John Hughes film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The TV show starred Charlie Schlatter as Ferris and a then unknown actress named Jennifer Aniston, who played Ferris’s sister Jeannie. Here is Nelson’s gossip about working on the show:

“The series, based way too loosely on the classic John Hughes film, stars Charlie Schlatter as Ferris and, in her first major role, a nubile Jennifer Aniston. (To Aniston worshippers, I can offer little dirt. She was lovely, kept to herself on the set, smoldering a bit like her outraged character, 17-year-old Jeannie Bueller. She was a brunette then, with none of Rachel Green’s bob or self-possession. Oh, and there’s this. GQ can exclusively report that everyone on set thought she was hot, including Schlatter, with whom she had a brief, torrid romance—while playing, it must be said, his older sister. To we immaturions on the show, this seemed extra-hot. Like performative incest.)”

[From GQ]

I had to look the show up on IMBD to do the math on all of this. The show only ran one season, Fall 1990 to Spring 1991. Jennifer would have been… 21/22 years old as they filmed, and Charlie Schlatter would have been 24/25 years old. Not bad for what was probably her first on-set love affair. After that…she dated Adam Duritz for a bit, and then she moved into a relationship with Tate Donovan (that was when Friends was really heating up). And after Tate, it was Brad Pitt. Wow, she moved up pretty quickly.

By the way, I had never heard of this Charlie Schlatter guy, but as it turns out, he’s still working consistently in Hollywood. He does a TON of voice work on cartoons and video games and such. Seriously, his IMDB is crazy.

Vintage photos of Jennifer and Charlie at the height of their love affair:

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.

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113 Responses to “Was Jennifer Aniston’s first on-set love affair with Charlie Schlatter in 1990?”

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  1. Kiddo says:

    He resembles her in the last photo.

    • blue marie says:

      I think they’re wearing matching boots.

    • doofus says:

      yes…and he also reminds me a bit of a younger Christian Bale in that photo, too.

    • Lucretia says:

      Ah, for the ’90s and the waist-high, belted jeans look! Not missing it . . .

      • Kiddo says:

        I don’t know. It’s a toss-up: ugly-ass sausage spandex skinny jeans or high-waisted denim mom pants? Again, another reverse Sophie’s choice of wanting to get RID of both, but having to choose the worst. I might have to go with killing skinny jeans. They are barely made of cotton.

      • Size Does Matter says:

        Anybody else remember wearing their belt like that? Looped over and down on the end? Reminds me of middle school.

      • MrsB says:

        @Size YES I do remember that, I had a brown leather braided belt that I wore that way with everything. Every. Day. One of those trends that need not ever come back.

    • They’re both sporting Mom Jeans. How tragic.

      • Esmom says:

        My thoughts exactly!

        And thank goodness that photo evidence of my fashion choices — not to mention hairstyles — from back in those days have stayed safely in the shoebox where they belong!

  2. Anaya says:

    Yes they dated. This is such old news. I remember this being discussed in the 90s when Jennifer became famous for her role on Friends. No idea why this is resurfacing now.

    • Stef Leppard says:

      I know! All I can think is, Wow, it must be a really REALLY slow gossip-news day. This isn’t even scandalous old news. It’s blah boring old news.

  3. Mystified says:

    I wish she had kept that nose and that gorgeous hair! Now she looks like every other 40 something celeb.

    • nenou says:

      i’m not a fan of her real nose but her hair were fabulous she should bo back to her natural color

    • Artemis says:

      YES! I don’t think Aniston is a knock-out now but back in the day? She was thicker with a nice head of hair and her nose fit her face. Blond and super skinny doesn’t suit her, I always found young Jen to be quite beautiful. Shame that she didn’t feel the same way.

      Not surprised about her dating, I know CBs like to knock her for being an undercover bitch but she’s loved by many in the industry.

      • Jayna says:

        She had a uniqueness to her and she was actually good in her beginning movies like Object of my Affection.

