The Surprising Reason Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman Never Got Divorced

Danny DeVito Reveals Where He and Ex Rhea Perlman Stand 9 Years After SeparationThere’s something magical about Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman’s relationship. Not in the way their onscreen daughter Mara Wilson had powers in their 1996 movie Matilda, but in the special bond the former couple has maintained nearly a decade after their breakup. "We’re always over at her house," DeVito recently told AARP, noting he and Perlman talk daily and reunite for weekly meals. "We see the grandchildren together, that kind of stuff. So that’s a good relationship." So good, in fact, that the actors are still technically married despite going their separate ways in 2017. The reason? It seems like DeVito and Perlman—who share kids Lucy, 43, Grace, 41, and Jacob, 38—just don’t see the point. After all, the most cherished relationships aren’t always romantic. "No matter what happens in your life, the most important thing is having family and friends," the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star added, "reliable people in our lives who we can talk to, who we can open up to, who we can rely on to be there. I’m very fortunate.”Taking a taxi drive down memory lane, DeVito still remembers when he first started dating Perlman over 50 years ago. "We hit it off," the 81-year-old shared. "We liked off-Broadway stuff. We went to movies all the time. We made little movies together—short films. We had a lot in common, and we fell in love. A nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn and an Italian from New Jersey: I cooked, and she ate." They met in 1971, with Perlman noting she'd gone to see DeVito in the off-Broadway production of The Shrinking Bride in New York. "I had to meet him immediately," the Cheers alum recalled to the New York Post in 2018. "I asked my friend if he had a girlfriend and she said no." And when they went out to dinner afterwards, Perlman continued, "I came on to him big time!" They soon moved in together—later relocating to Los Angeles. And as their relationship grew, so did their careers—with him appearing in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and them both starring in the TV series Taxi from 1978 to 1983. But it wasn’t until January 1982, over 10 years after their meet-cute and eight months before her 11-season run on Cheers premiered, that DeVito and Perlman wed. They welcomed daughter Lucy the following year, with Grace then arriving in 1985 and Jacob completing their family of five in 1987.Paul Archuleta/Getty ImagesOver the years, DeVito and Perlman continued to be costars both in work—including in Matilda and in 2006’s 10 Items or Less—and in life. As for the secret to their decades-long union? "I have to use his line," Perlman said on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show in 2006. "The secret is never answering that question—just one day at a time, that’s it." Although, the Barbie actress did share some intel. "I think you really have to get your priorities straight and you gotta work hard at it and you gotta be in love. That helps," she continued. "You gotta have a lot of fun." But somewhere along the way, DeVito and Perlman stopped having fun being husband and wife. So in October 2012, they announced their separation after 30 years of marriage. However, DeVito suggested transitioning to the single life wasn’t easy. “It’s not something you adjust to," the Batman Returns explained to Extra that December. "Rhea and I are really close and actually still together—just separate but together." Noting they were "working on" reconciling, the two were back together by early 2013. While they split again four years later, Perlman and DeVito didn’t legally untie their knot. "We’ve been together a very long time, so there’s a lot of love and history," she shared in her 2018 New York Post interview. "We agree on enough things, so why [ruin] that with the yucky things that come with a divorce?"Michael Tran/FilmMagicWith all that love, some way wonder why Perlman and DeVito even broke up at all. But as she indicated, sometimes change is for the best. "We were together for 40 years. Forty-years is a long time," the 78-year-old noted on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in 2019. "You might have to do something else. That’s OK!" In fact, Perlman suggested she and DeVito were doing better than OK now that they were just friends. "It’s much better because all the tense stuff is gone," she explained. "It’s not in your face. I’m not in his, he’s not in mine.” And they will always be family. Although, Perlman admits getting to this place didn't happen overnight. "I’m not going to sugarcoat it: It was difficult," she acknowledged on Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast Wiser Than Me in 2023. "It was very difficult at first, and there were a lot of reasons that we separated, which I’m not going to go into. It took time for us to come to this somehow pretty decent understanding and relationship with each other." Actually, you can still often find the duo on the red carpet together. However, Perlman has made it clear she's perfectly happy having her dog be her "partner in life now."