Ben Stiller revealed details about his lengthy separation from his wife, Christine Taylor, describing a period when he felt disconnected from his family. The revelations came as he worked on a documentary about his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, while navigating his own personal challenges between 2017 and 2020.
Though Stiller’s career remained steady, the actor admitted feeling “out of balance and unhappy” during that time. His reflections on his parents’ enduring marriage inspired him to explore how they managed to stay connected despite their professional pressures.
Marriage and Separation Timeline with Christine Taylor
Stiller and Taylor were together for 17 years before announcing their separation in 2017. The couple emphasized their mutual respect and commitment to co-parenting their two children, Ella and Quinn, in a joint statement at the time.
Later, in 2022, the pair revealed they had reconciled after living apart for several years, with the pandemic playing a pivotal role in bringing them back together.
Rekindling Their Relationship During the Pandemic
Ben Stiller explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he rejoined Taylor and their children in the same household. This close proximity allowed their relationship to evolve, leading to their reunion. He described this period as unexpected but
“really wonderful for all of us.”
Stiller shared that although they had been separated for around three to four years, they remained connected throughout, and that the time apart helped him appreciate their family unit more deeply.
Challenges and Growth Throughout Separation
Reflecting on their separation, Stiller acknowledged that his marriage was strained after moving from California back to New York, around the time of the Zoolander 2 release. He said the separation allowed him space to understand what his life felt like without the relationship, and to realize how much he valued their family.
He referred to the pandemic as a turning point and, when a reporter called the timing an “act of God,” he agreed, emphasizing the rare nature of their reunion and the gratitude he feels for it.
Upcoming Documentary and Public Response
Stiller’s documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 5, includes his candid insights into both his parents’ marriage and his own personal journey. The film will be available in select theaters starting October 17 and will stream on Apple TV+ from October 24.
My career had been going along for a long time but things actually weren’t great in my personal life,
Ben recalled in the documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost.
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.
— Ben Stiller
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.
— Ben Stiller
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,
the couple told Us Weekly when announcing their separation.
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.
— Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Then, over the course of time, [our relationship] evolved,
Stiller said in 2022 about reuniting with Taylor.
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.
— Ben Stiller
There was a lot going on,
he told The New York Times about the time following their separation.
When we separated, it was just having space to see what our relationship was, what my life felt like when we weren’t in that relationship, how much I loved our family unit.
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. I don’t know where Christine was, you’d have to ask her, but Covid put us all together in the same house.
— Ben Stiller
It was almost a year of living in the same house before we were actually together,
he said of their pandemic reunification.
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.
— Ben Stiller
