Meryl Street and her husband of 45 years, Don Gummer, have been secretly separated for over six years, Page Six reported on Friday. Speaking to the outlet, a spokesperson of the Oscar-winning star confirmed the news and said, "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". Notably, Ms Streep and her husband tied the knot in 1978, and they share four children together: Henry, 43, Mamie, 40, Grace 37, and Louisa, 32.
According to Page Six, the couple was last seen publicly together at the 2018 Academy Awards. The actor was nominated that year in the Best Actress category for Steven Spielberg's 'The Post'.
The couple's love story traces back to decades. They were first introduced by her brother, Harry, in 1978. At the time, Ms Streep had been mourning the loss of her late boyfriend John Cazale, who had passed away from lung cancer that year. Ms Streep and Mr Gummer wed that same year and have since kept their relationship out of the public eye.
Talking about her marriage in a 2002 interview with Vogue, Ms Streep said, "Goodwill and willingness to bend - and to shut up every once in a while. 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."
Over the years, the couple has attended countless red carpet-events together. At the Academy Awards in 2012, when the actor won Best Actress for 'The Iron Lady', she said in her speech, "First, I'm going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music, and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me."
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The pair, who both attended Yale University, also saw their daughter enter the world of Hollywood. Their son, on the other hand, pursued music under the stage name Henry Wolfe.
The couple have five grandchildren together as well. Their son has two children with his wife Tomaryn Storm Hawker. Their daughter, Mamie Gummer, has two children with her husband Mehar Sethi.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Meryl Streep was last seen in season three of 'Only Murders In The Building'. According to NBC News, she holds the record for most Oscar nominations of any actor with 21, including for her roles in 'The Post, 'Into the Woods', 'The Iron Lady', 'The Devil Wears Prada', 'Out of Africa' and 'Kramer vs Kramer'.