Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor Were Brought Back Together During the Pandemic
When actors work so closely together, it’s not surprising when sparks fly, and an on-set romance begins. That’s how the love story between Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor began back in 1999. The couple met during filming on the unaired television pilot, Heat Vision and Jack. The following year, they got married. And though time has taken the couple down a complicated road, Stiller and Taylor reunited in large due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor announced their separation in 2017
Following 17 years of marriage, Stiller and Taylor announced in 2017 that they had separated. Yet, particularly because they share two children, the pair still made several appearances in the months following their announced break-up. The news came in a joint statement, according to Us Weekly.
“With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.”
And by all appearances, Stiller and Taylor stayed true to that goal in the subsequent years. Of course, the dynamic of their relationship shifted again after the pandemic hit.
The pandemic brought Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor back together
News that Stiller and Taylor had reunited broke in 2022. However, Taylor lent a bit more insight into how she and her husband found their way back to each other during the pandemic during a 2023 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.
“Family was always a priority, but I think Ben and I both started to grow in different directions. And when we made the decision to separate, it was not something we wanted to talk publicly about or took lightly. We were at this impasse of, ‘Let’s figure this out. What’s best at this chapter in our lives?’ That’s going back three or four years. … [During the pandemic,] we all ended up in our house together with two teenagers and we found this way back. We had so much time to talk, there were no other distractions. … It just happened organically.”
What’s remarkable is that – despite the rocky road their marriage has taken – Stiller and Taylor never divorced. Perhaps they knew on some level there was hope for their marriage to survive. And what a silver lining for the pandemic to be the catalyst for them to rekindle their love.
How many movies have Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor made together?
In addition to their personal lives, Stiller and Taylor have also worked together on-camera several times over the years. Of course, Heat Vision and Jack was the project that brought them together. But following the start of their relationship, the two acted together in no fewer than four movies.
Taylor served as the female lead opposite Stiller in 2001’s Zoolander, a role she reprised for the sequel 15 years later. Stiller directed both movies. Taylor also starred in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story with Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Finally, Taylor had a cameo in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, starring and directed by Stiller.