      • Artemis says:

        I think it’s the Greek genes.

        The Good Girl did it for me. Her and Jakey omg 🙂 I watched that film 10x, one of my favourites for my teenage angsty self.

      • Agreed–she was so much more striking back then. And her hair was so much thicker and shiny.

    • Erinn says:

      I’d kill for that hair. My hair is so fine and a pain in the butt.

    • L says:

      Yea I wish she had kept her old face.

      • Camille (The Original) says:

        It’s definitely an improvement over how she looks today (Iggy Pops long lost twin). Shame she can’t go back to it.

    • Luca26 says:

      Yes I agree she was much prettier with darker hair and much more ‘real’.

  4. Diana says:

    She was cute! Always been a girl next door type. Her marrying Brad seemed totally random and like such an outliar to me. What a mismatch…

    • Maya says:

      She wanted to be part of Hollywood royalty and he was on rebound from Gwyneth.

      Why do you think they both spent their years together smoking weed, partying and being apart for months and months?

      Brad has changed and developed into a family man and other visions while she is still doing exactly the same thing.

      • doofus says:

        meh, “on the rebound” might be stretching it…

        since timelines seem to be so popular around here, I did a little research. He and Paltrow allegedly split up in June/July of 1997 and the Pitt/Aniston romance started “in the spring of 1998” when they went on a blind date.

        almost a full year for a young, hot, hollywood “hunk” is not what I’d personally call being on the rebound, but maybe we have different definitions.

      • LAK says:

        doofus: i remember that he dated a German actress in between GOOP and Aniston, though for the life of me i can’t remember her name. Not Katja Von Garneir though people speculated about them. off to google!!

        So he wasn’t’ exactly pining or heartbroken when he met Aniston.

      • Artemis says:

        He dated 2 women and I already mentioned them here once. Too lazy to Google again. Plus we don’t even know the ones he dated/hooked up with that escaped the press. BP is just like Depp, he always has a girlfriend. I think he never went long stretches without a gf. Often engaged too, in love with love. But with a woman we tend to remember these things better.

        In the end, BP is a MAN (and an attractive famous one at that!), anybody who thinks that he was celebate and crying over Goop for a year must be terribly naïve 🙂

      • Artemis says:

        sorry double post!

      • Cecilia says:

        I agree, doofus. I never thought Pitt was on the rebound & for the most part I thought (at the time) that Jen & Brad made sense. Midwestern boy & girl next door was totally cute. Things happen…people break up.

      • Esmom says:

        Balls.

      • Emma - the JP Lover says:

        @The Ball-ettes …

        Is dating and being in a relationship really the same thing? If Brad Pitt dated between Gwyneth and Jennifer (and I haven’t found any evidence that he did), he certainly wasn’t in a relationship … unlike Jennifer Aniston, who–I believe–was in a relationship with Tate Donovan when or just before their ‘managers’ hooked her and Brad up on a Blind Date.

      • Sal says:

        +1 Totally agree, Maya!

    • Camille (The Original) says:

      I never understood that coupling either. Very mismatched, and it must have been because they broke up in the end (balls!). I think JA and Tate Donovan made much more sense as a couple.

      • Sal says:

        Nah, Tate complained that she was too high maintenance and liked staying in posh hotels, he liked camping. They didn’t make any sense either.

  5. silken_floss says:

    Wow.. those high waisted jeans lol

    • Becky1 says:

      Sadly I think they are trying to bring them back in style. I was at the mall today and saw stonewashed high waisted shorts and jeans in the display windows of several of the teen/early 20’s oriented stores. I really hope that style does not catch on. I can’t go back there lol.

  6. The Wizz says:

    I remember Charlie, drool. Starred in an Aussie movie with Kylie Minogue.

    • LAK says:

      I remember Charlie too. And that film with Kylie.

      He was hot for about 6mths then simply disappeared off screens and from the tabloids except for the occasional gossip story like this one.

      Jen and Charlie is old news. I’ll join everyone who says it must be a slow news day.

