Ben Stiller reflects on separation from Christine Taylor and what brought them back together

Ben Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, may have separated for several years beginning in 2017, but in Stiller’s mind, the couple, who eventually reconciled, were always “connected” to each other.

Stiller said in a new interview their time apart allowed him to gain a new sense of appreciation for their relationship after they enjoyed living together with their kids, daughter Ella, 22, and son Quinlin, 19, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we separated, it was just having space to see what our relationship was, what my life felt like when we weren’t in that relationship, how much I loved our family unit,” the “Meet the Parents” franchise star told The New York Times.

“It was like three or four years that we weren’t together but we always were connected,” he added.

Stiller always held out hope that he and his wife would reconcile.

“In my mind, I never didn’t want us to be together,” he told the publication. “I don’t know where Christine was, you’d have to ask her, but Covid put us all together in the same house.”

Stiller recalled that he and Taylor cohabited for nearly a year in the same house before deciding to resume their romance. He added that he was “grateful” for the chance to be in a relationship with his wife again, noting that many couples who separate never reunite.

“There’s nothing like that, when you come back,” said Stiller. “You have so much more appreciation for what you have, because we know we could not have it.”

For her part, Taylor opened up about how she and Stiller rebuilt their relationship during a March 2023 appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

She explained that she and Stiller got engaged after knowing each other for just six months. They married in 2000 and welcomed Ella the following year.

“Family was always a priority, but I think Ben and I both sort of started to grow in different directions,” Taylor said. “When we made the decision to separate, it was not something we wanted to talk publicly about. It was not something we took lightly, either.”

The couple’s separation, she explained, allowed them to explore who they each were as individuals while still remaining a “family unit” with their kids.

“That time apart for each of us (was) to sort of get to know who we are. I think we have these growth spurts, even as adults, and I feel like we needed to see time to figure that out.” 

When the couple decided to hunker down with their kids during the pandemic, they found they were able to have conversations with each other without “distractions,” she noted.

“It was a really special time for us, for the family,” recalled Taylor, adding, “It just happened organically and naturally.”