Joe Keery Breaks Silence on "Big Breakup" From Maika Monroe

Originally appeared on E! Online

There's nothing strange about Joe Keery's love life.

However, the Stranger Things star did find himself in unusual circumstances when he split from actress Maika Monroe around the time he was wrapping production on the 2023 film Finally Dawn. And he was still dealing with the aftermath when he had to travel from Rome to Calgary, Canada, to film season five of Fargo, which premiered on FX late last year.

"It's a weird job, being an actor," Joe told Variety in an interview published in June 6. "You fly to a random place, move your whole life and that is basically your new life for the next six months."

He continued, "I had also gone through a big breakup, right as I was leaving Rome, so I was really isolated and focused on my work. My social life pretty much revolved around the show; my work life revolved around the show. We weren't really leaving due to COVID-19."

In addition, Joe was also going through some lifestyle changes, including working with a dialect coach to work on his character's accent for the crime series.

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"I started working out a bunch and changed my diet a little bit," he recalled. "I've never really done that for a job. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think it kind of informed me physically."

But for the 32-year-old, being an actor means "being able to roll with the punches and buckle in." After all, he ended up traveling to Atlanta following his Fargo shoot to film the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

Joe Keery, Maika Monroe
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

"I'm trying to really live in the present and appreciate every day that I'm on set and get to spend with these people who I love," he said of returning to the set of the Netflix show one last time. "That's like a good way to try to lead your life in general, just focus on the present."

Joe and Maika, 31, started dating in 2017, before costarring in After Everything the following year. The two quarantined together during the pandemic, which Joe described as "rare" given their busy schedules.

"I mean, that's one of the disadvantages of dating someone else in the industry," he noted in a 2021 GQ interview. "There are advantages as well: somebody who kind of understands what's going on with you in a pretty deep way. But yeah, I think she's like me. She doesn't take it all too seriously."

For more about the love lives of Stranger Things stars, keep reading.

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