When two people work closely together in a small industry, romance is bound to happen,
and that’s what transpired for these two.
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber were one of Hollywood's most steadfast couples, and their
2016 breakup was one of the year's most shocking.
In their 11 year-run, the stars’ relationship was unbelievably picture-perfect.
They strolled down countless red carpets together.
Naomi and Liev’s PDA was adorably quirky.
There was one time the actor gawked on Instagram at the sight of Watts' long legs in a pair
of sassy knee-high boots.
He captioned the picture, "Ay Dios Mio."Or how could we forget when he pedaled her around
New York City in the child's seat of his bike.
Yes, really!
Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts’ romance seemed like a fairy tale.
Their meet-cute matched the sentiment.
The duo met at the 2005 Met Gala and according to Liev, Naomi was very forward.
The actress knew what she wanted, and she went for it — the Gypsy star invited him
out dancing after the event.
When the Ray Donovan actor caught up to her, he was intimidated to find actors Benecio
Del Toro and Sean Penn already surrounding her.
"All these movie stars were hovering, and I felt awkward and out of my element.
I’m kind of standing around like a bump on a log, waiting for my turn,” he said.
Embarrassed, Liev told her he had to head home.
Naomi then chased her future partner down so they could swap numbers.
After their first date, Liev recalled how he used his charms on the actress, “I wrote
her all the time.
Lots of emails.
I think that was it… seduced by email.”
Well, now you know how to get a gorgeous A-lister to go out with you, right?
After just a few months of dating, a love-stricken and clearly charmed Naomi moved to New York
to be with Liev.
Two years later, they had their first child, Sasha, and their second child, Kai the following
year.
They were the couple that had everything, except a marriage certificate.
But the duo made it clear throughout their relationship that they chose not to tie the
knot.
“We’re very much together.
We just don’t have that certificate, and that’s OK with both of us.
Maybe one day, we’ll just wake up and go, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’
And maybe not,” the Mulholland Drive actress said.
Even though the couple never even got engaged, it didn’t stop rumors from spiraling.
Refuting rumors of wedding bells seemed a common pastime for the lovebirds over the
course of their relationship.
Schreiber flippantly joked during an interview, “We’re married, you heard it here first,”
he said.
After other reporters picked up on the self-inflicted rumor, he learned the valuable lesson that
sarcasm doesn't always translate in the press.
Ring or no ring, their relationship found its conclusion without a wedding.
In 2016, the couple announced their split amidst rumors that Liev had become involved
with the family nanny.
Liev continuously denied the rumors.
But there may have been many reasons for the downfall of their relationship.
The couple has never confirmed or denied most of them.
They concluded that the best way forward for their family was to separate.
“It is with great love, respect, and friendship in our hearts that we look forward to raising
our children together and exploring this new phase of our relationship,” Naomi said in
the announcement.
The split was brewing for a few months prior to the statement.
The exes have delayed it because they were promoting their film, Chuck.
Apparently, the stars were already in the middle of their breakup when they had to play
a couple very much in love.
Talk about professionalism.
The
Friday afternoon before their breakup went public, Liev gave one final and telling sign
that not all was well behind the scenes.
In an interview, he praised Watts and affectionately recalled her forward behavior the night they
met.
When the subject turned to their sons, his eyes welled up with tears.
A year later, the actor was asked to address his emotional display.
"Now you know why I was like that," he admitted.
Another element that probably contributed to their demise was the fact that they were
both in a full-time relationship with work.
The downside to being part of a power couple in Hollywood is that you both have hectic
jobs.
Naomi and Liev both expressed their frustrations with this over the years.
“Finding time for each other as a couple has been one of the things that have been
really, really hard for Naomi and me,” the Ray Donovan star said.
Having children only intensified their work-life balancing woes.
Watts revealed that their first son had already frequented three continents at the tender
age of seven months.
"I'm not proud of it," the actress admitted.
Schreiber wanted Watts to slow down and focus on their kids.
He wanted her to take more of a back seat when it came to her career and be more of
a stay-at-home mom.
"The kids are at that age where you want them to have a continuity with friends and school.
You have to put them first, and the back-and-forth thing can get tough,” he said.
