Kim Basinger Confirms Her Divorce From Alec Baldwin Was As Complicated As You'd Expect

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin were one of the it-couples from the 1990s. After meeting on the set of "The Marrying Man" in 1990, Basinger and Baldwin built a life together, marrying in 1993, and welcoming their daughter Ireland in 1995, People reported. Their relationship was fiery from the get-go. The minute Baldwin met the "L.A. Confidential" Oscar winner, he knew exactly where he wanted the romance to go. "He kissed me and then asked me if I wanted kids," she told People. 

But things changed at the turn of the century. Basinger filed for divorce from Baldwin in January 2001, but they had been separated for some time. And Basinger's decision wasn't made in haste. "I've known for a year and a half that she was thinking about this," Basinger's father, Don, told People that month. Despite having an array of admirable traits like generosity and a big heart, Baldwin had a major flaw. "His anger," Don claimed. "Alec has this kind of anger where he reaches down for something that hurts, something that may have happened a year or two ago, and then abuses Kim with it."

The divorce was finalized by the following year, according to the Irish Examiner. But that was far from the end. While the details of their marriage were resolved quickly, the details of Ireland's custody were a whole 'nother ball game. The drama played out very much in the public eye, kicking off a stressful time for the entire family.

Kim Basinger's world crumbled during her divorce from Alec Baldwin, which affected her efforts to give their daughter Ireland a stable childhood. "We went through a heavy-duty, very out-loud when you're in the public, divorce. And she had to go through that very rough time," Basinger said on the April 27 episode of the "Red Table Talk."

Parenting through the legal hardships was difficult enough, but the strained relationship with Alec didn't help. "Alec's a funny one," she laughed. "We're all fine and we all get along, whatever ... But he's a challenge. I mean, c'mon. We've had our challenges." Ireland, who was present in the joint interview, laughed with her head down as her mother spoke.

Basinger has previously addressed the turmoil of her divorce and its impact on Ireland. "Divorce is hard on a kid, no matter how you cut it. And ours was very public and nasty," she told Net-a-Porter in 2016, comparing her life with Alec to "Sleeping with the Enemy." The divorce was no less hard on Alec, who compared it to the Indochina War. "That point of my life is a blur ... from 2000–2006, during the Dien Bien Phu of my divorce litigation ... I can barely tell you what I did for those six years," the "30 Rock" star told The Guardian in 2013. "It was a period that was so painful, I was staring off a cliff for six years."