Stars Who Separated from Their Spouses After 20+ Years of Marriage, Including Rachel Zoe, Leah Remini, Hugh Jackman and More

These longtime couples surprised fans when they called it quits after decades together

Marriage is hard work, especially in Hollywood. And for these stars, despite many happy years together, in the end, the right decision was to call it quits.

From Rachel Zoe and her husband Rodger Berman going their separate ways after 33 years together to Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán revealing they're separating after 21 years of marriage to Judge Mathis' wife Linda Reese who filed for divorce after 39 years, these former couples made the difficult decision to separate after a long marriage.

See which couples decided to go their separate ways after 20+ years together.

Rachel Zoe and Rodger Berman

After sharing their lives together for over three decades, Rachel Zoe and Rodger Berman revealed they'll be going their separate ways.

"After 33 years together and 26 years married, Rodger and I have come to the mutual decision to end our marriage,” the couple said in a statement posted on Zoe's Instagram. “We are incredibly proud of the loving family we have created and our countless memories together.”

“Our number one priority has been and will always be our children. We are committed to co-parent our boys and to continue to work together within the many businesses we share,” they wrote.

Zoe and Berman began dating back in 1991 and tied the knot in 1998.

The ultra-stylish pair worked together on multiple projects, starting with the Bravo series The Rachel Zoe Project, which aired from 2008 to 2013. They also starred in Lifetime’s Fashionably Late with Rachel Zoe in 2015 and Berman is listed as a co-host on the stylist's iHeartRadio podcast, Climbing in Heels with Rachel Zoe.

The pair have two children — sons Skyler Morrison, 13, and Kaius Jagger, 10.

Leah Remini and Angelo Pagán

Leah Remini and her husband Angelo Pagán revealed they would be going their separate ways after 21 years of marriage.

"Well, here we are. After 28 years together and 21 years of marriage, we have decided to file for divorce," the pair wrote in a joint Instagram statement. "This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as hard as divorce is, we are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it’s what’s best for us."

"Our bond is still strong—it’s just evolved into something different," they continued. "We think a marriage that lasted this long and created so many beautiful memories, especially raising our incredible daughter, is something to celebrate. From our perspective, this marriage was a huge success. And now, we’re looking forward to creating even more cherished moments—just in a different way."

Remini and Pagán first met back in 1996 when he was performing at El Floridita, a Cuban club and restaurant in Los Angeles. They wed in 2003 and welcomed daughter Sofia Bella on June 16, 2004. Pagán also has three sons — Angelo Jr., Alex and Nico — from a previous relationship.

Judge Greg Mathis and Linda Reese

After 39 years together, Judge Greg Mathis' wife Linda Reese filed for divorce from the noted TV personality citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple got married right after college in 1985, long before his popular TV court show was in syndication; they share four adult children: daughters Jade, 39 and Camara, 36, as well as sons  Greg Jr., 35, and Amir, 34.

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness swiftly fell in love after meeting on the set of the the Australian show Corelli back in 1995. They were married less than a year later.

Over the course of their 27-year marriage, the couple welcomed two kids — son Oscar Maximilian, 23, and Ava Eliot, 18 — and often attended all the upscale Hollywood events together.

In September 2023, Jackman and Furness announced they were going their separate ways, telling PEOPLE exclusively, "We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."

They continued, "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives."

Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus

Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus were together for 30 years before they split for good — with many ups and downs throughout those years.

Billy Ray first filed for divorce back in October of 2010, but called it off months later.

In June 2013, Tish filed for divorce, but a month later, the couple had once again reconciled. The last straw came in April 2022 when Tish once again filed to end their marriage.

"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 couple said, in part, in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE. "We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths."

Matthew and Tina Knowles

As high-profile as their daughters may be, when Mathew and Tina Knowles divorced back in 2011, they did so quietly.

The pair got married in 1980 before welcoming Beyoncé in 1981 and Solange in 1986. The couple famously worked together to bring Destiny's Child to success, with Mathew serving as the girls' manager and Tina as their stylist.

In 2011, however, Mathew and Tina filed for divorce, telling the Associated Press, "The decision to end our marriage is an amicable one. We remain friends, parents and business partners."