    • Isadora says:

      I know him from Diagnosis Murder lol!

  7. GeeMoney says:

    I used to watch this show when it was on… and I was sad when they cancelled it. She played Jeannie pretty well… I remember disliking her a whole lot, lol.

    It’s rival show, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was slightly better. I was sad when they cancelled that show, too. My mom, sister and I ’till this day still say “Syncronize Swatches!”

    • doofus says:

      wow, you read my mind. I really liked Parker Lewis. When it first premiered, I remember thinking “oh, this is such a rip off of Ferris Bueller” but it wound up being BETTER than the Ferris TV show!

      • Camille (The Original) says:

        I really liked Parker Lewis too! I even had a crush on the guy that played the character lol.

    • Rhiley says:

      I had pictures of that guy in Parker Lewis on my bedroom wall because I thought he was so good in I Know My First Name Is Stephen. That was such a terrific TV movie. I remember staying up “late” to watch it on my 13 inch b&w tv with rabbit ears.

      • doofus says:

        he was wonderfully sleazy as a character on BH 90210 (the original)…he’s a better character actor than he gets credit for, I think.

      • Diana says:

        That movie was powerful!!! Loved it.

  8. Rhiley says:

    Didn’t Jennifer Grey and Matthew Broderick also have an onset affair when they were filming Ferris Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?

    • L says:

      Yes! And when he had the accident where he killed 2 people, she was in the car with him and that’s how their relationship got made public.

    • Esmom says:

      Ooh, I never knew that. I knew about his accident but I didn’t realize she was had been with him.

  9. V4real says:

    This reminds me of that horror movie she was in called Leprechaun. She was a bit meatier back then.

    Damn, those God awful high waisted jeans from the early 90’s

  10. Jegede says:

    She looks much better with the darker hair IMO

  11. Dorothy#1 says:

    He’s on my tv almost everyday in Kick Buttkowski form 🙂

  12. Merritt says:

    I remember him. He was in “18 Again”.

  13. mia girl says:

    They look like the quintessential early 90s couple! Her big hair and high waisted jeans and his Blockbuster uniform-type blue button down shirt and floppy hair. Ahhh, memories.

  14. Lauren says:

    She looks like Jennifer Lawrence in the one w her eyes not quite all the way open. To me, at least!

  15. Karen says:

    I really like how she looks with Brown hair, super nice.

  16. Blannie says:

    I loved him in Diagnosis Murder (with Dick and Barry Van Dyke) as Dr. Jesse Travis.

  17. evie says:

    I used to love Charlie Schlatter!! Good lord, talk about a blast from the past!!

  18. salma says:

    What’s the point of this story ? she had an on set romance , SO WHAT ? at least she didn’t hook up with a married guy .

  19. HoustonGrl says:

    It’s funny how whenever you show an old photo of a celeb, they look COMPLETELY different.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      @HoustonGrl, who wrote: “It’s funny how whenever you show an old photo of a celeb, they look COMPLETELY different.”

      If this old photo does nothing else, it demonstrates just how much work Jen has had done (which looks like it may have included ‘cheek’ work as well as her nose).

      He must be a shorty, because she’s only 5’4″ tall and she’s taller than him.

      • HoustonGrl says:

        Yeah, it looks like multiple procedures. It’s weird because cosmetic procedures are so common in Hollywood, but it would take a lot for a normal person to consider unnecessary surgery.

      • Camille (The Original) says:

        Yep, a LOT of face work for sure (probably a lot of injectables were done to at least the lines between her nose/mouth to soften them, along with a few nose jobs etc).

    • Moore says:

      I think she looks very much the same. The details change and she got older but still the same.

  20. Tippy says:

    Jenn’s natural eye color looks much better and more vibrant than the blue colored contacts she wears nowadays.

  21. Cecilia says:

    Wish I had her hair. So thick & beautiful. I like her with the darker hair — it suits her. She still looks basically the same. Very attractive.

