Meryl Streep revealed in a shocking announcement on Friday that she had split from her husband Don Gummer ‘more than six years ago’.
The former couple, who married in 1978, were last pictured together at the 90th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood in March 2018, a year after their divorce.
At the event, the actress, 74, received her 21st nomination for her leading role in Steven Spielberg’s The Post, with her husband supporting her.
Meryl presented herself elegantly in a striking scarlet red dress by Christian Dior, with a deep neckline and waist belt.
Don, 76, stood next to her, looking dapper in a black suit with a white shirt and satin tie.
Split: Meryl Streep, 74, revealed she had split from her husband Don Gummer, 76, on Friday, they were last pictured together at the 90th Academy Awards in March 2018 (pictured)
The pair were seen laughing on the red carpet, with Don wrapping a loving arm around his wife’s waist.
In a statement shared with Page sixsaid a spokesperson that The Devil Wears star and the sculptor “have been separated for more than six years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen to live separate lives.”
The couple first married in 1978 and share four children: Henry, 43, Mamie, 40, Grace, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 30.
The former couple were first introduced through Meryl’s brother in 1978, and said later that same year in September during a romantic ceremony in the garden of her parents’ home.
The wedding took place six months after her late friend and fellow actor, John Cazale, died in March 1978 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
A year after his death, the Mamma Mia! star thought about the loss and told it People at the time: ‘Death is still very much with me. It has forced me to face my own mortality, and once you do, you look at things differently.”
After his death, the actress had to move out of the apartment she had shared with Cazale, and received help from her brother and one of his friends, who happened to be Gummer.
Meryl and Don became close and he let Meryl sublet his New York City apartment when he was not in the Big Apple. The pair began exchanging letters and a friendship soon turned into something more serious.
Support: At the event, the actress, 74, received her 21st nomination for her lead role in Steven Spielberg’s The Post
‘Lives apart’: The couple first tied the knot in 1978 and share four children: Henry, 43, Mamie, 40, Grace, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 30; seen in 1980
For example: In a statement to Page Six, a spokesperson explained that they “have been separated for more than six years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen to live separate lives” (photo in 2012)
During their marriage, Meryl and Gummer – who received his MFA from Yale University – welcomed four children and also have five grandchildren.
In 2002, the star talked about her relationship with the artist and inquired Fashion that the secret of their long marriage was “benevolence and a willingness to bend – and to keep quiet every now and then.”
She further explained: ‘There is no road map to raising a family: it’s always a huge process of negotiation.’
‘But I have a holistic need to work and to have enormous love connections in my life. I can’t imagine eschewing one for the other.’