"It took a long time." A hypnotherapist boyfriend talks about the beginning of his romance with Jennifer Aniston.

Jennifer Aniston's new boyfriend reminisced about the beginning of his romance with the 56-year-old actress. Jim Curtis, who describes himself as a hypnotherapist on social media, appeared on the popular American show Today and described in some detail how he began dating the "Friends" star.

"We were introduced through friends. We discovered we had mutual friends, and we just started talking," said Curtis, 50, who also promoted the release of his new book, "The Book of Possibilities," along the way.

One of the hosts jokingly asked which of the Friends characters—Joey or Ross—was behind the union. Curtis responded by joking that it was "all the stars of the show," then clarified that he and Aniston had been "talking for a long time" before finally "getting close." "It took a long time," he said, evading the question of how long he and the actress had been dating. "A long time. It's been months, almost a year," Curtis said, adding that the conversation makes him blush.

Jennifer Aniston and Jim Curtis were first spotted together last summer while vacationing in Spain with her friends. Their romance blossomed rapidly. Just four months later, the couple officially confirmed their relationship on Instagram*. Aniston posted a black-and-white photo from Curtis's 50th birthday party, captioning it, "Happy birthday, my love." Curtis, in turn, shared similar photos at the same time, captioning them, "If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up."

Aniston later praised her "extraordinary" lover in an interview with Elle magazine, calling him "very special and very kind." Last November, the couple made their first public appearance together.

Aniston has been married twice: to actors Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux. The latter, apparently, approves of his ex-girlfriend's new relationship. The actor, who is currently expecting his first child with his new wife, previously liked a photo of Aniston and Curtis on Instagram*. Pitt, however, has not publicly commented on Aniston's relationship amid his own personal problems: the 62-year-old actor is still in court with his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie.

As for Curtis' personal life, he was previously married to Rachel Napolitano, with whom he has a teenage son named Aidan.

Meanwhile, Aniston's relationship with the coach has sparked controversy online. Detractors have called Jim a "pseudo-guru" and "infogypsy" due to his specialization in unconventional healing methods. Some fans fear he "subtly charmed" the actress using his professional hypnosis skills. Old posts of his have also surfaced online, in which he confessed to stalking a woman on social media and described bizarre "shame-burning" rituals in his bedroom. His harsh remarks about his own sister have also surfaced, which many have considered a "red flag." Critics suggest Curtis is using his relationship with the Hollywood star to promote his new book and boost his social media reach.

Photo: Still from Todayjimcurtis1, jenniferaniston/Instagram**