    • Just Passing Through says:

      BALLS!!!! I thought we might make it through a thread without taking a jab at the fans……no such luck. 🙁

      • Cecilia says:

        Thanks for getting the BALLS rolling.

      • Just Passing Through says:

        The two comments that were directed at you, Cecelia, and Jen Fans, have mysteriously disappeared! Now I just look silly. 🙂

      • Cecilia says:

        awwww Just Passing Through…I think the ones that had their comments deleted are the ones that are looking silly. You just called it as you saw it. Great call BTW.

    • Aysla says:

      Even with the mom jeans and the too-large Fabio dress shirt, she looks really really cute in these pictures. I always thought she had an attractive, girl-next-door thing going on.

  22. Sarah says:

    Saying I used to love Charlie dates me a bit, eh? He was supposed to be the next big thing around 18 again

  23. margo says:

    she is really beautiful

  24. Jayna says:

    I always loved her with brown hair when she first started out. and sometimes had some highlights scattered throughout I liked her look in that movie with Clive Owen when she went back to brown hair.

  25. LA says:

    Can’t believe noone has mentioned that he was also in the classic(ly awful) Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow. I had a bit of a crush on him in that movie!

    • LAK says:

      they reached no 7??!!!!!

      that is amazing.

      EDIT: i still love no 1 and 2. stopped watching at no 4.

    • Jazz says:

      That’s the worst of the Police Academy movies. And yes I’ve seen them all… *hangs head in shame*

  26. cas says:

    Wow, absolute hair envy, she looks lovely in these pics

  27. Amy85 says:

    LOL for covering this “story “. Nobody else covered it because who cares that Jennifer dated a nobody 25 years ago?

  28. Ms. Nobody says:

    I just want her hair, then or now. And lol @ those jeans. I had those in every shade.
    *hangs head*

  29. justme says:

    I always think it is funny when people criticize the clothing of the recent past. Those kind of jeans were in fashion then so people wore them. Nowadays people wear skinny jeans. In ten years or so everyone will look back on the skinny jeans and say “oh those awful jeans! How could we have thought they looked good?”
    As for Jennifer, she looks cute here whatever her jeans. She probably could never get back that color of hair however. Even if she let it grow out, she probably has some gray now anyway. And middle-aged hair rarely has that liveliness of young hair.

    • doofus says:

      ” In ten years or so everyone will look back on the skinny jeans and say “oh those awful jeans! How could we have thought they looked good?””

      ten years? people are saying that NOW. 🙂

  30. TedTheodoreLogan says:

    Her hair was so healthy here! The bleaching has thinned it. Cute pics.

    • Lauren says:

      Jen is very pretty in these pics. I do understand her insecurity regarding her nose. It is large but suits her face at the time. . Jen was gorgeous and funny in Along Came Polly. Just sayin. I am tired of folks bashing Jen. She is a successful businesswoman and financially independent-i admire Jen.

  31. Suze says:

    She’s probably forgotten she was ever a brunette, but she should really go back to it.

  32. Camille (The Original) says:

    Her old face! She was kinda cute in her younger years, and definitely suits brunette hair a million miles more than blonde.

    As for the romance stuff, I always thought that her and Tate Donovan suited each other best and that they made for a kind of cute, same level couple.

  33. Wren33 says:

    Obviously she has had a nose job, but it’s not like even if she had no work done she would look remotely the same at 21 as she does at 41. No getting that back 🙂

    • I’m pretty sure she’s had at least two or three nose jobs–more than one, at least.

      But other than her nose, she doesn’t look that much different to me. Her face is thinner, but that’s about it. And, obviously, her hair.

  34. Anne tommy says:

    I will really reveal my age now but Charlie was a regular for some years in the TV series diagnosis murder with the immortal dick van dyke. Daft series but he was quite endearing.

  35. Sal says:

    She looked so so much better with that healthy-looking thick brown hair. All she needed to do was ditch the blue contacts.