Ben Stiller is opening up about one of the most personal chapters of his life, his separation and reunion with wife Christine Taylor.
The actor, 59, recently shared in the documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 5, that while his career was thriving, his home life was a different story.
“My career had been going along for a long time but things actually weren’t great in my personal life,” he said.
“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.”
Reflecting on his parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, he explained how their ability to stay together despite challenges made him question his own path.
“I started to think about my parents and all the stress and tension I remember seeing as a kid and the pressure when they were working together and how they stayed together through it. … I think I wanted to somehow understand how they did it,” he said.
Stiller and Taylor first announced their separation in 2017 after nearly two decades together.
At the time, the pair, who share daughter Ella, 23, and son Quinn, 20, released a joint statement saying they had “tremendous love and respect for each other” and would remain devoted co-parents and close friends.
But a few years later, life took an unexpected turn.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stiller moved back in with Taylor and their kids, and over time, their relationship found new ground.
In 2022, he revealed to Esquire, “We were separated and got back together and we’re happy about that. It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic.”
Since then, Stiller has been candid about what led to their time apart and how it ultimately brought them closer.
In an interview earlier this year, he recalled how things felt unsettled after moving from California to New York following Zoolander 2.
“There was a lot going on,” he admitted. The separation, he said, gave them the space to see what truly mattered.
“It was like three or four years that we weren’t together but we always were connected. In my mind, I never didn’t want us to be together.”
When a reporter suggested their reunion was almost “an act of God,” Stiller agreed. He explained that they spent nearly a year under the same roof before officially reconciling.
“But I’m so grateful for it, and I think not that many people do come back together when they separate. There’s nothing like that, when you come back. You have so much more appreciation for what you have, because we know we could not have it.”
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost will be released in select theaters on October 17 and begins streaming on Apple TV+ October 24.
