The Rumored Reasons Meryl Streep And Don Gummer Split

Until their separation in 2018, Meryl Streep and her husband Don Gummer were one of the longest-lasting and most iconic couples in Hollywood. The two had been married for over four decades and were together since 1978, shortly after being introduced by Streep's brother, Harry Streep III, according to Today. Together, they share four children: son Henry and daughters Mamie, Grace, and Louisa.

Despite keeping much of their marriage under wraps, Streep has opened up about the secret to their lasting and successful partnership in a previous chat with Vogue (via Today). "Goodwill and willingness to bend — and to shut up every once in a while," she told the magazine in 2002. "There's no road map on how to raise a family: It's always an enormous negotiation. But I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can't imagine eschewing one for the other," she added. In 2023, a representative for the "Mamma Mia!" star revealed that she and Gummer had called it quits after 45 years of marriage. "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," the rep said in a statement to People. 

No further explanation was given regarding their split, although the two were last spotted together at the Oscars red-carpet back in 2018 (as seen in the photo above). What could have possibly led to their separation? Here's everything we know. 

There were several red flags Meryl Streep and Don Gummer's marriage was never going to last. For starters, when the two first met in 1978, Streep was mourning the tragic loss of her boyfriend and fellow actor John Cazale who died in March of that year after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Per People, she and Cazale dated for two years shortly after being cast in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" in 1976, and the pair remained together up until Cazale's death. But while it seemed that they were each other's greatest loves, it took only six months for the "Devil Wears Prada" star to find love again and settle down with Gummer after losing her ex-boyfriend. Speaking of Cazale one year after his death, Streep said in an interview with People, "The death is still very much with me. It has forced me to confront my own mortality, and once you do that, you look at things differently."

In 2014, rumors once again plagued Streep and Gummer's marriage after a biographer claimed that she had a sexual, extramarital affair with co-star Jack Nicholson while filming their movie "Ironweed" in 1987. Although Streep was quick to deny this rumor, sources claimed that it had taken a heavy toll on the couple and caused a rift in their marriage. "The book opened old wounds and that has led to bitter fights. Now, their marriage is struggling," an insider told the National Enquirer (via Celeb Dirty Laundry).

Of course, it's also quite possible that Meryl Streep's busy work schedule also played a significant role in her separation from Don Gummer. Amid rumors of her affair with Jack Nicholson in 2014, insiders close to "It's Complicated" star told the National Enquirer that her "non-stop working" was starting to cause tension in her marriage as well, explaining, "Meryl just won't slow down. But Don wants them to start enjoying their golden years." They added, "He's demanded she slow down, and friends fear that if she doesn't, their once-strong marriage could crumble."

This is contrary to what Streep said about her husband in her 2019 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, where she praised Gummer for always being willing to look after their kids so that she would feel "not as guilty" about going to work. Back in 2012, she also credited her husband for being supportive while accepting her Oscar for her role as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." She said, per Vogue, "First I'm going to thank Don ... And I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me."

But then, it could also be that they simply drifted apart — as people sometimes do when you've been together for as long as they have.