Ben Stiller has recently shared insights into his challenging separation from his wife, Christine Taylor, whom he reunited with in 2022.
The 59-year-old actor, known for his role in Zoolander, and Christine Taylor, famous for her work in Brady Bunch, first crossed paths in 1999 during the filming of the unaired pilot, Heat Vision and Jack.
They tied the knot a year later in a beachfront ceremony in Kauai, Hawaii, and subsequently collaborated on projects such as Tropic Thunder, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Arrested Development.
The couple became parents to Ella Olivia Stiller, 22, in 2002 and Quinlin Dempsey Stiller, 19, in 2005, before announcing their split in 2017.
“With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate.
“Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time,” they expressed in their statement.
By 2022, Stiller and Taylor had reconciled, and the actor opened up about this tough chapter in his life.
His remarks were featured in a new documentary about his father, Jerry Stiller, and mother, Ann Meara, which debuted at the New York Film Festival on October 5.
The film, titled Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost, delves into his parents’ memorable on-screen moments and also touches on Stiller’s own family dynamics.
Stiller revealed in the documentary that he felt ‘disconnected’ from his family, noting, “My career had been going along for a long time, but things actually weren’t great in my personal life.
“I just felt out of balance and unhappy and kind of disconnected from my family, from my kids, and just kind of a little bit lost.”
In an earlier conversation with the New York Times, Stiller reflected on how the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 provided an opportunity for him and Taylor to reconnect.
“It was almost a year of living in the same house before we were actually together,” he mentioned.
“But I’m so grateful for it, and I think not that many people do come back together when they separate.”
The documentary highlights that the couple spent ‘three or four years’ apart before fully rekindling their relationship.
Stiller recently attracted attention when he criticized Disney for removing the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show from ABC following the host’s comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed in Utah on September 10, with authorities later naming 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect.
“We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and with everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel, 57, remarked.
Following the cancellation of Kimmel’s show, Stiller voiced his disapproval on social media, writing: “This isn’t right.”
He also signed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemning Disney’s choice to suspend Kimmel from the late-night program.
His signature was joined by those of Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, and many other notable figures in Hollywood.
Eventually, Kimmel was reinstated as host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Disney explained that the initial decision to pull the show was made to ‘avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country’.