Wayne Brady has been a staple of American entertainment for decades now. But while he's
always the consummate professional on screen, behind the scenes his personal life has had
some unusual twists and turns. Here are some strange and uplifting things you may not know
about Wayne Brady's divorce.
Brady's divorce after eight years of marriage was hardly noteworthy for anything other than
how truly amicable it was. There were no bitter custody battles, and it doesn't seem like
they even argued about money - though the tabloids had no mention of a prenup. By all
accounts, this divorce seems like it could've been smoothed out with something as simple
as a handshake.
According to TMZ, Mandie Taketa was the one who filed the papers in 2007, citing "irreconcilable
differences" -but they'd already been separated for more than a year before she pulled the
trigger. She asked for joint custody of their then-four-year-old daughter, and Brady didn't
fight it. A spokesperson for the comedian claimed the pair continued to, quote, "remain
the best of friends and committed parents."
According to People magazine, Taketa also asked that each party pay their own legal
fees, though she did request spousal support, considering the former dancer had given up
her career to raise their daughter.
Brady's divorce was finalized a little less than a year after Taketa's initial filing.
She told DCP Entertainment,
"I think we had an awesome marriage. We didn't fail, I think we just kind of moved on after
learning a bit about self care and love."
Despite their divorce, Brady and Taketa share an unusually tight-knit bond. In a 2019 interview
with Us Weekly, the comedian revealed that he views Taketa more "like a sister" than
his baby mama, and she's closer to him than some of his own blood relatives.
Previously speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Brady opened up about the fact that Taketa
has always been there for him. The star was barely a household name when the pair tied
the knot. She saw him through highs like his Emmy win and lows like his public spat with
the now-disgraced comic Louis C.K. Brady said,
"The fact of the matter is, I like [Taketa]. She was down with me when nobody in the world
was down with me, except my mom. There was loyalty there, there was respect, there is
trust - she is my baby mama."
A quick browse through wedding stories on the wedding-planning site The Knot will pretty
much prove that most people marry their best friends. But one GQ op-ed writer slammed the
relationship cliche in a GQ op-ed, saying,
"The trope's become so ubiquitous that it wouldn't be out of place on bumper stickers,
T-shirts, and novelty mugs at TJ Maxx."
Best friends may make the best life partners, but they don't always make the best spouses.
Just ask Brady, who warned against the practice in an Us Weekly interview. He explained,
"Everyone says, 'Girl, you should marry your best friend. It's so good to always find that
person. He's your best friend and you guys can do anything.' No, you're best friends
for a reason. Then [when you get married], everything has this super pressure on it that
it didn't when you're best friends."
It seems like the pressures of marriage were one of the things that split the couple up,
and Brady admitted him and Taketa are much better friends than they were a married couple.
Brady and Taketa no longer live under the same roof, but when the couple divorced, they
basically became neighbors. In an interview with Access Hollywood, the comedian admitted
that they have a "different" and "special" co-parenting situation and have lived about
seven minutes away from each other while raising their daughter. This came in handy when the
COVID-19 outbreak swept across the United States and forced families into quarantine.
In March 2020, Brady told the outlet,
"Right now, we live virtually next door to each other. So our quarantining is a little
different. We quarantine between both of our homes, and I've got a big backyard and lots
of land, so we both share this land and this space. So Mandie, her boyfriend Jason, my
daughter Maile, we are a family."
"I hope we reach a day when, for two people that were married to co-parent or to exist
in harmony isn't looked at like a circus sideshow."
Around the same time, Brady also admitted to People magazine that their unique situation
would make a good sitcom - which he planned to write.
Most divorced couples would never consider being neighbors, let alone actual roommates,
but Brady and Taketa aren't like most divorced couples. As of 2020, the former flames are
neighbors, but there was also a time post-divorce when they decided to temporarily live together.
According to People magazine, Brady stayed with Taketa for about a month in 2019 when
his home was being refurbished. Strangely enough, there wasn't even a stitch of awkwardness
there, and the comedian called the whole experience "absolutely awesome." Referencing the co-parenting
couples who've decided to quarantine together during the coronavirus pandemic, he said,
"If that would have been the way that we are living right now, then that would have been
fine because we can do that. [...] Some people's new normal is my everyday Wednesday."
Brady is one of the rare celebs you can catch regularly praising his ex-wife in interviews,
and apparently, the star has a lot to thank her for. Taketa didn't just give him their
daughter - Brady also credited Taketa for his career, which has helped the star garner
an impressive estimated $10 million net worth. In 2019, Brady told Us Weekly,
"She is the most amazing woman in the world and one of the most amazing moms, I think,
that has ever walked the planet. Our daughter's proof of that and the fact that she slaps
me into shape. She's the reason I think that I've had the success I have."
"I love Wayne. You know, he's known me longer than anyone I know and he knows me better
than any family member I have."
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