But being a stay-at-home mom was the opposite of what Naomi wanted.
She loved her kids more than anything, but she also loved traveling and working.
The actress was aware of the toll her overly booked schedule took on her family
life and her relationship.
Liev was also aware of the toll their busy schedules had, "Everyone who dedicates that
much time to their work, it changes you.
It changes relationships.
It changes everything,” he said.
In the aftermath of many breakups, one party often suffers a worse fallout.
In this case, it seems to have been Liev.
He had spent a year struggling after the demise of their union.
The actor struggled to adjust to the new family dynamic and the amount of change that came
with it.
"I hate change and I hate adjusting.
I don't like everybody not living in the same house anymore.
It’s always hard.
You build a life with someone.
The way we’ve looked at it is that we’ll always be partners and that’s what keeps
us together and amicable.
But I think we’re more than that, I think we also genuinely really care about each other,”
the actor said.
Compare that to Watts, who revealed that while being single was a new experience for her,
things were going well personally.
She also thought she and Schreiber had kept things in a great space with respect to co-parenting.
"Our friendship is better now than it ever was.
And I feel like my kids are in a good place," she said.
It wasn’t always that easy for the actress though.
The media poked and prodded at her wanting to know how she could possibly be coping.
They victimized the actress and that was something she didn’t appreciate.
She eventually set the record straight by saying, “I’m single.
I’m co-parenting.
There are good days and bad days.
Liev and I are on great terms and we’re trying to do our absolute best for the sake
of the children.
He’s a fantastic dad and a wonderful man.
We still want the absolute best for each other.
So, that’s pretty much all I’ll say.”
You go, Naomi!
That’s one thing they seem to really have nailed down.
The duo has a very supportive and forward-thinking relationship when it comes to co-parenting.
“I’m pretty proud of us, corny as that may sound.
We’ve made it our absolute priority to be good and kind to each other and we’re absolutely
committed to that.”
The Ray Donovan actor seems to share the same sentiment as his ex.
He recounted a story from breakfast when his sons’ eyes lit up once he mentioned their
mom.
He can see how important it is to the couple’s children that their parents care about each
other.
Even with their split, that didn’t mean the exes had permanently parted ways.
The pair moved back in together as early as 2018 to have a better situation for co-parenting
their two kids.
This apparently worked well because Watts and Schreiber stayed together during the quarantine
in 2020.
Not only that, Liev’s girlfriend, Taylor Niesen, joined them!
We do respect them for making the most out of a bad situation.
This couple stays so close that they still make birthday posts for each other.
Naomi called Liev the other half of her precious gifts, her children.
And the actor posted a family picture, captioning it, “Happy Birthday mom!
We love you beyond.”
Well, that is adorable!
It hasn’t always been this easy for the exes to navigate their new relationship.
In early 2017, Schreiber was spotted strolling Los Angeleswith his arm around Morgan Brown.
This apparently left Naomi feeling betrayed and humiliated.
With good reason, as it turns out.
The pair had apparently made a pact that they would not date anyone openly for a year after
their split.
Whoops!
This could explain why later that year, when the actor started dating his current girlfriend,
Taylor, they both refuted romantic rumors.
The couple insisted that she was his children’s nanny.
People pointed out that this was a ruse, claiming that Niesen’s family is wealthy to the point
of having a private plane so, she wouldn’t need the extra cash from babysitting.
Later that same year, Naomi began dating Billy Crudup and their love is still going strong.
Although Watts and Schreiber have both moved on, the people close to them can’t exactly
say the same.
An insider close to the couple said, “They’re perfectly matched, and you can tell when they’re
around each other that the magic spark between them is still there.
Put simply, they’re soulmates who belong together.”
Well, we don’t know if we can agree with that, as it seems better for them to be co-parents
and friends.
Although it hasn’t always been a cakewalk for these two, we love the adoration and love
they have for one another to this day.
Exes everywhere could certainly take a page from their book on how to stay good friends
and amazing co-parents.
They have built a family for their children where both parents are present for everything,
every day.
Although it may be peculiar to many, it seems to work incredibly well for them.
Let us know if you would live with your ex as a co-parent for your kids in the comments
below.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Rumour Juice for the latest and greatest stories
in Hollywood.