Meryl Streep and her husband, Don Gummer, have some sobering news to share with their loyal fans – they’re separating after 45 years of marriage. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson for Streep, who revealed that they actually ended the romantic nature of their relationship more than six years ago.
“Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” the spokesperson shared in a statement, first reported by Page Six on Friday (Oct. 20). Gummer, 76, and Streep, 74, have been married since Sept. 30, 1978.
The news comes as a shock to fans, especially since Streep was spotted wearing her wedding band on Friday while attending the 2023 Princesa de Asturias Awards in Oviedo – the capital of Asturias in Spain. It’s also a little shocking because they recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on Sept. 30.
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The love story between Meryl Streep and Don Gummer began in 1978, when Streep’s brother introduced the two. She was still grieving the death of her boyfriend, John Cazale – who passed away on March 13, 1978 after a short battle with lung cancer – but she felt an instant connection to Don upon meeting him.
Six months later, the two tied the knot at her parents’ home and they’ve been together ever since – well, at least that’s what we thought. What we’re now learning is that the couple haven’t been together for six years – which makes sense considering they haven’t been photographed publicly together since 2018.
Streep and Gummer have maintained a rather private love life over the past four decades, but she shared some of her secrets to a happy marriage in a 2002 interview with Vogue – arguing that goodwill, a willingness to bend, and shutting up every once in a while are some of her keys to a successful marriage.
"There's no road map on how to raise a family: It's always an enormous negotiation. But I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can't imagine eschewing one for the other,” she added in the interview. Unfortunately, their negotiation as partners has come to an end after 45 years.
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer were lucky enough to welcome four children – son Henry Wolfe, 43, and daughters Mamie Gummer, 40, Grace Gummer, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 30 – into this world during their long marriage. Streep has always described being a mother as her most important and difficult role.
Henry dropped out of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to pursue a career in music and is now an accomplished singer-songwriter – with some of his songs appearing in his mother’s movies. He has been married to Tamryn Gummer since 2019 and they have two children – a son and a daughter.
Mamie, Grace, and Louisa – all of whom are spitting images of their mother – have followed in their mother’s footsteps. Mamie worked alongside her mom in Ricki and the Flash (2015), Grace worked with her mom in House of Spirits (1993), and Louisa had her breakout role in The Gilded Age (2022).
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All in all, Meryl Streep and Don Gummer are grandparents to five grandchildren. Aside from her two grandkids from Henry and Tamryn, Mamie welcomed a son with her husband, Mehar Sethi, in 2019 and a daughter in 2021, while Grace welcomed a daughter with her husband, Mark Ronson, earlier this year.
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