Rhea Perlman has opened up about her close relationship with Danny DeVito and why they never got a divorce, more than a decade after announcing their split.
The 75-year-old actor spoke about her former partner during Wednesday’s episode of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, Wiser Than Me. As Perlman confirmed that she’s “still married” to DeVito, she also explained how her ex is a big part of her life.
“We are still very good friends and we see each other a lot,” she said. “And our family is still the most important thing to both of us.”
After Perlman and DeVito tied the knot in 1982, they went on to welcome three children: Lucy, 40, Grace, 38, and Jake, 35. They officially announced that they were separating, after 30 years of marriage, in 2012.
During her conversation with Louis-Dreyfus, Perlman confessed that while she’s on good terms with DeVito now, their breakup was still quite rough for her.
“I’m not gonna like sugarcoat it, it was difficult,” she said. “It was very difficult at first. And there were a lot of reasons that we separated, which I’m not gonna go into. But it took time for us to come to this somehow pretty decent understanding and relationship with each other.”
This isn’t the first time that Perlman has opened up about staying married to DeVito. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in May 2019, she revealed that although she was separated, she was “not getting a divorce”. She also acknowledged how her relationship with her ex ultimately became stronger once they broke up.
“Danny and I have always loved each other. We have three amazing children together, and we really agree on almost everything important,” she said. “[Our relationship] is much better because all the tense stuff is gone. Not in your face, I’m not in his, he’s not in mine.”
Later in Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, Perlman shared her candid thoughts about living by herself. “I live alone with my little dog, who is my partner in life now,” she said. “But I don’t like living alone. I like being alone. I like having time to myself.”
She went on to explain how she valued her alone time when she was still married and raising her children. “When I was living with Danny and the kids were all in college or wherever…if he went away to do something, [I was like] ‘Oh good, I have two weeks where I can do whatever I want,’” she said. “But, when it’s every day, it’s not my favourite.”
Louis-Dreyfus then asked her about her current relationship status and if she’s open to being set up with someone. Although the Matilda star said no to being set up, she jokingly added: “Unless it’s someone really wonderful, rich and famous, gorgeous, and a lot younger than me.”
Despite the fact that she feels “lonely” sometimes, Perlman acknowledged that she still has “a lot of company” visiting her, including her sister and grandchildren.
