The sources confirmed on Friday that Meryl Streep and her 45-year-old husband, Don Gummer, are living separate lives. The Oscar-winning icon, 74, and the esteemed sculptor, 76, have been apart for over six years.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the beloved star revealed, “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been living separately for more than 6 years, and although they will always care for each other, They’ve opted for distinct paths, each leading away from the other.
This news may come as a shock, as the actress was recently seen rocking her wedding band at the Princesa de Asturias Awards 2023. Nevertheless, their most recent public appearance was documented at the 2018 Academy Awards.
The couple has four children: singer-song writer Henry Wolfe, 43, and actress Mamie Gummer, 40, Grace Gummer, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 30, who they raised in their Connecticut estate in the quiet, historic town of Salisbury.
They also have five grandchildren. Henry and his wife Tamryn Stern have two children. Mamie shares two kids with her husband Mehar Sethi.
In the meantime, Grace celebrated the arrival of her inaugural child alongside her spouse, acclaimed record producer Mark Ronson. As for Louisa, she is known for her acting role in the HBO show “The Gilded Age.”
With their Connecticut farm, the couple shared a massive Tribeca loft in New York City until they sold it in January 2020 for $15.8 million. Streep later bought a $4 million home in Pasadena, California in July 2020.
Streep and Gummer’s introduction came through her brother, Harry, in 1978. At the time, the actress was grieving her late partner and co-star in “The Deer Hunter,” John Cazale, who died of lung cancer the same year.
Streep and Gummer tied the knot that year and have kept their relationship relatively private since. When asked about the secret to their long marriage, Streep, who was recently seen in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” told Vogue in 2002, “Empathy and bending – and a lot of staying out of each other’s faces.”
She went on to say, “There’s no road map for how to raise a family: it’s always a big discussion. But I have a lot of practical experience, and a long memory.”
In 2017, after accepting her Best Actress Oscar for her performance in “The Iron Lady,” Streep made a rare comment about her husband. Commencing her address, she opened with humor, quipping, “First, let’s express gratitude to Don, because if you thank your spouse at the speech’s conclusion, they cue the music. She persisted, conveying, “I need him to understand that everything I cherish most in our existence, you’ve bestowed upon me.”
This pair has been a consistent presence at the Oscars as Streep has been nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards, winning three of them.