On Sunday, Meryl Streep and husband Don Gummer, 45, revealed they had been separated for “more than six years” after deciding to live “separate lives”.
In a statement shared for Page SixA spokesperson said the Devil Wears Prada actress, 74, and the sculptor, 76, ‘have been separated for over 6 years, and although they will always care for each other, they have chosen to live apart.’
Following the news that the couple secretly split six years ago, MailOnline looks back on their relationship.
From tying the knot in her parents’ garden in Connecticut after six months of dating to welcoming four children together, read below to find out more…
Split: Meryl Streep and husband Don Gummer, 45, revealed on Sunday that they have been separated for “more than six years” after deciding to have “separate lives” (pictured in 2018)
Throwback: The couple married on September 30, 1978. The ceremony took place in the garden of her parents’ home on Mason Island, Connecticut (pictured in 1979).
Family: The couple welcomed four children: musician Henry Wolfe and actors Mamie Gummer, Grace Gummer and Louisa Jacobson, and now have five grandchildren (pictured in 2004)
Just weeks before she met Don in early 1978, Meryl was by the side of her boyfriend of two years, actor John Cazale, who died on March 12, 1978, at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.
A year earlier, John had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and the disease had unfortunately spread throughout his body.
After his death, Meryl was evicted from the New York apartment she shared with him. Her brother Harry came to help her pack, taking his friend Don Gamer with him.
Don was leaving the country to travel and offered Meryl to sublet his loft in Soho during his absence.
While he was away, the couple exchanged letters that turned romantic.
According to Hey! Newsthe actress wasn’t convinced she was ready for a new relationship, but a widowed friend encouraged her to spend time with Donna if she liked him.
When he returned from his trip, the actress Meryl ended up in his loft and just six months after her late boyfriend passed away, the couple got married
Six months later, on September 30, 1978, the couple married. The ceremony was held in the garden of her parents’ home on Mason Island, Connecticut.
The team! As for raising their children, Meryl revealed to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2019 that both she and Don – who has an MFA from Yale – focused on ‘teamwork’.
Real talk: Meryl told Vogue in 2002 that the secret to her long marriage was: ‘Good will and a willingness to bend over – and shut up every once in a while’
The married couple welcomed four children: musician Henry Wolf and actors Mamie Gummer, Grace Gummer and Louisa Jacobson, and now they have five grandchildren.
As for raising their children, Meryl revealed during a 2019 interview Sydney Morning Herald that both she and Don – who has an MFA from Yale – focused on ‘teamwork’.
The Only Murders 3 star explained: “Teamwork is everything. My husband Don was…very involved. He was a little more relaxed when it came to raising children. I was more of a tiger mom.’
Meryl’s acting job often took her away from home for months at a time, and she praised her husband for “always (being) happy to take care of the kids” so that she would feel “not so guilty” about these necessary absences.
In 2002, Meryl told Vogue that the secret to her long marriage was: ‘Good will and a willingness to bow down – and shut up every once in a while.’
She added: “There’s no road map to raising a family: it’s always a huge negotiation.” But I have a holistic need to work and have huge relationships of love in my life. I can’t imagine avoiding one for the other.’
In 2012, while accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Iron Lady, Meryl gave special praise to her husband, the man who helped her “live again.”
She said: “I’m going to thank Don first, because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play it with music. And I want him to know that you have given me everything that I value most in our lives.’
Grateful: In 2012, while accepting her Oscar for Best Actress, Meryl gave special praise to her husband, the man who helped her ‘live again’ (pictured at the ceremony)
Meryl, Don lived in Connecticut with the children for a long time, but 10 years ago, after all four children left home, the couple returned to New York.
In addition to the Connecticut home where they raised their family, the couple also owned a loft in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood until it sold in 2020 for $15.8 million, according to Page Six.
Later that year, Meryl bought a house in Pasadena for $4 million.
According to Page Six, Meryl was last seen with Don at the 2018 Academy Awards.