Idina Menzel and Ex Taye Diggs’ Rare Parenting Quotes About Raising Their Son Walker

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Idina Menzel and Ex Taye Diggs’ Rare Parenting Quotes About Raising Their Son Walker

Putting their child first. Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs split in 2013, but they've remained committed to amicably coparenting their son, Walker. The Frozen voice actress and the Chicago star welcomed Walker in 2009, six years after tying the knot. The former couple met while starring together in the original Broadway production of Rent, later reprising their roles in the 2005 film adaptation. While their romance didn't last, Diggs has said that he's proud of the legacy he and Menzel left on Rent, which became one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. "Someone just asked me what it has meant, what it means to me, and it’s so much," the Private Practice alum explained during a January 2021 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show. "I met my baby mama there, it’s the beginning of my career, and even today, we’re still getting together and moving people over Zoom, doing Zoom charity concerts and whatnot.” [jwplayer D1jFzQPu-zhNYySv2] Diggs added that he's proud to share Rent's legacy with Walker, who was born one year after the show closed. "[Idina] made history in that show and continues to make history with her singing and whatnot," the All American star explained. "And to know that I was right there, I loved sharing that with my son. Like, Daddy was there when the world first listened to her." Menzel's turn in Rent made her a star onstage, but in 2013, she began reaching a new — and much younger — audience when she voiced Elsa in Disney's Frozen. Her son, however, remained unimpressed. "He’s seen it maybe twice. He hates it," the Tony Award winner told Us Weekly in 2018. “It’s princess-y and it’s Mommy singing, so it means that she has to work and go sing the stupid song, and it takes me away from him.” While Walker doesn't actually like the animated movie, he's at least proud enough of his mom to tell other kids at school that she's the voice of Elsa. "That's his game," Menzel quipped. After her split from Diggs, the Uncut Gems star moved on with Rent costar Aaron Lohr, whom she wed in 2017. She later opened up about the couple's attempts to conceive a child via in vitro fertilization in the documentary Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? “I didn’t think I wanted to have a baby,” she explained in the film, noting that she's since given up on having another child after multiple rounds of unsuccessful treatments. “But then Aaron has been the most amazing man to my son — who has a wonderful dad — but has found a way to have his own incredible relationship with Walker.” Diggs, for his part, has been dating Apryl Jones since late 2021. The Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star shares two children with ex Omarion. Keep scrolling for Diggs and Menzel's quotes about parenting Walker:

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Idina Menzel and Ex Taye Diggs’ Rare Parenting Quotes About Raising Their Son Walker

Putting their child first. Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs split in 2013, but they've remained committed to amicably coparenting their son, Walker. The Frozen voice actress and the Chicago star welcomed Walker in 2009, six years after tying the knot. The former couple met while starring together in the original Broadway production of Rent, later reprising their roles in the 2005 film adaptation. While their romance didn't last, Diggs has said that he's proud of the legacy he and Menzel left on Rent, which became one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. "Someone just asked me what it has meant, what it means to me, and it’s so much," the Private Practice alum explained during a January 2021 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show. "I met my baby mama there, it’s the beginning of my career, and even today, we’re still getting together and moving people over Zoom, doing Zoom charity concerts and whatnot.” [jwplayer D1jFzQPu-zhNYySv2] Diggs added that he's proud to share Rent's legacy with Walker, who was born one year after the show closed. "[Idina] made history in that show and continues to make history with her singing and whatnot," the All American star explained. "And to know that I was right there, I loved sharing that with my son. Like, Daddy was there when the world first listened to her." Menzel's turn in Rent made her a star onstage, but in 2013, she began reaching a new — and much younger — audience when she voiced Elsa in Disney's Frozen. Her son, however, remained unimpressed. "He’s seen it maybe twice. He hates it," the Tony Award winner told Us Weekly in 2018. “It’s princess-y and it’s Mommy singing, so it means that she has to work and go sing the stupid song, and it takes me away from him.” While Walker doesn't actually like the animated movie, he's at least proud enough of his mom to tell other kids at school that she's the voice of Elsa. "That's his game," Menzel quipped. After her split from Diggs, the Uncut Gems star moved on with Rent costar Aaron Lohr, whom she wed in 2017. She later opened up about the couple's attempts to conceive a child via in vitro fertilization in the documentary Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? “I didn’t think I wanted to have a baby,” she explained in the film, noting that she's since given up on having another child after multiple rounds of unsuccessful treatments. “But then Aaron has been the most amazing man to my son — who has a wonderful dad — but has found a way to have his own incredible relationship with Walker.” Diggs, for his part, has been dating Apryl Jones since late 2021. The Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star shares two children with ex Omarion. Keep scrolling for Diggs and Menzel's quotes about parenting Walker:

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

March 2012

"Hopefully he’ll grow up in an environment where he won’t think much of it and it will be very commonplace," Menzel told Pride Source when asked what she would say if her son came out as LGTBQ+. "And yet, if for some reason that discussion did arise, Taye and I would say, 'If we were to have a son or daughter who were gay, they wouldn’t meet any resistance with us.' ... In our house, in our family and with our friends, he already is in the company of — and loved by — all sorts of people. [Taye and I] have very supportive parents and so it’s more the outside world that tends to put some stigma on it, even in this day and age. I think it’s just about raising a son that’s going to be mixed race and how to tackle that and what that means — even religiously and spirituality, we have a lot of stuff ahead of us. I want to be really clear and defined so that it’s not confusing."

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August 2017

Diggs told Us that he and his ex-wife "trust each other" when it comes to raising Walker. “I mean, it’s not even about trust," he explained. "We both love our son so much, that the best way to raise him is to provide him with whatever we can — healthy foods. ... We wanna do right by our kid."

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July 2019

“I’m the last person to give advice, but I think you can’t go wrong when you just put the kid first,” the Empire alum told Us. “Put the kid first and it really prioritizes all the other bull.”

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December 2019

Walker's feelings about Frozen hadn't changed by the time the sequel premiered in 2019, but he was happy to attend the film's premiere with his mom. ”He was very territorial and so the next day I said, ‘Honey, I’m just curious, you were holding mommy’s hand a lot?’" Menzel recalled during an interview with Ryan Seacrest. "And he said, ‘Well, I was a little overwhelmed and also I wanted people to know that you’re my mommy because they were all acting like they knew you.' And he turned to me in the premiere and was like, ‘Badass.’”

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July 2020

While both of his parents are in the entertainment industry, Walker doesn't feel pressure to join the family business. “He doesn’t feel the need to follow in our footsteps,” Diggs told Us. “He’s doing all this stuff that I didn’t get a chance to. He’s a really great athlete. He plays basketball every day and when he’s not playing basketball, he’s running around throwing a football. ... He gets to watch us do what we do and we get to watch him do what we never could. So, that’s been very, very refreshing.”

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September 2021

Menzel admitted that she felt some anxiety about turning 50, but her son helped her keep it in check. "He says, 'Mom, don't look in the mirror and worry about how you look. You're beautiful,'" she told Glamour. "I'm learning as a parent that you really have to walk the walk and talk the talk because that's what kids really see. They're so insightful."

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February 2022

After releasing his children's book, Why?: A Conversation about Race, Diggs explained that Walker was helpful throughout his writing and publishing process. “Before I showed him the book, we actually had a few conversations about what was going on in society with Black Lives Matter, so that's kind of what prompted the book,” the Best Man star said during an interview with Tamron Hall. “After I wrote [the book], I just wanted him to give his blessing because with him, he can tell if I'm trying to fish and ...if I'm trying to fish he's not going to give me what he thinks I need. But I just said, ‘What do you think?’ and he said, ‘It was good, Dad. It’s really, really cool. It was really, really deep.’”

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July 2022

Diggs revealed that he suffered from insomnia shortly after Walker was born, which he then self-medicated using alcohol. "What hit me harder was when it began affecting my relationship with my son. I just wasn't in control of how I wanted to be with him," he told Best Life. "There was time that he wanted to spend with me ... and I just couldn't fake it. ... That just didn't sit well with me."