“Don’t set me up,” she continued, "unless it’s someone really wonderful—rich and famous, gorgeous and a lot younger than me." To see more longtime celebrity couples who eventually parted ways, read on.MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty ImagesNicole Kidman and Keith UrbanAfter 19-plus years of marriage, the country singer took his records, took his freedom, but we're guessing he'll hang on to the memories of his time with the Oscar-winning actress. Though the parents of Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14, have not yet announced plans to divorce, E! News has learned the pair, who met in 2004, have been living apart since the beginning of summer.InstagramTom Brady and Gisele BündchenThe NFL star and the supermodel touched down in divorce court after 13 years of marriage, confirming Oct. 28, 2022, on their respective social media platforms that they had finalized the terms of their split. "We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together," Tom, who shares kids Benjamin and Vivian with Bündchen, wrote in his Instagram Story message. "We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve." The Super Bowl MVP—who is also dad to son Jack from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan—noted that he and Gisele didn't take their decision lightly. "Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world," he continued. "However we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written."Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording AcademyTish and Billy Ray CyrusParents to daughters Miley and Noah as well as son Braison (plus he adopted her daughter Brandi and son Trace and fathered son Christopher in a previous relationship) the couple tied the knot in 1993. The country singer filed for divorce in 2010, saying in a statement at the time that they were "trying to work through some personal matters." Mission accomplished, at least temporarily, because Billy Ray withdrew his petition in March 2011. However, he refiled in June 2013, and she counter-filed. And yet, they stayed together again, Tish crediting couples therapy for bringing them closer. But they would later find themselves drifting apart. Though Tish filed for divorce a third time in April 2022, her petition stated that she and her husband of 29 years had actually been living apart since February 2020. "It is after 30 years, five amazing children and a lifetime of memories, we have decided to go our separate ways—not with sadness, but with love in our hearts," the exes told People in a joint statement. "We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths."Later that year, Billy Ray got engaged to Firerose, whom he wed in October 2023. But after less than a year of marriage, the "Old Town Road" artist filed for divorce in June 2024. Following a contentious split, they settled their divorce two months later. Meanwhile, Tish accepted Prison Break star Dominic Purcell's proposal in 2023 and married him that year.Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty ImagesBill and Melinda GatesThe parents of three and co-founders of the internationally renowned Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation revealed in May 2021 they were splitting up after 27 years of marriage. A Washington judge finalized their divorce just three months later, a ready-to-roll separation contract making the division of their estimated $130 billion fortune less onerous.AP Photo/Chris PizzelloSean Penn and Robin WrightBoth recently divorced—Sean from Madonna and Robin from Dane Witherspoon—the actors fell in love making the 1990 crime drama State of Grace. They welcomed daughter Dylan in 1991 and son Hopper in 1993 and tied the knot in 1996. They purposely moved to Northern California to raise their kids away from "the bubble of celebrity," Robin would later explain to Vanity Fair, but tumult followed and, after a few false starts, they officially divorced in 2010. "I believe we were together not only to have our beautiful children but to learn how to love...for the next time around, the right way," the House of Cards star said. "And then, what I'm looking for in people now is kindness." At the time she was back on with ex-fiancé Ben Foster, but after that ended she moved on with Clement Giraudet, marrying him in 2018. TMZ reported in September 2022 that Robin filed for divorce, citing July 31, 2022, as their date of separation. Sean famously dated Charlize Theron for a couple of years and then married Leila George in January 2020, but she filed for divorce in October 2021.Mike Theiler/UPI/ShutterstockArnold Schwarzenegger and Maria ShriverA power couple even before they were governor and first lady of California, the bodybuilder-turned-actor and renowned journalist announced in May 2011 that they had separated after 25 years of marriage. A week later, Arnold came clean about fathering a son with his family's former housekeeper of more than 20 years. Joseph Baena enjoys a relationship with his dad (as well as an affinity for the weight room) and is pursuing his own career as an actor. The Shriver-Schwarzenegger union, which produced daughters Katherine and Christina as well as sons Patrick and Christopher didn't officially end until December 2021, when The Terminator star and the author finalized their divorce.Paul Zimmerman/WireImageTeresa and Joe GiudiceHis-and-hers prison sentences for fraud were not kind to the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars' 20-year marriage. He ended up being deported to Italy after spending three years behind bars, and they divorced in September 2020. "I can't get mad at her," Joe told E! News of his ex a month later. "She's the mother of my four daughters and she's taking care of