Ben Stiller felt like he was ‘failing’ after separation from spouse

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Ben Stiller is opening up about why he felt like he was "failing" following his separation from his spouse.

In his new documentary, "Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Misplaced," the 59-year-old "Zoolander" star explores his mother and father’ decades-long partnership, evaluating it to his personal marriage with Christine Taylor.

Ben and Taylor married in 2000 and introduced their separation in Might 2017 after 17 years collectively.

"Once we separated, my feeling was like ‘Oh, I’m failing at this’ and take a look at my mother and father. They've this unbelievable 50-plus 12 months marriage and I can’t stay as much as that," he tells Taylor within the documentary, per People .

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<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-jerry-stiller-anne-meara-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-jerry-stiller-anne-meara-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-jerry-stiller-anne-meara-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-jerry-stiller-anne-meara-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Stiller felt like a failure when he and Taylor separated, evaluating his relationship to his mother and father' marriage. (Stefanie Keenan/VF25/WireImage for Self-importance Truthful; NBCU Picture Financial institution/NBCUniversal through Getty Pictures )

The documentary follows the connection between his father, Jerry Stiller , and his mom, Anne Meara, who carried out collectively as the long-lasting comedy duo, Stiller and Meara. Collectively they revamped 30 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Present" and later had their very own short-lived selection present, "The Stiller and Meara Present."

Ben and Taylor additionally labored collectively a variety of occasions throughout their relationship. They first met whereas filming the pilot of a TV present referred to as "Warmth Imaginative and prescient and Jack," and went on to star alongside one another in "Zoolander" and "Dodgeball." Wanting again, Ben recalled questioning "what sort of toll" his mother and father' working relationship placed on their marriage and remembered not desirous to be like his mother and father when he first started courting Taylor.

"Once we separated, my feeling was like ‘Oh, I’m failing at this’ and take a look at my mother and father. They've this unbelievable 50-plus 12 months marriage and I can’t stay as much as that."

— Ben Stiller "I do really feel like there was historical past and I believe lots of it was your expertise of what that in the end meant for a relationship that it may put further pressure if you're consuming, sleeping, respiration one another in that means," Taylor advised Ben within the documentary. "I additionally felt like there was a worry from you for me of what that might appear like to the skin world. I imply it was very loaded."

The "Tropic Thunder" star beforehand spoke about his separation from Taylor throughout a January 2025 interview with The New York Times , during which he defined, "In my thoughts, I by no means didn’t need us to be collectively."

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-emmy-awards-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-emmy-awards-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-emmy-awards-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/ben-stiller-christine-taylor-emmy-awards-red-carpet.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Ben Stiller by no means thought his separation from Taylor can be everlasting. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Pictures)

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Their separation lasted "three or 4 years," and the 2 have been in touch all through that point. They later moved into the identical home in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic with their two youngsters, Ella, 23, and Quinlin, 20.

"I don’t know the place Christine was, you’d should ask her, however COVID put us all together in the identical home," he defined. "It was virtually a 12 months of dwelling in the identical home earlier than we have been truly collectively. However I’m so grateful for it, and I believe not that many individuals do come again collectively after they separate."

Taylor additionally mentioned their separation throughout a March 2023 look on "The Drew Barrymore Present," explaining that in their separation the 2 "acquired to know who we're."

She added that they acquired engaged six months after assembly one another "have been married inside a 12 months, then had [daughter Ella] the subsequent 12 months."

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Taylor mentioned she and Ben had grown in numerous instructions and wanted time to determine issues out. (Kennedy Pollard/Getty Pictures for Don Julio Tequila)

"Household was all the time a precedence, however I believe Ben and I each began to develop in numerous instructions," Taylor mentioned. "And once we made the choice to separate, it was not one thing we wished to speak publicly about or took calmly."