Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor recently announced their split after 17 years of marriage,
ending yet another one of Hollywood's longest-lasting relationships.
For the most part, Stiller and Taylor kept any relationship troubles they may have had
out of the headlines, but obviously there were issues.
And as with any divorce, there were clues along the way that there may have been trouble
in paradise, even for the seemingly happy and private couple.
Conflicting priorities
One quasi-official reason that led to their sudden split allegedly had to do with the
couple's "conflicting priorities."
A source reported to People Magazine, "It gets hard — he has a very busy Hollywood
career, and she's been very focused on being a mom."
Despite the scheduling conflicts the couple allegedly remains committed to being a happy
family.
Off-screen mood swings
There's always been a sharp contrast to the Ben Stiller audiences see in his comedic performances
and the Ben Stiller in real life.
In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, Stiller was described as having "a dark weight that
seems to burden him."
In explaining his disdain for Los Angeles, Stiller told the interviewer, "I was in Century
City at night once, and it was such a ghost town, it made me want to slit my wrists."
And if that seems dark and completely unrelated to the topic of his divorce, consider this
quote from his 1996 chat with Interview, when Stiller said, "I'm just not a naturally cheery
person.
I'm naturally moody.
I know that from people who spend a lot of time with me.
People who spend a lot of time with me may not wish to spend a lot more time with me."
That's a 24-year span of apparent misery, and his marriage to Christine Taylor occurred
right in the middle.
"I feel awful.
Horrible.
It's terrible."
Perhaps Stiller's unpredictable moods had an effect on the marriage in the long run.
Dropping hints
In 2011, Stiller talked about his marriage in a cagey kind of way that indicated he and
Taylor had worked through some significant strain, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "It's
very easy for a relationship not to work if both people aren't committed to it.
We've gone through ups and downs, but it's all been leading toward us becoming more and
more connected.
We're very, very happy together."
Stiller also offered another clue later in the interview that indicates he not only struggles
to find a proper work/life balance, but he also keeps his feelings caged up to do it,
saying, "To balance it all is hard.
But it's very important to me.
You reach this point in your life where you go, 'I have to take stock.'
If you're just going, going, going, it's very easy not to stop and feel things."
Work stresses might not have been the make or break factor of this split, but it certainly
sounds like it was at least part of the problem.
Bad rep
Stiller has openly described himself as difficult to be around, which is a sentiment that apparently
extends to the set as well.
"Well, I thought that, uh..."
"You thought, huh.
Well, that didn't really work out too well for you well, did it?
You IDIOT!
What are you a moron, huh?"
And there's no shortage of Hollywood anecdotes about Stiller's legendary status as a diva.
Paper Magazine's editorial director, Mickey Boardman, once told Buzzfeed that Stiller
was "pretty horrible" on a photoshoot during which the actor constantly complained.
A similar sentiment was revealed in the infamous Sony hacks, which uncovered an email by chairman
Tom Rothman who called Stiller a "talented, albeit horrible human being."
Then there are the stories from the unfortunate people who have worked for Stiller.
On her blog, someone who calls herself "Miss Banshee" recalled her experience working for
a day as an extra on Zoolander.
She claims Stiller whined and complained incessantly, threw temper tantrums at the crew, and was
placated only by his "very smiley and very blonde wife" when she brought him Starbucks.
"What the hell is the matter with you?
It's only a game Focker!"
Taylor may have grown tired of being the coffee-bringing presence of calm in his life after a while.
Career stall-outs
With a string of critical and commercial flops like The Watch, The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty, and Zoolander 2, Stiller's only real Hollywood lifeline was the Night at the Museum
trilogy, which performed well at the box office while it lasted.
Everything else Stiller has done outside of the popular kid's franchise is now generally
met with a shrug of indifference, or a genuine surprise that he can put in an emotional performance.
Neither of those are good reactions.
Taylor, whose career has been a smattering of brief appearances in notable projects like
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development, is perhaps still best known for playing Marsha
in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie.
"Dinner's ready, ooh my nose!"
The strain of their respective Hollywood struggles could've easily affected their marriage as
well.
Off-screen woes
Ben Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, which he and his family kept a secret
for two years.
"At first I didn't know what was going to happen so I was scared.
You know, I was scared.
I didn't know... one thing that it does is it just stops everything in your life."
After surviving the disease, he wrote a 2016 essay on Medium in which he advocated for
a controversial cancer screening called PSA testing, which caught flack from physicians.
Then, amidst Stiller's cancer battle, his beloved mother, Anne Meara, passed away in
May of 2015.
In an interview with Parade, Stiller said that his mom was the person he "most looked
up to for her point of view, her humor," and that her death affects him constantly.
Given the nature of Stiller's consistently gloomy demeanor, the one-two punch of a cancer
diagnosis and the passing of his mother likely had a seriously negative effect on his marriage.
Despite their troubles, the two have put on a brave face together for the sake of their
children and one slick Dodgeball reunion with the rest of their former fellow cast members…
"Yes, I am sticking with the hair choice.
Hello Kate."
So whatever broke their romantic relationship up, there's clearly no bad blood left in the
water where the cameras are concerned.
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