them right now because obviously I can't. What am I going to do, have the kids move here to a country that they don't even know the language? That would be a disaster...Thank God they're tough kids, but it's still a damn shame. At the end of the day, you know, we're doing our best." Teresa is once again a married woman, wedding Luis Ruelas in August 2022 after they met during a chance encounter at the Jersey shore. The bride's four daughters—Gia, Gabriella, Milania and Audriana—were all in attendance. Dave M. Benett/Getty ImagesSusan Sarandon and Tim RobbinsMarried for all intents and purposes, if not on paper, the Oscar winners separated in the summer of 2009 after 23 years together, having met making the rowdy 1988 baseball romance Bull Durham. They share sons Jack and Miles plus Tim helped raise Susan's daughter Eva Amurri. "People were coming up to me in the street and saying, 'I cried and cried when I heard,'" the Thelma & Louise star told The Telegraph in 2010 after her breakup with the director. "Well, I was sadder! I didn't think it would ever happen, either. You bring people into your life at certain times. Maybe you have a relationship to have children and you realize that it's fulfilled after that point." Tim ended up marrying actress Gratiela Brancusi in 2017, but it wasn't widely known they'd taken that step until he filed for divorce in January 2021.Steve Granitz Archive/Getty ImagesMel Gibson and Robyn MooreThough Robyn didn't file for divorce from the father of her seven children until April 2009, according to Reuters, their separation began just days after his explosive drunk-driving arrest in July 2006. "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so," they said in a 2009 statement confirming the end of their union. At the time, Mel was already expecting a child, his eighth, with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. (He's since become a dad of nine, welcoming son Lars in 2017 with Rosalind Ross.) "It was an unfortunate incident," the Braveheart actor said on Variety's Playback podcast in 2016, referring to his 2006 arrest and the resulting backlash over antisemitic comments he made to the officer that pulled him over. "I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime...So, not fair. I guess as who I am, I'm not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever."Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagicKody and Christine BrownThe TLC star's third of four sister wives—and mother of six of his 18 children—left the family's Arizona home in November 2021 after 27 years together and moved to Utah. "I started thinking maybe this isn't working for me," Christine told People in August 2022. "And then I stopped believing in polygamy. I realized I didn't really want to live it anymore. I didn't like sharing a husband or feeling like I wasn't important." Kody legally married first wife Meri Brown in 1990, with Janelle Brown and Christine joining him in spiritual matrimony in 1993 and 1994, respectively. He and Meri divorced so that fourth wife Robyn Brown could become his legally recognized spouse in 2014, a move that allowed him to adopt her three eldest children. As for Christine, she wed David Woolley in 2023, explaining, "I want a guy who actually loves me and wants to be with me intimately. I will be a monogamist from here on out." Her fellow sister wives are also on the hunt for their one special person. Kody revealed in Sister Wives' December 2022 reunion special that he and Janelle had separated. Meri followed suit soon after, with her and Kody announcing in January 2023 they decided to "permanently terminate" their spiritual marriage.Katie Jones/Variety/ShutterstockJeff Bezos and MacKenzie ScottOK, so the couple that earn their first billion together don't necessarily stay together. News of the Amazon founder and sometimes-richest-man-in-the-world's divorce from his wife of 25 years came as a shock in January 2019—though mainly because Jeff was already involved with not-yet-divorced Good Day L.A. co-host Lauren Sanchez and the National Enquirer published their romantic text messages. (Jeff, who shares four children with MacKenzie, countered that they were long-separated so the tabloid didn't have much of a scoop.) MacKenzie, who married Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett in March 2021, received a reported $38.3 billion worth of Amazon stock in her divorce settlement, turning her into one of the world's richest people as well. She signed The Giving Pledge, a promise to give at least half of her fortune to charity, in 2019. Dan made the vow as well after their wedding, but MacKenzie filed for divorce on Sept. 26, 2022, and it was finalized in early 2023. Jeff, meanwhile, marked his June 2025 marriage to Lauren with an extravagant multi-day celebration set in Venice, Italy. Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesDanny DeVito and Rhea PerlmanMarried for 30 years, the Matilda co-stars announced in 2012 that they were separating—but the parents of three never pulled the trigger on a divorce. "We're still separated, but we see each other often, and we're still a family," Perlman told People in 2022. "We can do things together, we can do things separately. I'm really, really glad that Danny and I were able to navigate some rough days to be able to have this different kind of relationship. I think it's pretty rare, but we agree on so many things that it makes sense."For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App