Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor to Divorce

Summary: After 18 years as a couple, Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are divorcing.

After 17 years of marriage, actors Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor have announced that they will be divorcing.

In a joint statement released on Friday, they said, “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.”

Stiller created and/or starred in hit comedies such as Zoolander and Meet the Parents. Taylor also starred in Zoolander as well as other popular films such as The Brady Brunch Movie franchise.

The Hollywood power couple met in 1999 on the set of the pilot Heat Vision and Jack. They married almost one year later in Hawaii before going on to start a family. They have two children–Ella Olivia, 15, and Quinlin Dempsey, 12.

In 2007, Stiller gushed to ET how wonderful his wife was.

“When I met her, I pretty much thought, ‘That’s the person,'” Stiller said. “It was like, ‘Wow, this is a great person. I love her.'”

Taylor had similar words about Stiller that she shared in 2016, when she was promoting their film Zoolander 2.

“The reality is there’s such an unspoken connection,” Taylor said.

Throughout their almost two decades of marriage, Stiller and Taylor seemed to be a stable family amidst Hollywood, which is known for quick and tumultuous relationships. The two had frequently collaborated together, and recently, Stiller revealed that he had battled prostate cancer. Taylor had been with him during the treatment, and from their statement, it appears that they have quite a large amount of love for one another.

This year, there have been numerous other high-profile divorces in the news, but most seemed to not be as amicable’s as Stiller and Taylor’s.

For instance, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin filed for divorce from sex addict Anthony Weiner after he pled guilty to sexting with a teenage girl. The couple had been together for most of Weiner’s political career and she had stayed by his side when he had first been caught sexting with other women that he had met online. However, after the initial scandal, he had continued his behavior and Abedin finally had enough.

America’s Got Talent judge Mel B is divorcing her husband Stephen Belafonte. The former Spice Girl is seeking sole custody, and her claim that Belafonte cheated on her with the German nanny has sparked a defamation lawsuit from her hired help, who says that it was actually Mel B who was boffing the foreigner.

Photo courtesy of ET Online