Jessica Alba's Husband Cash Warren Reveals Reason Why They Once Broke Up: 'It Was the Jealousy'

Cash Warren is recalling a rocky time early in his relationship with wife Jessica Alba.

As film producer and Pair of Thieves co-founder Warren, 44, appeared on iHeartPodcast's Whine Down with Jana Kramer podcast, he recalled that he and Alba, 42, briefly "broke up four years into our relationship" over issues of jealousy.

"When we first started dating I was really jealous of other guys and the attention she was getting from other guys. It just wasn’t making me feel good," he recalled, as he answered a question about navigating a relationship with a major star.

"I was always a pretty confident person in my own [life], walking my own path and really happy there, and next thing you know I’m looking up and feeling jealous all the time."

"I was like, ‘I hate feeling like this. It doesn’t make me feel good, and I know it doesn’t make you feel good.’ And we broke up four years into our relationship. We broke up. It was the jealousy. I was turning into an a------, and so we broke up," he said.

Warren said during the period of time he and Alba were separated, he promised himself to find "a more productive way" to channel that energy if they resumed their relationship.

Warren went on to say he considers himself Alba's "biggest cheerleader" and that he has never held "resentment towards her for working hard."

"If anything, when we got together I was like, ‘Don’t make sacrifices. Pursue your passions, pursue your careers, don’t make sacrifices because you feel bad for leaving the kids for this week or that week,' " he said. "Eventually they’ll grow up and they’ll forget the fact that you were gone for these three days or these five days."

Warren added, "I’ve tried to be a good teammate in that regard. I’m not interested in the spotlight. I’m not a star, I’m not a celeb, I’m not an actor, I’ve never tried to be an actor. I high-five her, let her do her thing, and I’ve gotten more comfortable with it over the years.”

Warren and Alba share three kids: son Hayes, 5, and daughters Haven, 12, and Honor, 15. The couple met on the set of Fantastic Four in 2004. They got engaged in 2007 and eloped in 2008 when Alba was pregnant with Honor.

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As Warren defined what has kept his romance with Alba alive for nearly two decades, he noted that he has learned to have patience that "your energy starts to get back aligned" after rocky moments in longterm relationships.

"Going through a few of those cycles, I no longer get as nervous and kind of start looking at the door. I no longer get as nervous when you’re drifting apart, so to speak, or your energy is off," he explained.

"I think she’s felt very much aligned there. When we’re going through those times, we either give each other our space that we need, we talk it out, we maybe go on a date night. You try to do things to get it back, and fortunately I’ve got a partner who is right there lock and step.” 

Back in September 2021, Alba told PEOPLE that incorporating date nights is beneficial to their happy marriage.

"At different times, there were different things that we needed. Around the time I had the kids, it was like, 'I need [date night] once a week,' " she said at the time. "And he's been like, 'I need you to be present on the weekends and not work.' Over-communicating, maybe that's it."

They "over-communicate what's happening before it gets to the point of no return," she said, adding, "I don't think we have a secret at all. We just have to check each other."