In a 2019 GQ interview, Biel said the two "technically met" and first spoke when she attended a birthday party Timberlake was throwing for one of his friends.
Timberlake later asked his friend to ask Biel if he could call her, and when they finally spoke on the phone, he invited the actress on a date.
"I had to be pretty persistent in order to get her to say yes," Timberlake later said at a press conference with the Hollywood Foreign Press, according to Us Weekly. "But I have a fair amount of tenacity and if I want something I stick to it. And in the end, she agreed."
Although it's unclear what exactly the couple did on their first date, People magazine later labeled them "special friends" after Jessica was spotted backstage at Justin's concert and the two were seen snowboarding at the Sundance Film Festival.
Apparently, the two "never really kissed for a very long time," according to Biel, since Timberlake went on tour shortly after they met.