They say that over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. But how many of those decoupled recouple a few months later? So far, Pew Research does not have good data on this phenomenon, but I am noticing it more and more in the pages of Us Weekly and InTouch. Celebrities — for a variety of reasons, I’m sure — are loudly announcing their separations and then even more loudly announcing their reconciliations shortly thereafter.
Last month, in an interview with Esquire, Ben Stiller revealed that he got back together with his estranged wife Christine Taylor during the pandemic. The two had separated and given People the requisite statement asking for privacy back in 2017. But now they are very excited to talk about how they didn’t get divorced after all. Sources have run straight to People and Us Weekly to explain the miracle of how two co-parents in their 50s decided to give it another go.
Stiller is “a totally different person now — way more grown up and tolerant of himself and his own idiosyncrasies as well as others,” a source told Us Weekly. “They plan to cherish what they have, and both he and Christine are beyond excited about what’s in store for the future.”
Translation: Stiller was kind of an asshole, but he learned to tone it down once he was stuck in a house with his estranged wife and children during a global crisis. And now we can all breathe a sigh of relief that these two will not have to bother paying lawyers to divvy up their multimillion-dollar fortune. In fact, we can basically forget they ever split up in the first place, because according to People, “they never even dated other people after they separated." Aww, sure.
Stiller and Taylor aren’t the only ones thinking better of divorce. R&B star Miguel, 36, and his wife Nazanin Mandi, 35, recently announced they got back together after just a five-month separation. In September, the couple’s spokesperson told People, “After 17 years together, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi have decided to separate and have been for some time now. The couple both wish each other well.” But in December, Mandi posted photos of her estranged husband helping her recover from LASIK eye surgery, and by Valentine’s Day, they revealed they were not getting divorced after all. “Heal the root so the tree is stable,” Mandi wrote in a celebratory Instagram post.
The award for fastest reconciliation, however, goes to Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa. In January, Momoa, 42, announced in a text-heavy Instagram post that he and Bonet, 54, were going their separate ways after five years of marriage. “We have all felt the squeeze and changes of these transformational times… A revolution is unfolding and our family is of no exception… feeling and growing from the seismic shifts occurring,” he wrote. “And so, we share our Family news, that we are parting ways in marriage.” It went on for several more sentences like that, but you get the idea.
Shortly thereafter, Momoa deleted the post and moved into a $750,000 RV. But now, according to Hollywood Life, he’s moved out of the RV and back into the Bonet-Momoa household. “They decided to work on things rather than throw in the towel because they have so much invested in each other,” a source revealed. Makes sense.
Who will call the whole thing off next? Kim and Kanye? John Mulaney and Anna-Marie Tendler? Meghan King and Cuffe Biden Owens? Anything is possible when you have love and really high legal bills.
