Do you still keep in contact with your exes? Well, it seems Jennifer Aniston does – at least according to one of her ex-boyfriends. Paul Sculfor, a British model, dated the Friends actor for about five months back in 2007. And while their relationship might have been short lived, Paul has recently admitted the pair are still ‘friendly’.

“We still message now and then,” he said. “Obviously we’re all married and grown up now, so I just message like I message a lot of people to say: ‘Hey, how are you doing? I hope everything’s fine.’ Friendly stuff.”

So, who is the man still on good terms with our Jen? Paul is a 54-year-old model from Essex, who jokingly calls himself a “sometimes supermodel and ex-actor” in his Instagram bio. His career as a model kind of started by accident – when he was 21 his mum secretly entered him into a competition ran by Select Model Management. But his career then reached huge heights, becoming the face of huge fashion brands, like Levi’s, Versace and Louis Vuitton.

But probably his biggest achievement is setting up a charity for those who are struggling with addiction. On his website, Paul said he was inspired to help set up the Stride Foundation after working in the industry, as “[he] noticed a high rate of addiction problems amongst his peers”. And as well as helping those with addiction issues – with services such as counselling – Stride also helps provide education in schools, such as lectures and talks.

But the charity is very close to Paul’s heart – as addiction is something the former model has been through himself, hence why he says he is “passionate about helping others”.

Before he dated Jen, Paul says that he ended up in rehab, staying for six months at The Priory in 2004. (Other famous faces who have stayed there include Lily Allen, Kate Moss and the late Amy Winehouse.) Speaking about the visit, he told Hello magazine in a new interview: “I was physically and mentally in a bad way. I remember dropping to my knees in my hallway, and I heard a voice come out of myself and shout out: ‘I need help!’”

It was a few years later, when he had moved to Los Angeles, that he started to date Jen. It’s believed they were introduced by David Arquette, husband of Friends co-star Courteney Cox. But Jen isn’t the only A-lister Paul dated – he was also with fellow model Lisa Snowdon from 1996 to 1999, and he was with Cameron Diaz for a year from 2008 to 2009. Cameron and Paul’s relationship seemed to be serious, as they even lived together for a while. But following their split, he said it “was my choice to be single”.

This recent interview with Hello isn’t the first time Paul has opened up about the toll his high-flying life took on him, telling Sunday Times Style last year that he was in an extremely dark place. “Things got very dark. I was always ill, I developed social anxiety, shut myself off from my family,” he told the publication. “I turned down jobs because I couldn’t be bothered. Very unlike me. My outlook on life changed from being excited to pretty much suicidal. I didn’t want to be myself anymore.”

As well as running the charity, Paul also hosts a podcast, called This Is Powerful, where he interviews doctors as well as those who have struggled with addiction, including celeb guests such as Millie Mackintosh. Speaking on the podcast earlier this month, Paul revealed how he stays sober now – saying that he occasionally sees a therapist, sticks to meetings and also does “mindful practice with my martial art”. “I still go to the 12-step meetings,” he said. “I have about ten guys – we all got sober around the same time within a two-year period – and we’ve stayed together.”

Thankfully, Paul now seems to be in a far happier place. He is living in London, happily married with nutritionist Dr Federica Amati and credits his two daughters, aged four and seven, as what keeps him going. “They keep me in check. It’s given me a purpose. I wanted to have a family when I was a young man, and then I decided I didn’t want to have a family, and I’m really glad I waited,” he said, adding that his “first daughter was born when I was 47”.

“I’m really grateful for the journey I’ve had,” he continued. “It allowed me, when I was single, to really work on myself and discover myself and what I need and what works and doesn’t work. Being a father has actually infused me with real purpose. You don’t have time to think about yourself when you’ve got kids because they’re the priority: they need to eat, they need to get up, they need to get dressed for school. To be honest, I find it my saviour.”

If you or someone you care about are suffering from addiction, support can be found here: Mind, Al-Anon, UKNA