Melinda French and Bill Gates

Bill and Melinda French Gates met in 1987 and wed in Hawaii in 1994, and grew together in wealth and philanthropy as Gates' Microsoft experienced phenomenal success throughout the '90s.

In addition to their children — daughters Jennifer, 28, and Phoebe, 21 as well son Rory, 23 — the Gates worked on a slew of projects together while they were married, including founding their nonprofit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

On May 3, 2021, the pair announced their separation in a joint statement. They divorced that August, after 27 years of marriage. Several years later, French Gates also severed ties with the foundation to pursue her own philanthropic efforts.

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott were together for 25 years before the Amazon founder filed for divorce in 2019.

"As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," Bezos revealed on Twitter.

“We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again,” he added.

The couple have four children — three sons and a daughter — whose identities they keep fairly private.

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer announced in 2023, shortly after their 45th wedding anniversary, that they were no longer a couple.

“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,” a representative for Streep said in a statement to PEOPLE.

The pair met through Streep's brother in 1978, marrying six months after the met.

Streep and Gummer welcomed four children throughout the course of their marriage — son Henry Wolfe Gummer, 44, and daughters Mamie Gummer, 41, Grace Gummer, 38, and Louisa Jacobson, 33.

Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon

When Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon decided to split after 39 years together, the pair decided not to legally divorce.

"After 39 years as a couple we are now on separate life paths. We remain legally married, co-parents, co-workers and business partners," they told PEOPLE in a joint statement.

"This is our choice in loving friendship."

Aykroyd and Dixon have three children — daughters Danielle (known professionally as singer-songwriter Vera Sola), 34, Belle, 31, and Stella, 26.

Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee

Morgan Freeman and Myrna Colley-Lee were together for 26 years before they separated in 2007. According to ABC 7, the couple filed for divorce, under seal, in July 2008. It was finalized in 2010.

Freeman and Colley-Lee didn't have any children together, though The Shawshank Redemption actor had four children from previous relationships and has 14 grandchildren.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were together for a total of 34 years before they terminated their marriage in 2011, following Schwarzenegger's revelation he fathered a child with the family's housekeeper 14 years earlier.

The pair began dating in 1977, wed in 1986 and welcomed four children together — Katherine, 34, and Christina, 31, and sons Patrick, 30, and Christopher, 26. Schwarzenegger welcomed son Joseph Baena, 26, with Mildred Patricia Baena, in 1997.

Shriver filed for divorce in 2011 after 25 years of marriage. It was finalized in 2021.

Kris and Caitlyn Jenner

Kris and Caitlyn Jenner helmed perhaps the most famous blended family of all time.

When the two first got together in 1990, Caitlyn was father to Burt, Cassandra, Brandon and Brody Jenner, while Kris was mom to Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian.

Following their whirlwind romance — the pair got married merely five months after meeting — they added two more to the brood, daughters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

The couple separated in 2013 after 22 years of marriage. Two years later, Caitlyn would come out as transgender, and their divorce was finalized the same year.

Anthony Anderson and Alvina Stewart

Anthony Anderson and Alvina Stewart were together for 24 years before their divorce was finalized in 2023.

The couple wed back in 1999, 10 years after they officially got together. However, their marriage faced some ups and downs and Stewart initially filed for divorce in 2015. They seemed to have worked things out and reconciled as she filed to dismiss the divorce petition in 2017.

In March 2022, Stewart filed for a second time, citing "irreconcilable differences," but this time, the pair couldn't make it work. Their divorce was finalized in 2023.

Anderson and Stewart have two children — daughter Kyra, 27, and son Nathan, 23.

Al and Tipper Gore

Al and Tipper Gore's 2010 split came as a shock to many.

The couple had been together for 40 years and were seen publicly as supportive, well-matched political spouses.

Gore met Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” Aitcheson at a high school dance back in 1965. They married five years later.

The pair, who served as vice president and second lady under the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001, welcomed four kids together: Al III, Sarah, Karenna and Kristin.

Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock

Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock were married for 26 years before they divorced in 2015. And while the country legend later revealed the separation helped her take charge of her life, it wasn't her first choice.

“The divorce was not my idea. I didn’t want it in any shape, form or fashion,” McEntire said in an interview with CMT’s Cody Alan back in 2016. “So, it was really hard to make the adjustment when someone’s not happy. I just want everybody to be happy in their lives, because our lives are too short to be miserable.”

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