Hailey Bieber Packs on the PDA with Husband Justin in Steamy 2016 Throwback Photo

Major throwback alert.

Hailey Bieber is the latest star to participate in the viral 2016 social media trend on Instagram and included a PDA-filled photo with her now-husband, Justin Bieber, among the slides that feature nostalgic memories from one decade ago.

The sixth photo saw the model, 29, and “Swag” singer, 31, making out in front of a beachside sunset, holding each other’s faces while they closed their eyes and embraced one another. It appeared to be a tropical setting with palm trees.

“you just had to be there,” Hailey simply captioned the post.

It was a pivotal year in 2016 in the couple’s relationship, which dates back to one of the pop star’s Today show appearances in 2009 when they met for the first time. They sparked romance rumors in 2014.

Justin told GQ in a 2016 cover story that he was hesitant to commit to an exclusive relationship for fear of hurting Hailey in case they ended up together.

“What if Hailey ends up being the girl I’m gonna marry, right? If I rush into anything, if I damage her, then it’s always gonna be damaged,” he said at the time. “It’s really hard to fix wounds like that. It’s so hard … I just don’t want to hurt her.”

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For her part, Hailey confirmed to E! News that the duo were “not an exclusive couple. He’s about to go on tour,” she said. “Relationships at this age are already complicated, but I don’t really like to talk about it because it’s between me and him.”

Not long after Justin’s GQ cover story, the couple broke up in a “very dramatic” fashion, per Hailey.

“Negative things happened that we still need to talk about and work through,” she later told Vogue of their split. “‘Fizzled’ would not be the right word — it was more like a very dramatic excommunication… There was a period where if I walked into a room, he would walk out.”

Ultimately, the couple got back together in 2018. Justin proposed in July that year, and they wed that September. In August 2024, they welcomed their first baby, son Jack Blues Bieber.

They’ve supported each other in the years that followed. Recently, Justin praised Hailey on his seventh studio album, SWAG, and a source told PEOPLE that his son, Jack, “shaped the heart” of the project.

The Grammy-winning singer also referenced his wife in several songs, including “Go Baby,” where he sings: “That’s my baby, she’s iconic / iPhone case, lip gloss on it.”

Elsewhere in Hailey’s take on the 2016 trend on Instagram are throwback photos with her model friends Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner. She also added various selfies of herself, including one with pink hair.

The 2016 trend spawned around the time when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day. Social media users deemed 2026 the “new 2016” online and shared throwback photos and videos of themselves from a decade ago — filters and all.

The new trend has nostalgia at its heart, as those participating are often expressing a longing for what many are describing as a simpler time. In fact, the hashtag #2016 now has 1.7 million tagged posts on TikTok.